STrib: Gophers, with Fleck fully in charge, get off to elite start for spring ball

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Dinkytown’s coffee shops were not yet open for business at 5:50 a.m., when Gophers football players assembled this winter for twice-a-week meetings under new coach P.J. Fleck.

Nobody needed caffeine anyway. Not with the espresso jolt that comes whenever the 36-year-old Fleck holds court.

The Gophers open spring practice Tuesday, and an inside glimpse at their preparation last month gave no hints that the turbocharged coach even sleeps.

Hired from Western Michigan two months ago to replace Tracy Claeys, Fleck won’t coach an actual game until the Aug. 31 opener against Buffalo. But Fleck views each meeting as a critical step toward connecting the players and instilling his will.

As players arrived, the 143-seat, theater-style meeting room pulsed with a hip-hop beat from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Wearing matching gray T-shirts and maroon shorts, players filled the first few rows, with the coaching staff assembled in back.

At 5:47, three minutes ahead of schedule, Fleck burst through a door, and everyone leapt to their feet, clapping and cheering — giving their “Gopher Welcome,” as they call it, for anyone who addresses the team.

“Good morning!” Fleck said. “Great to see all of you!” Players shouted back in kind.

The tone had been set, and it was loud.

“Your volume is your confidence,” Fleck later explained.

Players sat back down, with senior quarterback Conor Rhoda perched in the front row. A backup last season, Rhoda was ready to leave football and begin job hunting before Fleck convinced him to return.

Rhoda has been through three previous Gophers offseasons — two under Jerry Kill and one under Claeys.

“It’s just a 180,” Rhoda said. “Not that it went from being bad to good, but it’s just a lot different.”

The 6 a.m. offseason conditioning workouts aren’t new. The Gophers held those under Kill and Claeys. But those coaches reserved team meetings mostly for spring practice and the season. Fleck holds them year-round, unless the players are on break.

When the team meetings end, players come running — not walking — down the steps toward the indoor facility for the workout. Fleck greets them again on the field, wearing a wireless microphone to keep his buzzwords flowing over the loudspeakers.

“Change your best!”

“Trained behavior becomes instinct!”

“Leadership leads!”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...off-to-elite-start-for-spring-ball/415530494/

Go Gophers!!
 

I just got fired up for work. Somethings happening.
 

Every article I read or video I watch with coach Fleck makes we want to run through a wall afterwards. It may be the homer in me, but this is gonna be fun to watch play out.
 




There will be some returning players who will find PJ's style and method of operation not to their liking and they most likely will leave. That mirrors some of the visitors of GH who have found PJ"actions and words not to be inspiring but suggestive of a snake oil salesman. I think that's fair and understandable.

PJ must have recruits who buy into his program and how it operates. He understands that fully and has stated (daily?) that recruiting is everything. I don't have any idea how this football team will do in the fall. If 70% of the returning players buy in, maybe pretty well. If not, lots of heartache for Gopher fans in the fall.
 

There will be some returning players who will find PJ's style and method of operation not to their liking and they most likely will leave. That mirrors some of the visitors of GH who have found PJ"actions and words not to be inspiring but suggestive of a snake oil salesman. I think that's fair and understandable.

PJ must have recruits who buy into his program and how it operates. He understands that fully and has stated (daily?) that recruiting is everything. I don't have any idea how this football team will do in the fall. If 70% of the returning players buy in, maybe pretty well. If not, lots of heartache for Gopher fans in the fall.

I find myself really torn on Fleck's methods. I hear the people that kind of roll their eyes at all the rah rah stuff, but I also think if I was an 18-year old football player it might work well as a motivational tool. The bottom line though is if it makes the players respond, it doesn't really matter if it works on me or not. I'd be curious to hear from some of our younger posters what they think of Fleck.
 

There will be some returning players who will find PJ's style and method of operation not to their liking and they most likely will leave. That mirrors some of the visitors of GH who have found PJ"actions and words not to be inspiring but suggestive of a snake oil salesman. I think that's fair and understandable.

PJ must have recruits who buy into his program and how it operates. He understands that fully and has stated (daily?) that recruiting is everything. I don't have any idea how this football team will do in the fall. If 70% of the returning players buy in, maybe pretty well. If not, lots of heartache for Gopher fans in the fall.

There could be a handful who do leave, but sitting out a year is a much bigger change than what Fleck is presenting, so I really think it is doubtful.
 

I find myself really torn on Fleck's methods. I hear the people that kind of roll their eyes at all the rah rah stuff, but I also think if I was an 18-year old football player it might work well as a motivational tool. The bottom line though is if it makes the players respond, it doesn't really matter if it works on me or not. I'd be curious to hear from some of our younger posters what they think of Fleck.

Like all the other coaching styles, some players will like it, and some won't, and it won't matter to a majority of them. Plenty of HC's who are the opposite like Chryst, Riley, Smith, Ferentz, Dantonio...who seem to do fine.
 



There will be some returning players who will find PJ's style and method of operation not to their liking and they most likely will leave. That mirrors some of the visitors of GH who have found PJ"actions and words not to be inspiring but suggestive of a snake oil salesman. I think that's fair and understandable.

PJ must have recruits who buy into his program and how it operates. He understands that fully and has stated (daily?) that recruiting is everything. I don't have any idea how this football team will do in the fall. If 70% of the returning players buy in, maybe pretty well. If not, lots of heartache for Gopher fans in the fall.

I don't think Fleck's style will make people leave. It's not for me, but if I were a player I'd clap and cheer when I was supposed to, even if I didn't want to, then go on with my day. The thing that will make players leave is a sign that their playing time or significance will be reduced under Fleck compared to what they expected under Claeys.
 

I find myself really torn on Fleck's methods. I hear the people that kind of roll their eyes at all the rah rah stuff, but I also think if I was an 18-year old football player it might work well as a motivational tool. The bottom line though is if it makes the players respond, it doesn't really matter if it works on me or not. I'd be curious to hear from some of our younger posters what they think of Fleck.

His methods aren't geared toward middle-aged worn out men who work behind a desk all day. His message is for young college athletes like you stated. These kids have energy, they like being loud. Fleck's method tries to turn that energy into production, into useful action.

I'm 34, and it looks like fun to me. I would just need a cup of coffee first.
 

My view on Fleck is evolving. I was 100% 'all in' when he was hired, but now realism is starting to set in for me. I think his routine will be highly effective in recruiting, but football has been around a long time and if he isn't The Most Special Football Coach In The World, he will likely get about the same out of his talent as most talented football coaches.

I still think his style will eventually lead us to a new level of sustainable success, but that prophecy will bear its fruit after a couple recruiting classes and be more because of better talent than because of some motivational magic. No matter who was coaching, I viewed 2017 as somewhat of a rebuilding year (not a disaster, but more like 6-7 pre-bowl wins) and I don't think Fleck will change that. If Fleck somehow manages to win 8-9 games this year, I will be back in 'all in' mode as the 2017/2018 rosters SHOULD represent a basement of sorts in regards to talent.

Basically I'm still not sold on his pure coaching chops, and I think his 13-1 season more represents his ability to elevate WMU's recruiting to that of a mid-tier Big 10 team...which should dominate the MAC.
 

Basically I'm still not sold on his pure coaching chops, and I think his 13-1 season more represents his ability to elevate WMU's recruiting to that of a mid-tier Big 10 team...which should dominate the MAC.

WMU's record is not what impressed me the most, since you can argue about strength of schedule and MAC-level competition all day long. The turnover margins and offensive efficiency stats in the Fleck era at WMU are eye-opening, however. Those go hand-in-hand with coaching chops, IMO.
 



Basically I'm still not sold on his pure coaching chops, and I think his 13-1 season more represents his ability to elevate WMU's recruiting to that of a mid-tier Big 10 team...which should dominate the MAC.[/QUOTE]

And to extend this thought, I expect that his ability to elevate MN recruiting to that of a top tier elite B1G team will show up in a few years and result in that magical 13-0 or better season.

Recruiting is his strength and if he can sustain his recruiting improvement pace, the results will be MN becoming a top tier team in the B1G.

Can't wait to see it unfold over the next 3-4 years.
 

WMU's record is not what impressed me the most, since you can argue about strength of schedule and MAC-level competition all day long. The turnover margins and offensive efficiency stats in the Fleck era at WMU are eye-opening, however. Those go hand-in-hand with coaching chops, IMO.

Since 1942 WMU had not lost fewer than 2 games a season, obviously the high majority of those seasons much fewer games than currently played. Most of those games were also against MAC-level opponents. The vast majority of the 2 loss seasons were in 8 game seasons.

That to me showed how much he elevated the program. You are right that the record in and of itself isn't what's so impressive. It's how different that was than the typical year.

We'll see if he just grabbed lightning in a bottle and got lucky to get a couple studs come out of the woodwork. But I've been quite impressed with what I've seen, and I'm cautiously optimistic.

Your point about turnover margin and offensive efficiency is a really good point. If the Gophers have those types of numbers they will be a very successful team regardless of anything else.
 

My view on Fleck is evolving. I was 100% 'all in' when he was hired, but now realism is starting to set in for me. I think his routine will be highly effective in recruiting, but football has been around a long time and if he isn't The Most Special Football Coach In The World, he will likely get about the same out of his talent as most talented football coaches.

I still think his style will eventually lead us to a new level of sustainable success, but that prophecy will bear its fruit after a couple recruiting classes and be more because of better talent than because of some motivational magic. No matter who was coaching, I viewed 2017 as somewhat of a rebuilding year (not a disaster, but more like 6-7 pre-bowl wins) and I don't think Fleck will change that. If Fleck somehow manages to win 8-9 games this year, I will be back in 'all in' mode as the 2017/2018 rosters SHOULD represent a basement of sorts in regards to talent.

Basically I'm still not sold on his pure coaching chops, and I think his 13-1 season more represents his ability to elevate WMU's recruiting to that of a mid-tier Big 10 team...which should dominate the MAC.

On Rivals, Fleck's last few classes at WMU were about 10-15 spots below the Gophs and averaged in the low 2 star range. Not really even close to B1G mid-tier. Gophs last few classes have been just below what I would consider mid-tier (6-8).

That's why I think he will hit the ground running this year. He's even said the roster already has the right type of players to fit his scheme, and are more talented than he had at WMU last year.
 

I find myself really torn on Fleck's methods. I hear the people that kind of roll their eyes at all the rah rah stuff, but I also think if I was an 18-year old football player it might work well as a motivational tool. The bottom line though is if it makes the players respond, it doesn't really matter if it works on me or not. I'd be curious to hear from some of our younger posters what they think of Fleck.

I kinda think the same way, but I'd bet money we'd totally buy in if were around the guy for a short period of time..
 

Here's the thing:

If IA or WI hired a new coach - let's call him "J.P Flack" - and "JP Flack" was giving motivational speeches about sharks and farmers - I am 100% certain that this board would be ridiculing "JP Flack" and calling him a circus clown - or less complimentary terms.

Look - Fleck is not my cup of tea. OK. I'll live with it. I just hope the Fleck acolytes can accept or understand that not everyone is going to buy into Fleck's style or approach. But, in the end, he will be judged on results. he may turn out to be a good recruiter at this level - but we won't know that for 2 or 3 years, until he's had time to go through a couple of recruiting cycles, and those players start showing up on the field. Recruiting to the B1G is different than recruiting to a MAC school.

as far as "Coaching Chops," it will be interesting to see what he (and his staff) accomplish with players who were not recruited for his system. I can't remember the subject of the quote, but someone was talking about a successful coach and said "he can beat your players with his players, and then he can take your players and beat his players." (or words to that effect). Can Fleck do that? We will see.
 

Here's the thing:

If IA or WI hired a new coach - let's call him "J.P Flack" - and "JP Flack" was giving motivational speeches about sharks and farmers - I am 100% certain that this board would be ridiculing "JP Flack" and calling him a circus clown - or less complimentary terms.

Look - Fleck is not my cup of tea. OK. I'll live with it. I just hope the Fleck acolytes can accept or understand that not everyone is going to buy into Fleck's style or approach. But, in the end, he will be judged on results. he may turn out to be a good recruiter at this level - but we won't know that for 2 or 3 years, until he's had time to go through a couple of recruiting cycles, and those players start showing up on the field. Recruiting to the B1G is different than recruiting to a MAC school.

as far as "Coaching Chops," it will be interesting to see what he (and his staff) accomplish with players who were not recruited for his system. I can't remember the subject of the quote, but someone was talking about a successful coach and said "he can beat your players with his players, and then he can take your players and beat his players." (or words to that effect). Can Fleck do that? We will see.

"Bryant can take his'n and beat your'n, and then he can turn around and take your'n and beat his'n."

- Bum Phillips, on Bear Bryant
 

Here's the thing:

If IA or WI hired a new coach - let's call him "J.P Flack" - and "JP Flack" was giving motivational speeches about sharks and farmers - I am 100% certain that this board would be ridiculing "JP Flack" and calling him a circus clown - or less complimentary terms.

Look - Fleck is not my cup of tea. OK. I'll live with it. I just hope the Fleck acolytes can accept or understand that not everyone is going to buy into Fleck's style or approach. But, in the end, he will be judged on results. he may turn out to be a good recruiter at this level - but we won't know that for 2 or 3 years, until he's had time to go through a couple of recruiting cycles, and those players start showing up on the field. Recruiting to the B1G is different than recruiting to a MAC school.

as far as "Coaching Chops," it will be interesting to see what he (and his staff) accomplish with players who were not recruited for his system. I can't remember the subject of the quote, but someone was talking about a successful coach and said "he can beat your players with his players, and then he can take your players and beat his players." (or words to that effect). Can Fleck do that? We will see.

In the Gopher Sports interview, he said they do have the right players right now...

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/030617aaa.html

GS: The quarterback runs the offense and your staff had a very successful offense at Western Michigan. Can you give the fans a sneak peek about what they can expect on offense?

P.J.: I will be very honest. We are very simplistic. I am the same football coach who went 1-11 in our first year at Western Michigan. We didn't have a great offense that year, but it was the same type offense that we run. We just didn't have the right people and the right players to fit into that system. We have a lot of players here who can fit into that. That was one of the reasons why we took the job. You feel like you can keep your same system and build around your players. There are things that can be added and things that we can take away.
 

"Bryant can take his'n and beat your'n, and then he can turn around and take your'n and beat his'n."

- Bum Phillips, on Bear Bryant

Thanks. Tried to google for the quote, but I couldn't remember enough of the quote to find it. Bum's version was more colorful than my paraphrasing.
 

Taking care of the ball is huge in Fleck world. It requires concentration. If the Gophers had taken care of the ball last season they might have been undefeated. Fleck stresses concentration in everything and seeing Kiondre Thomas draw a blank the first time he was asked, and then coming up with all the answers the 2nd time shows this paying off. I have gone from Bernie Bierman to today and aside from Lou Holtz, this is the most excited I have been about Gopher football. I read this article at 6 a.m. & now it is 12:57 pm and I am still pumped to the max. I would really want my grandsons to play for Fleck. Maybe they will some day. One can only hope. Hell if I didn't have a bum hip I'd drive over there today and plead to become an "unpreferred walk on."
 

On Rivals, Fleck's last few classes at WMU were about 10-15 spots below the Gophs and averaged in the low 2 star range. Not really even close to B1G mid-tier. Gophs last few classes have been just below what I would consider mid-tier (6-8).

That's why I think he will hit the ground running this year. He's even said the roster already has the right type of players to fit his scheme, and are more talented than he had at WMU last year.

You always bring this up and I have no idea why. It only would matter if we were playing a MAC schedule. Comparatively, within the conference he has to exist in, he has a much worse roster in 2017 than 2016.

I agree with the scheme fit, though - that was an encouraging quote. Also, you may also be right on calling out my "mid-tier" Big 10 recruiting claim. Even without that, though, I still stand by my claim that his success in the MAC probably had more to do with his recruiting than anything and we should probably prepare for a similar time horizon on his success in the Big 10 (although I don't think he'll be as bad year 1 as at WMU or ever be 13-0 either...we are not O$U or Michigan after all).
 

You always bring this up and I have no idea why. It only would matter if we were playing a MAC schedule. Comparatively, within the conference he has to exist in, he has a much worse roster in 2017 than 2016.

I agree with the scheme fit, though - that was an encouraging quote. Also, you may also be right on calling out my "mid-tier" Big 10 recruiting claim. Even without that, though, I still stand by my claim that his success in the MAC probably had more to do with his recruiting than anything and we should probably prepare for a similar time horizon on his success in the Big 10 (although I don't think he'll be as bad year 1 as at WMU or ever be 13-0 either...we are not O$U or Michigan after all).

Based on the Gophs recruiting classes consistently being ranked higher as I stated above, the individual commits having higher ratings, and the overall classes having a higher average rating. I agree that recruiting was his key at WMU...he said it in the interview, but that it mostly had to do with recruiting the right type of player to fit his scheme, which he did not have his first few years He says he has that here already.
 

Taking care of the ball is huge in Fleck world. It requires concentration. If the Gophers had taken care of the ball last season they might have been undefeated. Fleck stresses concentration in everything and seeing Kiondre Thomas draw a blank the first time he was asked, and then coming up with all the answers the 2nd time shows this paying off. I have gone from Bernie Bierman to today and aside from Lou Holtz, this is the most excited I have been about Gopher football. I read this article at 6 a.m. & now it is 12:57 pm and I am still pumped to the max. I would really want my grandsons to play for Fleck. Maybe they will some day. One can only hope. Hell if I didn't have a bum hip I'd drive over there today and plead to become an "unpreferred walk on."

"Unpreferred walk on"

I love it. Apologize in advance cuz I'm gonna steal that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I find myself really torn on Fleck's methods. I hear the people that kind of roll their eyes at all the rah rah stuff, but I also think if I was an 18-year old football player it might work well as a motivational tool. The bottom line though is if it makes the players respond, it doesn't really matter if it works on me or not. I'd be curious to hear from some of our younger posters what they think of Fleck.

People who never played organized football will never understand. Nothing is more Rah Rah then football.
 

His methods aren't geared toward middle-aged worn out men who work behind a desk all day. His message is for young college athletes like you stated. These kids have energy, they like being loud. Fleck's method tries to turn that energy into production, into useful action.

I'm 34, and it looks like fun to me. I would just need a cup of coffee first.

This middle aged man is not worn out and I work behind a computer station all day. His message is definitely for the young college athlete because they do not know any better...yet. I have seen this approach in athletics as a young man and in business many times over. I want to see some positive results and hope Fleck is successful with the program. The danger with his approach is that in can quickly wear out and become annoying even to the young man. For sure this approach will not work with anyone worn out, especially old worn out men. There are plenty of worn out men though that have had season tickets for decades who right now are waiting for results and are skeptical just like those energetic old men. If this current regime was like an airplane, it better take off by the time the runway ends or its a crash and burn. There will be no middle, mediocre, thing going on for the next 5 years. I am behind anything that gets us at least to Indy the first week of December. Anything can happen there and the bowl game to follow.
 

You always bring this up and I have no idea why. It only would matter if we were playing a MAC schedule. Comparatively, within the conference he has to exist in, he has a much worse roster in 2017 than 2016.

I agree with the scheme fit, though - that was an encouraging quote. Also, you may also be right on calling out my "mid-tier" Big 10 recruiting claim. Even without that, though, I still stand by my claim that his success in the MAC probably had more to do with his recruiting than anything and we should probably prepare for a similar time horizon on his success in the Big 10 (although I don't think he'll be as bad year 1 as at WMU or ever be 13-0 either...we are not O$U or Michigan after all).

You are probably right on the 13-0 prediction.

Considering OSU is only team in Big Ten to ever win 13 or more games.

Since 1973 when they started playing 12 games, Michigan has won 12 games once, Penn State twice, and OSU, 7 times.

In the last 15 years here are the 12 game winners:
MSU 2
Iowa 1
WI 1
OSU 7

Michigan has 1 unbeaten/untied season in 60+ years
OSU has 4
Penn State has 5

So you're right, chances are slim.
 

This middle aged man is not worn out and I work behind a computer station all day. His message is definitely for the young college athlete because they do not know any better...yet. I have seen this approach in athletics as a young man and in business many times over. I want to see some positive results and hope Fleck is successful with the program. The danger with his approach is that in can quickly wear out and become annoying even to the young man. For sure this approach will not work with anyone worn out, especially old worn out men. There are plenty of worn out men though that have had season tickets for decades who right now are waiting for results and are skeptical just like those energetic old men. If this current regime was like an airplane, it better take off by the time the runway ends or its a crash and burn. There will be no middle, mediocre, thing going on for the next 5 years. I am behind anything that gets us at least to Indy the first week of December. Anything can happen there and the bowl game to follow.

I don't see why it matters why it works on kids and not adults. Who cares? He's coaching kids, let him coach to the kids. He's got 4, maybe 5 years with them, not 10 or 20, less chance for them to get "worn out". I'm all for a wait and see approach, completely cool with that. What I get tired of, and think is counterproductive is when fans come on here just to be skeptical about his methods right now.

Another thing I find interesting is virtually everything I've read or seen on TV regarding the Fleck hire is positive, when coming from people other than Minnesotans or local media. You start getting closer to the Twin Cities, and it becomes more negative.
 

On Rivals, Fleck's last few classes at WMU were about 10-15 spots below the Gophs and averaged in the low 2 star range. Not really even close to B1G mid-tier. Gophs last few classes have been just below what I would consider mid-tier (6-8).

That's why I think he will hit the ground running this year. He's even said the roster already has the right type of players to fit his scheme, and are more talented than he had at WMU last year.

Oh yeah? Where did he say that?

Would love to see what Gopher WR he thinks will be drafted in the top 10 next year, which OL will be drafted in rounds 3 or 4, and which starting QB could also be a late round pick? All things he had at Western Michigan this year.
 




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