EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Max Brosmer was back on campus for Minnesota's season opener, standing by the Gophers on their sideline while wearing a No. 5 jersey bearing the name of his successor, Drake Lindsey.
The visit was easy for Brosmer. He's playing just down the road with the Vikings now, an undrafted rookie on an NFL active roster who played only one year of major college football.
That's an improbable path, but nobody who's been around Brosmer — from his youth in Georgia to his FCS success at New Hampshire to his lone season of Big Ten competition at Minnesota — is surprised by how quickly he gained his footing as a pro.
“I kind of get speechless about it sometimes. I think in the moment, probably the first couple hours, it was pretty surreal when I found out,” Brosmer said. “Then it was like, ‘Snap out of it. We’ve got to get back to the grind.’ I couldn’t be more grateful to be in a spot here with the Vikings. I just love coming to the office every single day with this team — some of the best people I’ve ever met and been around.”
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff first saw Brosmer’s bonus throwing session at Minnesota’s pro day workout in 2024 after he’d transferred from New Hampshire, an advance showing that raised awareness and interest in his season with the Gophers.
After he set the program record for completions (268) and finished with the second-best completion rate (66.5%) in Gophers history while turning a typically run-heavy offense into a potent passing team, Brosmer did nothing but brighten his pro prospects.
Still, after going undrafted, he figured to be destined for the practice squad — until the Vikings saw on a daily basis how dedicated, coachable and intelligent he is. His performance in training camp practices and preseason games, frequently playing with deep reserves who didn’t make the team, made clear that trying to sneak him through waivers would be too big of a risk if they wanted to keep him.
“I think Max is one of the hardest working young guys that I’ve been around,” O’Connell said.
Brosmer's processing speed, aided in part by one of his hobbies, playing chess, in reading the defense and scanning through the priority rank of his receivers is exceptional. His extreme commitment to preparation through film study and mastering a complicated playbook has helped him make up for the lesser amounts of size, arm strength and speed that contributed to him being lightly recruited out of high school in the Atlanta area and skipped over in the 257-selection NFL draft last spring.
“I haven’t been as physically gifted as some people in this profession. I think when you’re kind of on the shorter end of that stick you have to kind of outwork people mentally," Brosmer said. "You have to know your superpower.”
He'll likely be the No. 3 quarterback behind J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft who missed his rookie year with a knee injury, and recent acquisition Carson Wentz, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft. At this point, though, draft status is meaningless.
“If you get too caught up on where you came from and the past I think it’s difficult to be in the moment and be where your feet are,” Brosmer said. “I think everybody has their own path, and everything happens for a reason. I went to Minnesota for a reason, and I ended up with the Vikings for a reason. Whether I was going to come from New Hampshire or come from Minnesota to make it to the NFL, I’m confident in my ability to be able to play at this level.”
While he's staying present with the Vikings, that doesn't mean he's forgotten his past. Brosmer joined Lindsey, a redshirt freshman who became a close friend, at dinner last week to reconnect and reiterate his support. Gophers coach P.J. Fleck even awarded Brosmer a game ball after the season-opening victory, praising the example of leadership he set for Lindsey last year.
“That kid leaves his imprint and his legacy everywhere he goes,” Fleck said.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer (12) throws against the Tennessee Titans during the first half of a preseason NFL football game, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
