Esko’s Koi Perich Explains Why He Transferred Out Of Minnesota

Esko native Koi Perich made the decision over the winter to transfer away from his home state Minnesota Golden Gophers football program, heading instead to Oregon for his junior year.

The news of Perich's transfer from Minnesota broke in January, leaving a lot of hometown fans feeling disappointed or frustrated that he was leaving his home state Gophers to head to the West Coast.

While it was generally assumed his departure was in an effort to be part of a program with a higher championship potential than Minnesota has, Koi officially addressed questions about his reason for the transfer during a media event during the Ducks' pre-season camp

Perich answered a number of questions, touching on his small-town upbringing in Esko, Minnesota. One of the questions was whether football or hockey was a bigger cultural element in his Northern Minnesota hometown. He threw a curveball, saying it was basketball in Esko, but admitted it was hockey in a lot of surrounding towns.

He commented "Football is not the top priority in Minnesota", in his opinion.

WATCH: Gophers Star Koi Perich Gives Brutally Honest Take On Small Minnesota Hometown

Having never really been very far away from home, he explained that the move to Oregon was a conscious decision to put him out of his comfort zone. "You can't be great unless you're uncomfortable" was how he encapsulated being halfway across the country from home.

Building on that, Koi explained his decision to leave Minnesota saying, “I just wanted to be on a contender and a great program. I think Oregon is both of those. There’s a lot of great coaches, great players here. And with both of those in the equation, you’re going to have a lot of success. Hopefully I can add to that."

Despite his move away from Minnesota with two years of college eligibility left, he smiled when asked about the idea of the next level, potentially playing in the NFL for the Vikings.

He said he'd love to play for the Vikings, but really would just appreciate playing for any NFL team.

You can watch the entire interview here: