Sports Huddle Recap: Coach P.J. Fleck - 2/12/17

DL65

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P.J. Fleck’s comments and responses to questions by Sid Hartman in a taped interview at Murray’s a couple days ago.


1) Sid wanted to know Fleck’s impressions – good and bad – since he arrived at Minnesota:

“So far so good,” replied Fleck. He went on to say the university, town, state and team are “thriving” for a championship in Gopher football.

2) Sid wanted to know what he thought of the state’s high school football coaches:

“This is one of the reasons I took the job,” Fleck said. He mentioned his coaching days as an assistant at Northern Illinois University and the relationships he built at that time. He said he was very impressed with coaches that he met.

At the conclusion of his response to Sid’s query, he said he would be meeting with state coaches and will “teach” them about the culture he bringing to Minnesota.

3) Sid wanted to know if he was still recruiting:

He immediately said he was, “We have three openings left (2017 class).” Regarding the remaining available slots, Fleck said they’re recruiting to their needs. However, he didn’t say what the needs are and if they’ll fill them with this year’s class. He said their emphasis is on the 2018 class.

In a later question, Fleck expressed his philosophy in recruiting; although they will take a juco player at times, they will, however, focus their recruiting on high school recruits and develop them.

4) Sid asked about the four players who recently had their suspensions lifted:

Fleck said, “I can’t talk too much because of privacy issues . . . I look forward to talking to them.”

5) Sid asked about the offensive line and spring drills:

Fleck, once again, said they only have six offensive linemen available for spring drills. He also said they’re thin in the defensive line and have spots to fill.

In a later question, Fleck said the team had 20 off-season surgeries and he wants to change that. He didn’t list any players who underwent surgery or how he plans to address the problem of excess surgeries now that he’s coaching the Gophers.

6) The question of quarterbacks heading in to spring drills was raised:

Again, he did not list the quarterbacks that will be competing this spring. However, he said, “We’ve got some that played (Conor Rhoda and Demry Croft).” He stressed he’s looking forward to spring drills and seeing what the quarterback competition looks like.

7) Sid asked about the players that followed Fleck to Minnesota who had committed to him and Western Michigan last year:

Fleck did not spend too much time on the question; however, what he emphasized in his response was the “character” of the players that followed him to Minnesota. Character is important to Fleck in recruiting players - needing to know the player’s strengths.

8) Sid asked about getting the Twin Cities Fortune 500 companies involved in the Minnesota program:

Fleck said one of the great strengths of the Twin Cities is the number of Fortune 500 companies, and he will be calling on their CEOs and presidents. The opportunities that are available to players after their playing days are over will be a big selling point to potential recruits.

9) Sid said one of Fleck’s duties will be selling tickets to Gopher football:

Fleck said he has a lot of duties as head coach, promoting Gopher football and getting the fans involved in football on game day is one of them. “We want the bank filled,” Fleck said.

10) The question of a spring game was raised:

Fleck emphatically said there will be a spring game, which is scheduled for April 15 around noon time. He said spring drills will be held before and after spring break and after the spring game. Apparently there will be at least one practice after the game “Spring ball is really important,” Fleck emphasized.

It was during this question that Fleck said there have been 20 off-season surgeries.

11) Sid asked about the quality of high school football in Minnesota:

(There are) a lot of great players in Minnesota,” Fleck answered. He also credited Tracy Claeys for holding on to the Minnesota players that committed to the Gophers.

12) Sid wanted to know if he can win here at Minnesota:

“We can win here,” Fleck said in an emphatic tone. He added he wants the players to be “uncommon . . . elite.”



Go Gophers!!
 

Thanks DL. I heard PJF on a different interview talking about the number of surgeries and how they needed to fix that. In that interview he said the S&C coach he hired is the best and fixing that is his job. What that is saying I will let others determine.


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Thanks DL. I heard PJF on a different interview talking about the number of surgeries and how they needed to fix that. In that interview he said the S&C coach he hired is the best and fixing that is his job. What that is saying I will let others determine.


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I thought our last strength and conditioning coach was the best in the nation?



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I thought our last strength and conditioning coach was the best in the nation?



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The new one is best in the WORLD.


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You are big on coach speak

Thanks DL. I heard PJF on a different interview talking about the number of surgeries and how they needed to fix that. In that interview he said the S&C coach he hired is the best and fixing that is his job. What that is saying I will let others determine.


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Jerry Kill was over the top on how his S&C coach was going to make a significant difference and prevent injuries. Then we had so many injuries he lamented we couldn't win with backups. I'm 100% sure you can prevent some injuries through training but it's football. The Vikings fired their guy because they were losing guys to weight training injuries. Oregon suspended theirs for putting guys in the hospital. Not aware the Gophers have had that issue. Football practice and game Injuries are gonna happen and some years more than others. The new guy might be better, he might not, we won't know for three or four years minimum to wait and see..to let things balance out.

Bridgewater was dropping back to pass in a passing drill without any threat of contact and shreds his knee all by himself. Would that have been preventable with an ACL strengthening program? Does Coney Duerr have less damage with a concentrated ACL program? Or are these injuries just part of the game? Did the Gophers already have that in place? Is that one of the missing pieces Coach Fleck is referring to? Or other frequently injured body parts programs...shoulders maybe?

There might well be improvements to be made and improved 2017 philosophies. The new guy might be the best S&C in the country. But until 3 or 4 years go by it's coach speak for now.
 


Thanks DL...it is going to be an interesting ride and I'm up to it!
 

Jerry Kill was over the top on how his S&C coach was going to make a significant difference and prevent injuries. Then we had so many injuries he lamented we couldn't win with backups. I'm 100% sure you can prevent some injuries through training but it's football. The Vikings fired their guy because they were losing guys to weight training injuries. Oregon suspended theirs for putting guys in the hospital. Not aware the Gophers have had that issue. Football practice and game Injuries are gonna happen and some years more than others. The new guy might be better, he might not, we won't know for three or four years minimum to wait and see..to let things balance out.

Bridgewater was dropping back to pass in a passing drill without any threat of contact and shreds his knee all by himself. Would that have been preventable with an ACL strengthening program? Does Coney Duerr have less damage with a concentrated ACL program? Or are these injuries just part of the game? Did the Gophers already have that in place? Is that one of the missing pieces Coach Fleck is referring to? Or other frequently injured body parts programs...shoulders maybe?

There might well be improvements to be made and improved 2017 philosophies. The new guy might be the best S&C in the country. But until 3 or 4 years go by it's coach speak for now.

The number of non-gameday injuries has been a disturbing hallmark of the Kill era. It won't take 3-4 years to see if this was something related to the Kill regime or the nature of FB.
 

Jerry Kill was over the top on how his S&C coach was going to make a significant difference and prevent injuries. Then we had so many injuries he lamented we couldn't win with backups. I'm 100% sure you can prevent some injuries through training but it's football. The Vikings fired their guy because they were losing guys to weight training injuries. Oregon suspended theirs for putting guys in the hospital. Not aware the Gophers have had that issue. Football practice and game Injuries are gonna happen and some years more than others. The new guy might be better, he might not, we won't know for three or four years minimum to wait and see..to let things balance out.

Bridgewater was dropping back to pass in a passing drill without any threat of contact and shreds his knee all by himself. Would that have been preventable with an ACL strengthening program? Does Coney Duerr have less damage with a concentrated ACL program? Or are these injuries just part of the game? Did the Gophers already have that in place? Is that one of the missing pieces Coach Fleck is referring to? Or other frequently injured body parts programs...shoulders maybe?

There might well be improvements to be made and improved 2017 philosophies. The new guy might be the best S&C in the country. But until 3 or 4 years go by it's coach speak for now.

Bingo. That was the thing that jumped out to me from Fleck's comments - that preventing injuries was somehow part of the "culture" he needs to change. That, to me, raises a lot more questions. Is Fleck talking about preventing injuries through strength & conditioning - changing workout patterns - changing practice patterns - game technique?

It's not like you can just tell kids, "don't get hurt," and they won't get hurt. I understand there are minor injuries you can play through, and more serious injuries that require surgery. Is Fleck suggesting that some of the players didn't need surgery, or could have rehabbed instead of having surgery?

And what the bleep does that have to do with "culture?" It's like the definition of "culture" changes every time he uses it. Soon, having good weather on game day will be part of the "culture." (WARNING - that was sarcastic - I'm not suggesting Fleck should be able to control the weather.)
 

And what the bleep does that have to do with "culture?" It's like the definition of "culture" changes every time he uses it. Soon, having good weather on game day will be part of the "culture." (WARNING - that was sarcastic - I'm not suggesting Fleck should be able to control the weather.)

"Part of a culture is not just the win and loss part, but it's the development of everyone within that organization"
 



Thanks DL. You you have any editorial opinions on Fleck? I would be extremely excited if he didn't sound a bit like the Brewster "culture." At least he has successful experience behind him.
 

Thanks DL. You you have any editorial opinions on Fleck? I would be extremely excited if he didn't sound a bit like the Brewster "culture." At least he has successful experience behind him.

I've been an avid Golden Gophers football fan for 62 years. So I’ve experienced a few highs and some deep lows. I hope to see and experience another championship, soon. As to coach P.J. Fleck, I’m hopeful but with guarded optimism and with a wait and see attitude. I’m glad to see the U is finally investing in the program, which has been trailing the other conference schools in facilities for decades.

I don’t usually respond to the many threads on Gopherhole; however, I will occasionally start a thread which is usually a question. I try my best to keep it simple and straight forward when writing the Sports Huddle recaps.

I’m looking forward to the Gophers 2017 football season. Win or lose the Gophers will always be my team, which isn’t always easy having lived in south central Iowa for nearly forty-four years. The good-nature jabs by my Hawkeye friends are okay, and when Minnesota defeats Iowa it is truly fun; but the Hawkeye fans that I don’t know or don’t know me can on rare occasions be insufferable.


Go Gophers!!
 

I've been an avid Golden Gophers football fan for 62 years. So I’ve experienced a few highs and some deep lows. I hope to see and experience another championship, soon. As to coach P.J. Fleck, I’m hopeful but with guarded optimism and with a wait and see attitude. I’m glad to see the U is finally investing in the program, which has been trailing the other conference schools in facilities for decades.

I don’t usually respond to the many threads on Gopherhole; however, I will occasionally start a thread which is usually a question. I try my best to keep it simple and straight forward when writing the Sports Huddle recaps.

I’m looking forward to the Gophers 2017 football season. Win or lose the Gophers will always be my team, which isn’t always easy having lived in south central Iowa for nearly forty-four years. The good-nature jabs by my Hawkeye friends are okay, and when Minnesota defeats Iowa it is truly fun; but the Hawkeye fans that I don’t know or don’t know me can on rare occasions be insufferable.


You deserve combat pay and I vote for a raise in your salary
 

I've been an avid Golden Gophers football fan for 62 years. So I’ve experienced a few highs and some deep lows. I hope to see and experience another championship, soon. As to coach P.J. Fleck, I’m hopeful but with guarded optimism and with a wait and see attitude. I’m glad to see the U is finally investing in the program, which has been trailing the other conference schools in facilities for decades.

I don’t usually respond to the many threads on Gopherhole; however, I will occasionally start a thread which is usually a question. I try my best to keep it simple and straight forward when writing the Sports Huddle recaps.

I’m looking forward to the Gophers 2017 football season. Win or lose the Gophers will always be my team, which isn’t always easy having lived in south central Iowa for nearly forty-four years. The good-nature jabs by my Hawkeye friends are okay, and when Minnesota defeats Iowa it is truly fun; but the Hawkeye fans that I don’t know or don’t know me can on rare occasions be insufferable.


Go Gophers!!

Excellent and I agree 100%.
 



Bingo. That was the thing that jumped out to me from Fleck's comments - that preventing injuries was somehow part of the "culture" he needs to change. That, to me, raises a lot more questions. Is Fleck talking about preventing injuries through strength & conditioning - changing workout patterns - changing practice patterns - game technique?

It's not like you can just tell kids, "don't get hurt," and they won't get hurt. I understand there are minor injuries you can play through, and more serious injuries that require surgery. Is Fleck suggesting that some of the players didn't need surgery, or could have rehabbed instead of having surgery?

And what the bleep does that have to do with "culture?" It's like the definition of "culture" changes every time he uses it. Soon, having good weather on game day will be part of the "culture." (WARNING - that was sarcastic - I'm not suggesting Fleck should be able to control the weather.)

I always find the S&C stuff interesting.

I knew someone on the team during the transition from Mason to Brewster. He said the S&C training went from tough to brutal. He said the entire team was almost embarrassed by how much they struggled with the new coach (forget the coach's name).

Then when Kill took over w/ Klein, there were a lot of similar comments the players were making. Really made me wonder if that meant Mason's guy was super soft, or if it's just different emphasis for each one and because of that it seems more difficult?

It'll be interesting to see if it's more, harder training or different emphasis (such as increased flexibility and speed instead of strength) or what.

I just know I'd be out of breath after the "long" walk from the locker room to the practice field, let alone any work outs... :)
 

Thanks DL. I heard PJF on a different interview talking about the number of surgeries and how they needed to fix that. In that interview he said the S&C coach he hired is the best and fixing that is his job. What that is saying I will let others determine.


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No more surgeries!

RUB SOME DIRT IN IT AND RUN A LAP!
 

I always find the S&C stuff interesting.

I knew someone on the team during the transition from Mason to Brewster. He said the S&C training went from tough to brutal. He said the entire team was almost embarrassed by how much they struggled with the new coach (forget the coach's name).

Then when Kill took over w/ Klein, there were a lot of similar comments the players were making. Really made me wonder if that meant Mason's guy was super soft, or if it's just different emphasis for each one and because of that it seems more difficult?

It'll be interesting to see if it's more, harder training or different emphasis (such as increased flexibility and speed instead of strength) or what.

I just know I'd be out of breath after the "long" walk from the locker room to the practice field, let alone any work outs... :)

I remember this well and always wondered what was going on. Perhaps Mason's guy was better as he seemed to have fewer injuries. I do believe that everyone's body has a limit as to what it can do. If you force the body, it will have issues.
 

The other thing is where you put the emphasis during S&C can change how "hard" it is for players. Some people do really well with Strength training and not well at conditioning, while others are the opposite. It could be that its hard going from one focused more on conditioning to one focused strength, or vice versa and that's whats been happening the past few coaching changes. Just my 2 cents.
 

I remember this well and always wondered what was going on. Perhaps Mason's guy was better as he seemed to have fewer injuries. I do believe that everyone's body has a limit as to what it can do. If you force the body, it will have issues.

Perhaps. Mason has also stated he recruited the guys who played multiple sports. I'm too lazy to look it up and support this, but I have read that multi-sport athletes have less injuries than one sport athletes.
 

What was most disappointing with TC and Klein, was that both offensive and defensive lines simply were not physical. They simply didn't win the individual battles up front. So I am very excited with a new S and C coach and hoping for great results. There's a reason why Iowa's offensive line was rated the top offensive line this past year, an extension of Chris Dole, their S and C coach. Also explains why they have several offensive linemen in the NFL. Not because they recruited a bunch of 5 stars.
 

Paging Husker 70

The other thing is where you put the emphasis during S&C can change how "hard" it is for players. Some people do really well with Strength training and not well at conditioning, while others are the opposite. It could be that its hard going from one focused more on conditioning to one focused strength, or vice versa and that's whats been happening the past few coaching changes. Just my 2 cents.

This is right down Huskers alley! IMHO It appeared that Mason looked for athletic, agile/ flexible linemen. He wanted them to be able to move well so that they could be quick enough to get to the next level and actually block linebackers and db's. The problem with this is some lacked power. This was evident when the team would need one to three yards to ice a game and they sometimes struggled to get a solid push. The flipside is it was fun to see the running back behind a convoy usually led by the likes of Eslinger, Setterstrom, Hamilton, Brinkhaus(sp?), etc., etc.

Brewster was looking for those earthmovers, but I think he was kind a caught between a few schemes. The big JUCO player he brought in from Lackawanna CC(?) comes to mind(his dad used to post here). The staff just didn't have enough time with him, and he wasn't in BigTen shape. Can't teach 6'8" and north of 325 though(See Pirsig).

Kill's staff seemed to be going back a little toward Mason's point of view. Bigger and stronger, but somewhat lean. Strong, but not necessarily powerful.

Just my totally uninformed two cents.
 

I'm not saying that strength and conditioning is not important - it is very important.
And, I understand there are different approaches and philosophies - free weights vs. machines, quick-twitch work vs. endurance, etc.

But, I think people put too much emphasis - or maybe just too much hope - that a new S & C coach is going to come in with some magic system that will fix all the (perceived) problems in the program. Can't gain 2 yards on 3rd-and-1 - new S & C coach will fix it. Getting outscored in 4th qtr - new S & C coach will fix it, etc. etc. etc.

And now, 20 surgeries in the off-season - new S & C coach will fix it. Maybe - I say maybe - a different approach might have some impact - but it's football - a game of violent collisions and sudden impacts. People are going to get hurt.
 

I'm not saying that strength and conditioning is not important - it is very important.
And, I understand there are different approaches and philosophies - free weights vs. machines, quick-twitch work vs. endurance, etc.

But, I think people put too much emphasis - or maybe just too much hope - that a new S & C coach is going to come in with some magic system that will fix all the (perceived) problems in the program. Can't gain 2 yards on 3rd-and-1 - new S & C coach will fix it. Getting outscored in 4th qtr - new S & C coach will fix it, etc. etc. etc.

And now, 20 surgeries in the off-season - new S & C coach will fix it. Maybe - I say maybe - a different approach might have some impact - but it's football - a game of violent collisions and sudden impacts. People are going to get hurt.

Great points! I will add one thing that hasn't been discussed. It is the importance of the S&C coach's ability to assist with off-season workouts/drills, running of plays, etc..
 

What was most disappointing with TC and Klein, was that both offensive and defensive lines simply were not physical. They simply didn't win the individual battles up front. So I am very excited with a new S and C coach and hoping for great results. There's a reason why Iowa's offensive line was rated the top offensive line this past year, an extension of Chris Dole, their S and C coach. Also explains why they have several offensive linemen in the NFL. Not because they recruited a bunch of 5 stars.

I agree with you on the OL.

I strongly disagree with you on the DL. Two of our better players in the entire Kill tenure were Hageman and Richardson.
 




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