Mohamed Ibrahim was clear why he returned to Minnesota after rupturing his Achilles in the 2021 season opener.
“I came back for my teammates,” he said. “Without my teammates I wouldn’t be here, so why not give it one more shot?”
A side effect of Ibrahim playing in 2022 is his shooting up in the Gophers record book.
Earlier this season, Ibrahim set the school mark for rushing touchdowns – with 42 and counting (in just 33 games by the way).
Ibrahim’s next score – whether rushing or receiving – will tie him with Darrell Thompson on Minnesota’s all-tine total touchdowns list with 43.
Let’s look at where else Ibrahim is in Gophers’ annals.
He’s fifth in school history in rushing yards with 3,697 entering this Saturday’s game at Penn State. He’ll need 958 yards to pass Darrell Thompson at the top of the list, which might be a tough hill to climb (although not entirely impossible).
At worst, barring injury, Ibrahim is going to end up second on Minnesota’s all-time rushing list. He needs just 426 yards to pass Rodney Smith (4,122) for No. 2.
Ibrahim has rushed for 100+ yards in each of his last 14 games, dating back to the 2020 Outback Bowl. That’s the most in school history and the longest such streak among active college football players (Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott had the longest previous streak at 15 games in 2014-15.
Overall at Minnesota, Ibrahim has 19 100-yard rushing games. Thompson has the most with 23 – certainly within reach the way Ibrahim is going – with Laurence Maroney second with 21.
Ibrahim broke the record for 200-yard games with his fourth earlier this season against Colorado. Four Gophers had three such games: Chris Darkins, Maroney, Thompson and Garry White.
Ibrahim is averaging 108.7 yards rushing per game, which is behind only Maroney’s 109.3 in Minnesota history.
With Chris Autman-Bell out for the season, Tanner Morgan injured and the passing game up-and-down as is, it will be interesting to see if the Gophers ride Ibrahim in the second half of their season.
We imagine Ibrahim will keep getting his share of touchdowns – he has 13 multiple-score games, including three in the five games he’s played this season.
With 11 points – i.e. two TDs — Ibrahim will have the most points of any non-kicker in Minnesota history, passing Thompson, who had 262 points … in 44 games.
He’ll also likely pass Chip Lohmiller (268) and Emmit Carpenter (276), although getting to the top around Dan Nystrom (367) is extremely unlikely.
With Ibrahim, it’s hard to count him out with anything. He could take aim at the single-season rushing touchdown record. Ibrahim’s 15 TDs in 2020 – in just seven games – are the fourth most in Gophers annals. The record is 18 by Gary Russell in 2005. Ibrahim has nine in five games with seven likely contests (six regular season, bowl game) remaining.
When all is said and done, Ibrahim stands to be the most proficient running back the Gophers have had – which might have been hard to believe after his injury in the first game of 2021. Like we said, it’s hard to count him out of anything.