The top high school player in Minnesota, Robbinsdale Cooper’s Emmanuel Karmo, signed with the Gophers Wednesday afternoon at Cooper High School. Karmo is considered a four-star recruit, and will play linebacker for the Gophers.

Jack Negen has had his fill of Emmanuel Karmo, and that’s a compliment. Negen, the Armstrong High School football coach, has had to scheme against Karmo, the standout Cooper linebacker, six times over the past three seasons.

The Gophers nearly had the top-rated in-state recruit sign with the U in three straight classes, but Cooper defensive lineman Jaxon Howard went to Louisiana State for a year before transferring back to Minnesota. He played 118 snaps for the Gophers as a redshirt freshman this fall. .