Tracy Claeys on Sports Huddle 10-30-16

1st - disclaimer and apology. DL65 couldn't do the transcription of the Claeys segment today, and tried to contact me, but I didn't check the Hole until after Noon, so I missed his message. I will do a real short synopsis based on what I remember of the Claeys segment - but I admit I wasn't listening all that closely, so other listeners please help me fill in the gaps. Don't know when 'CCO will post a podcast of the show.

Sid asked about margin of victory.
Claeys: Team played well. scored points off turnovers. running game continues to lead the way on offense.

Sid: Leidner needs to run more. Sid made this point twice. (Sid called him "Laudner") "I watch 9 TV sets at home, and all the good teams have running quarterbacks."
TC: Other teams are paying a lot of attention to Smith and Brooks, and that will create some opportunities for Leidner. We're trying to find ways to use Smith and Brooks in the backfield at the same time.

Other than that, just a few general impressions from what I heard of show.

I think Sid asked about Santoso's punting. Claeys said the wind was a real problem for the kicking game and the passing game. Said he thought Santoso should have kicked the ball deep instead of trying to pooch the kick that only went about 15 yards.

Claeys talked about dropped passes. said the team could have sustained more drives if passes had been caught.

I think Dave Mona asked about Merrick Jackson. Claeys said the guys who practice the best play in games. Claeys said he doesn't believe in "gamers" - guys who play good in games but don't practice well. Said Jackson can earn more playing time by doing a better job in practice.

Sid talked about how team could have beaten Penn State, and said Penn State is playing really well now. Claeys (as I remember) gave a short answer- basically that MN played Penn State even, and was one or two plays away from winning the game.

More talk about O-line. Claeys said Garrison Wright is getting closer to 100% and was able to play more snaps. said Donnell Greene is gaining experience. Pirsig close to coming back, and that will improve depth on O-line. Weyler continues to improve.

Talked about defensive backs. Claeys praised Travis and Myrick for playing well.

Sorry, but that's about I can recall off the top of my head. I don't think it was a very long segment.

Again, anyone who listened to the show today, and was paying more attention, feel free to add something. To be honest, I was doing sit-ups, and I have a tendency to lose count when I'm listening to the radio, so I was more focused on counting my sit-ups than I was to the radio.

I'll tell you what Glen Mason said about Billy Cockerham QB. " He was never the consummate " practice player" At times Mitch Browning would get on him to ramp it up in practice and Billy would respond, but most of the time he was just "Billy". But once game time came around you could see the fire in his eyes. and nobody played harder" Maybe that is Claeys problem with the likes of Holland , Gentry, and others. Claeys never played a lick of football past HS, and if I remember. he was a reserve who hardly played. Jackson played very well yesterday and just maybe he is a " gamer" . To keep a kid out because he doesn't run through a wall in practice shows the TC is not in touch with some of the players.

A bit of chicken vs egg. If player does not practice well, how can coaches play said player in a game?

There is no such thing as a "gamer". The idea that TC should play kids who aren't working hard / playing better in practice to just "see what happens" is ridiculous. Crazy Talk.


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ruppertflywheel said:

I'll tell you what Glen Mason said about Billy Cockerham QB. " He was never the consummate " practice player" At times Mitch Browning would get on him to ramp it up in practice and Billy would respond, but most of the time he was just "Billy". But once game time came around you could see the fire in his eyes. and nobody played harder" Maybe that is Claeys problem with the likes of Holland , Gentry, and others. Claeys never played a lick of football past HS, and if I remember. he was a reserve who hardly played. Jackson played very well yesterday and just maybe he is a " gamer" . To keep a kid out because he doesn't run through a wall in practice shows the TC is not in touch with some of the players.

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Silliness. Is it possible a kid is a "gamer" and doesn't like to practice? Sure, but 99.99% that don't work hard in practice don't do well in the game. And Claeys not playing past high school is a factor? Good Lord, take a break from the keyboard.

I half-assed football practice in college, but out of necessity.

I was simply too tired and too beat up to go full speed.

I gather that's not a problem for back up, though.

Studwell55 said:

I half-assed football practice in college, but out of necessity.

I was simply too tired and too beat up to go full speed.

I gather that's not a problem for back up, though.

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Stop making sense.

ruppertflywheel said:

I'll tell you what Glen Mason said about Billy Cockerham QB. " He was never the consummate " practice player" At times Mitch Browning would get on him to ramp it up in practice and Billy would respond, but most of the time he was just "Billy". But once game time came around you could see the fire in his eyes. and nobody played harder" Maybe that is Claeys problem with the likes of Holland , Gentry, and others. Claeys never played a lick of football past HS, and if I remember. he was a reserve who hardly played. Jackson played very well yesterday and just maybe he is a " gamer" . To keep a kid out because he doesn't run through a wall in practice shows the TC is not in touch with some of the players.

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Mason got on and talked about a lot of things. Followed by the discussion with Claeys. And Mr.Flywheel/Firefly? You got the one semi-negative shot against Claeys.

Beautiful. At least you're consistent.

Spoofin said:

There is no such thing as a "gamer". The idea that TC should play kids who aren't working hard / playing better in practice to just "see what happens" is ridiculous. Crazy Talk.


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There has never in the history of football been an occurrence of a backup coming in because of injury and never relinquishing the starting spot?

I think you want to amend your stance on this; certainly it isn't "common" but things change when there are live bullets flying around.

Pompous Elitist said:

There has never in the history of football been an occurrence of a backup coming in because of injury and never relinquishing the starting spot?

I think you want to amend your stance on this; certainly it isn't "common" but things change when there are live bullets flying around.

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Heard many stories about stars and superstars who brought it every practice. Heard plenty of stories to of the big time players who took it pretty easy during practice.

Doubt there are many of the later at the College level. Can't say we've had many superstars period at Minnesota.

If you want to sleep walk through practice you had batter sleep walk better than the guy behind can practice. Be a gamer all you want on Saturday as long as you still won the job through the week. I will always savor the Rose Bowl victories Billy Cockerham bought us.

Coach Claey's said that Demaris Travis has put in a lot of extra film time working with Antoine Winfield Junior and D Mcgehee. He also said during the sports huddle that Kiante Hardin allows the overall defense to do things on the field that the other guys playing besides J Myrick cannot. He did praise Antonio Shenault, said he has improved a lot at CB and has improved the overall defense. Sid asked about the true freshman playing like Tyler Johnson, Coughlin, and Winfield. Coach Claey's mentioned Winfield has good genes obviously, but that he works really hard, is also really smart and picks the brain of Demarius Travis studying film and learning the tendencies of the opponent. Sounds like Travis has the knowledge and Winfield is really good at picking his brain.

You can really tell overall how much Demarius Travis has improved the overall play of the defense because coach said he gets people in the rights spots and he is a good communicator ( field general) out there. Travis is playing some really good football according to coach.

Offense was efficient and could have had a few more catches due to the drops, converted the Illinois turnovers into touchdowns. Tough weird cross wind for the kickers and QB yesterday according to the coach. 25 to 30 mile an hour wind gusts. He said we should have Jonah Pirsig this week so this should really help out the overall offensive line. Mentioned that Jerrod Wyler is getting healthier and improving too. Said Donnel Greene has gained a lot of valuable playing time and experience playing in these Big 10 games. That and Garrison Wright got through playing the whole game coming off that turf toe issue. Said a lot of good things about the senior class, even though they are small in numbers, they are pushing these younger talented guys in the film room and that a lot of young guys are playing some good football. Coach mentioned Colton Beebe, said he makes his living blocking people, and that he has been playing some real physical football. Said Beebe comes from a football family and that he really knows football. Say's Beebe has the ability to catch some balls out of the backfield although we have not seen a lot of that yet. Coach said still work to do, but optimistic about these last four games. Team has a lot in front of them and are playing from something in November with better health then in years past. That's the thing this team hasn't even peaked yet or come close to playing their best football and they still have a chance to do a lot of good things. Some of that may be coach speak but I believe the coach is genuine in that assessment. If we can get some improved play from the offensive line, Quarterback, and wide receivers things could really look up. That's just it this team hasn't come close to firing on all three phases of the game yet they are 6-2 and starting to play better. All you can do is try and get better, I'm more optimistic about the end of this season because we have yet to see all three phases of the game really gel yet. Getting Pirsig back out their at right tackle should help the offensive line play more physical. Coach Claeys indicated have to find a way to get 20 touches at least per game for both Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks. Pretty obvious they are our best two weapons on offense, and they are the Gophers best play-makers.

Pompous Elitist said:

There has never in the history of football been an occurrence of a backup coming in because of injury and never relinquishing the starting spot?

I think you want to amend your stance on this; certainly it isn't "common" but things change when there are live bullets flying around.

Click to expand...

Well, I can think of a David Cobb coming in for an injured Donnell Kirkwood and never looking back.

As far as gamers who don't practice well, there may be a few who have fire in their bellies when the game starts. They are the exception. But, for the most part consistent practice play dictates who cracks the starting lineup.

If a WR keeps dropping passes in practice, do you want him in a crucial game changing play? These kids just need to keep a positive attitude and work even harder to earn playing time.

Great comment Gopherdude

hungan1 said:

Well, I can think of a David Cobb coming in for an injured Donnell Kirkwood and never looking back.

As far as gamers who don't practice well, there may be a few who have fire in their bellies when the game starts. They are the exception. But, for the most part consistent practice play dictates who cracks the starting lineup.

If a WR keeps dropping passes in practice, do you want him in a crucial game changing play? These kids just need to keep a positive attitude and work even harder to earn playing time.

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I'm thinking more about players who do well in practice but fold under pressure, can't read defenses quickly, panic under blitzes, etc etc etc. I can think of several examples off the top of my head. Starters can and do get beat out by backups, given the chance. It may not be common but it happens.

Pompous Elitist said:

<b>There has never in the history of football been an occurrence of a backup coming in because of injury and never relinquishing the starting spot?</b>

I think you want to amend your stance on this; certainly it isn't "common" but things change when there are live bullets flying around.

Click to expand...

To me, this backup wouldn't be a "gamer" unless he was lazy/unproductive in practice and then was some sort of stand out in a game. Isn't that the premise of a "gamer" in this context? If MJ wants to play then he should show it in practice and if he doesn't show it in practice he shouldn't play. Same goes for your MHjr5 too.


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Thanks to DL for communicating, Son for starting and Gopher Dude for finishing. Very much appreciated...other poster's comments, well, lets just say it gets goofy.

When I play golf alone. or with my wife I don't play as well. If I play against my buddies and we've a " game" going I play better than my HDCP. You can have the best practice player on the team, but if he doesn't do in the game it is bogus. I disagree with Clayes. Period, end of story.

#2Gopher said:

Thanks to DL for communicating, Son for starting and Gopher Dude for finishing. Very much appreciated...other poster's comments, well, lets just say it gets goofy.

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plus 1 -- well said

ruppertflywheel said:

When I play golf alone. or with my wife I don't play as well. If I play against my buddies and we've a " game" going I play better than my HDCP. You can have the best practice player on the team, but if he doesn't do in the game it is bogus. I disagree with Clayes. Period, end of story.

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Your entitled to your opinion. My opinion is that, one of the reasons Mason's teams had inexplicable meltdown,s was because he had too many "gamers" on his teams.

ruppertflywheel said:

I'll tell you what Glen Mason said about Billy Cockerham QB. " He was never the consummate " practice player" At times Mitch Browning would get on him to ramp it up in practice and Billy would respond, but most of the time he was just "Billy". But once game time came around you could see the fire in his eyes. and nobody played harder" Maybe that is Claeys problem with the likes of Holland , Gentry, and others. Claeys never played a lick of football past HS, and if I remember. he was a reserve who hardly played. Jackson played very well yesterday and just maybe he is a " gamer" . To keep a kid out because he doesn't run through a wall in practice shows the TC is not in touch with some of the players.

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Billy cockerham bounced so many passes to receivers. Great runner though.

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ruppertflywheel said:

When I play golf alone. or with my wife I don't play as well. If I play against my buddies and we've a " game" going I play better than my HDCP. You can have the best practice player on the team, but if he doesn't do in the game it is bogus. I disagree with Clayes. Period, end of story.

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Are you using this scenario to prove that a Big 10 head football coach is wrong and you are right regarding which football players should be in the game on Saturdays?

ruppertflywheel said:

When I play golf alone. or with my wife I don't play as well. If I play against my buddies and we've a " game" going I play better than my HDCP. You can have the best practice player on the team, but if he doesn't do in the game it is bogus. I disagree with Clayes. Period, end of story.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're a sandbagger- not a gamer. If I was your buddy I'd call you so.


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This is not the culture that Kill has created, and obviously Claeys continued. You WORK in practice. If he starts playing guys that take practices off, or half-ass it, he's sending a message to the players that contradicts what they've been taught since they have been here.

If a player is good enough to start, knows this, but for some reason still doesn't practice like he needs to, he doesn't need to be playing. Maybe when they are juniors and seniors they'll figure it out and decide they don't want to ride the bench their entire college career.

What if "practice well" has nothing to do with effort or lack their of and more to do with understanding his role and executing it?

Coaching- You Don't Coach Everybody the Same

ruppertflywheel said:

I'll tell you what Glen Mason said about Billy Cockerham QB. " He was never the consummate " practice player" At times Mitch Browning would get on him to ramp it up in practice and Billy would respond, but most of the time he was just "Billy". But once game time came around you could see the fire in his eyes. and nobody played harder" Maybe that is Claeys problem with the likes of Holland , Gentry, and others. Claeys never played a lick of football past HS, and if I remember. he was a reserve who hardly played. Jackson played very well yesterday and just maybe he is a " gamer" . To keep a kid out because he doesn't run through a wall in practice shows the TC is not in touch with some of the players.

Click to expand...

Any coach who coaches everybody the same is not getting the most out of his team. If you have coached at any level, high school or college minimum, it is obvious there are players who practice well and play like dogs in games.

There are players who practice selectively and play like champions on game days. There are over 100 different personalities on the Gopher football team. Some players respond to criticism, some to praise. Do it backwards and their performance is subpar. Yes, you try to mold them into a team and train them to play with discipline together. You do that best by talking to them individually and discovering what makes them tick. Cockerham is one example, Cobb is another, show of hands from anybody on how hard they think Randy Moss practiced?

All these guys are talented or they wouldn't have had scholarship offers. Unlocking their potential is coaching. Seeing how great this guy can be beyond what they see about themselves and sharing that with them individually makes people soar. You can't lie...it is a vision gift you either have or don't. You either see it or you don't. But if all you are going on for input is how well they practice...you are missing out on lots and lots of opportunity.

Spoofin said:

To me, this backup wouldn't be a "gamer" unless he was lazy/unproductive in practice and then was some sort of stand out in a game. Isn't that the premise of a "gamer" in this context? If MJ wants to play then he should show it in practice and if he doesn't show it in practice he shouldn't play. Same goes for your MHjr5 too.

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Again, I think it is absurd to compare games to practice. Starters can and do lose jobs to backups. Like I said, some guys don't handle game speed and pressure as well as others. Neither do coaches.

Is there any other explanation for why Woli and Ayinde played PR and safety so far into this season?

Oregon Gopher said:

Sounds like you're a sandbagger- not a gamer. If I was your buddy I'd call you so.


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Ha...ha.not a sandbagger. Just better concentration, especially on the greens.

Pompous Elitist said:

Again, I think it is absurd to compare games to practice. Starters can and do lose jobs to backups. Like I said, some guys don't handle game speed and pressure as well as others. Neither do coaches.

Is there any other explanation for why Woli and Ayinde played PR and safety so far into this season?

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Court ruling.

ruppertflywheel said:

When I play golf alone. or with my wife I don't play as well. If I play against my buddies and we've a " game" going I play better than my HDCP. You can have the best practice player on the team, but if he doesn't do in the game it is bogus. I disagree with Clayes. Period, end of story.

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Humbly submitted, that is either a non-sequitur or a classic straw man argument. Neither Coach Claeys or anybody on the board has said that guys who play badly in the games get to keep playing because they look good during the week. That is WAY different than a guy looking lousy in practice not making the field on gameday.

Gonna chalk it up to your desire to get a golf analogy into the discussion.