STrib: Tyler Johnson continues to make strong impression on P.J. Fleck

per Joe:

Tyler Johnson made a quick impact as a freshman for the Gophers last season, making three catches in the opener against Oregon State and three more, with his first touchdown grab, in Week 2 against Indiana State.

Johnson had 10 receptions after four games, and it seemed the Minneapolis North grad was headed for a big season. But he made just four catches the rest of the year, and just one in the final five games.

It was easy to forget, however, that Johnson was in his first year as a wide receiver, after playing quarterback for North. He's already made a strong impression on new coach P.J. Fleck.

When asked about Johnson on Saturday, Fleck answered with references to two NFL receivers -- Mohamed Sanu (who played under Fleck at Rutgers and is now with the Atlanta Falcons) and Vincent Jackson (who played under Fleck with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

"Do not say I’m not comparing him," Fleck said. "The characteristic he has that’s similar to a guy that’s close to me, Vincent Jackson, is that you could teach Vincent Jackson to do one thing that he didn’t just do, the next rep [snaps finger], he fixes it. That’s what TJ’s got.

"I mean it’s amazing how much growth he had to even Thursday to [Saturday]. There were some things Thursday that he couldn't do. [Saturday], he came back and looked like he’s been doing it for 30 years. I mean it was impressive.

http://www.startribune.com/tyler-jo...976183/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Go Gophers!!

He was my pick after a few games last year then fell off the face of the earth.

I'm hoping this year he does well.

Nice. Got the impression pretty much right away last year that TJ was super talented and a quick study. I think the roster has a lot of players who can/will adjust quickly to the differences in Fleck's offensive schemes. Spring scrimmage is looking more and more like it will be a great time.

I'm really excited about Johnson. If looking for the next Corey Davis, I think Johnson has the best chance of this current WR group to develop into that.

Ryan Burns' latest podcast alluded to Coach Brian Anderson the reason why TJ fell off the roster last season. They had a mini-discussion on how the Coach Fleck and Simon are more interested than the previous WR coaches in spending time to bring out the talents and hard-work of the receivers. Burns seemed to indicate that Anderson just set the bar high and if the player couldn't meet that standard, they stayed in the doghouse. I have no idea if this is accurate, or if they had inside knowledge about this.

jonnyganas said:

Ryan Burns' latest podcast alluded to Coach Brian Anderson the reason why TJ fell off the roster last season. They had a mini-discussion on how the Coach Fleck and Simon are more interested than the previous WR coaches in spending time to bring out the talents and hard-work of the receivers. Burns seemed to indicate that Anderson just set the bar high and if the player couldn't meet that standard, they stayed in the doghouse. I have no idea if this is accurate, or if they had inside knowledge about this.

Click to expand...

I've heard the same thing about Anderson from a couple of former players. They think the new regime focusing on teaching and breaking everything down will help some of the guys we have been waiting on finally break out. I've heard Melvin Holland has been doing well with Fleck also

Players who reach the field as true freshmen (unless it's pure desperation) rarely fail to make an impact as upperclassmen. He'll be a significant part of what the Gophers are doing moving forward.

GopherPlaya said:

I've heard the same thing about Anderson from a couple of former players. They think the new regime focusing on teaching and breaking everything down will help some of the guys we have been waiting on finally break out. I've heard Melvin Holland has been doing well with Fleck also

Click to expand...

Yeah, if this is true (which I have no reason to doubt), that's an incredibly dumb way to coach. I guess I could see a coach at Ohio State using that method, but we are/were desperate for playmakers at WR, sometimes that takes a little molding.

I'm excited to see what some of these WRs who disappeared under Anderson and Claey/Kill will do with Fleck and Simon.

Bob_Loblaw said:

Yeah, if this is true (which I have no reason to doubt), that's an incredibly dumb way to coach. I guess I could see a coach at Ohio State using that method, but we are/were desperate for playmakers at WR, sometimes that takes a little molding.

<b>I'm excited to see what some of these WRs who disappeared under Anderson and Claey/Kill will do with Fleck and Simon.</b>

Click to expand...

This. Seeing what happens with that position group, especially with players that never seemed to get a chance, is maybe the thing I am most looking forward to this year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk