short ornery norwegian
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2011
- Messages
- 19,653
- Reaction score
- 13,378
- Points
- 113
Gopher FB coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle with Sid, Dave (and Max) on Sunday, 7-23-17.
Sid: what about ESPN (TV show) deal?
PJF: brings exposure for U of MN. bring national attention in a positive way. show why MN is a special place. reach millions of people. show them we're proud to be a gopher.
Sid: talk about riding in Aquatennial parade?
PJF: special. 75,000 people. never expected that. that's why Twin Cities are so powerful. if that many people showed up for stadium, we'd have to expand. honored to be there. family loved it.
Sid: what about Chicago media thing?
PJF: it's an opportunity every year. (if you're invited) it means you're still a head FB coach. I have a lot of friends in B1G. I'm from the Chicago suburbs. Big thing is it marks start of FB season.
Sid: which Players are you taking to Chicago?
PJF: Celestin, Richardson, Smith. phenomenal players, people. they've had 3 head coaches in 4 years. they've been able to change and adapt to our culture. really special. tremendous academically, athletically, spiritually and socially.
Sid: are you going to use (remaining) scholarships?
PJF: Not sure. That can go up to next year. we're looking at a grad transfer or two. right now haven't made a final decision.
Max: what about Grad transfers?
PJF: fills a need and a gap. have to be the right player at the right position. we're still working through avenues.
Sid: is the Practice Schedule set?
PJF: schedule is all set. we've just not set which ones will be open to the public. we're excited. While coaches are on vacation, I make sure I get training camp set so everyone knows schedule for the next 6 months. it's an opportunity to take scripts and start making practices.
Mona: Smith and Brooks? will you play 2-back?
PJF: We'll see. at WMU, our RB's were ranked 7th in nation. I love running the FB. not a big 2-back system. might see 1 in backfield, 1 at wideout. keep within our system and put people in advantageous situations. don't make it easy for other team to defend us.
Sid: will you be on the North or South Side of the stadium?
PJF: (long laugh) never seen more publicity over a sideline. I heard the media in the Twin Cities covers everything. I'm not sure yet about sideline. That is an administrative decision. from the Coaches position, I give opinions on what is best for the team. There are lot of options, including how it affects the season ticket holders - might affect them for one year then we can work around it. eventually people will understand why.
Max: Why do people care what sideline you're on? (shorty's note - Max has obviously not been reading Gopher Hole)
PJF: we have season ticket holders who picked spots to be behind our bench. want to make it worth their while. not made final decision. we need to take care of our fans if we make decisions that affect them. need to communicate with the fans, and keep them in the loop.
Sid: will you practice at the stadium?
PJF: we'll practice there at least a few times before we play a game. I love being in the stadium. at WMU we practiced in stadium all the time, because that was our primary practice area. want to create familiarity for the players, so we really use the stadium as a home-field advantage.
Sid: what about players who missed spring practice?
PJF: they're getting healthy. a lot of them are full go. don't really know till they're back and playing FB. it's scary - so many of these guys haven't played FB in 10 months. need to get them caught up. get them useful reps in practice but don't get them hurt again. make sure we evaluate everyone, but still get to point where you can master offense, defense, special teams.
Sid: will you have a Press deal?
PJF: we'll have a (local) media day July 31. looking forward to that. can't wait to kick off season.
Max: You're going to be rowing the boat at Canterbury park. Can you take Sid along?
PJF: I'd Love to have Sid out there. I'll row hard for Sid. Kids are excited about going out to the track. we cleaned the garage this morning for Mom.
Sid: There are Billboards all over town. Glad to see people talking about Gopher FB?
PJF: must not be on my track (as I drive to work). I haven't seen one yet. Heather said she saw a few -she said "I saw you again on the highway." this isn't about me. it's about us as a FB team- growing together.
Sid: Murray's certificate. Good Luck in Chicago. Make a big hit on media people.
PJF: RTB. Ski-U-Mah.
Sid: what about ESPN (TV show) deal?
PJF: brings exposure for U of MN. bring national attention in a positive way. show why MN is a special place. reach millions of people. show them we're proud to be a gopher.
Sid: talk about riding in Aquatennial parade?
PJF: special. 75,000 people. never expected that. that's why Twin Cities are so powerful. if that many people showed up for stadium, we'd have to expand. honored to be there. family loved it.
Sid: what about Chicago media thing?
PJF: it's an opportunity every year. (if you're invited) it means you're still a head FB coach. I have a lot of friends in B1G. I'm from the Chicago suburbs. Big thing is it marks start of FB season.
Sid: which Players are you taking to Chicago?
PJF: Celestin, Richardson, Smith. phenomenal players, people. they've had 3 head coaches in 4 years. they've been able to change and adapt to our culture. really special. tremendous academically, athletically, spiritually and socially.
Sid: are you going to use (remaining) scholarships?
PJF: Not sure. That can go up to next year. we're looking at a grad transfer or two. right now haven't made a final decision.
Max: what about Grad transfers?
PJF: fills a need and a gap. have to be the right player at the right position. we're still working through avenues.
Sid: is the Practice Schedule set?
PJF: schedule is all set. we've just not set which ones will be open to the public. we're excited. While coaches are on vacation, I make sure I get training camp set so everyone knows schedule for the next 6 months. it's an opportunity to take scripts and start making practices.
Mona: Smith and Brooks? will you play 2-back?
PJF: We'll see. at WMU, our RB's were ranked 7th in nation. I love running the FB. not a big 2-back system. might see 1 in backfield, 1 at wideout. keep within our system and put people in advantageous situations. don't make it easy for other team to defend us.
Sid: will you be on the North or South Side of the stadium?
PJF: (long laugh) never seen more publicity over a sideline. I heard the media in the Twin Cities covers everything. I'm not sure yet about sideline. That is an administrative decision. from the Coaches position, I give opinions on what is best for the team. There are lot of options, including how it affects the season ticket holders - might affect them for one year then we can work around it. eventually people will understand why.
Max: Why do people care what sideline you're on? (shorty's note - Max has obviously not been reading Gopher Hole)
PJF: we have season ticket holders who picked spots to be behind our bench. want to make it worth their while. not made final decision. we need to take care of our fans if we make decisions that affect them. need to communicate with the fans, and keep them in the loop.
Sid: will you practice at the stadium?
PJF: we'll practice there at least a few times before we play a game. I love being in the stadium. at WMU we practiced in stadium all the time, because that was our primary practice area. want to create familiarity for the players, so we really use the stadium as a home-field advantage.
Sid: what about players who missed spring practice?
PJF: they're getting healthy. a lot of them are full go. don't really know till they're back and playing FB. it's scary - so many of these guys haven't played FB in 10 months. need to get them caught up. get them useful reps in practice but don't get them hurt again. make sure we evaluate everyone, but still get to point where you can master offense, defense, special teams.
Sid: will you have a Press deal?
PJF: we'll have a (local) media day July 31. looking forward to that. can't wait to kick off season.
Max: You're going to be rowing the boat at Canterbury park. Can you take Sid along?
PJF: I'd Love to have Sid out there. I'll row hard for Sid. Kids are excited about going out to the track. we cleaned the garage this morning for Mom.
Sid: There are Billboards all over town. Glad to see people talking about Gopher FB?
PJF: must not be on my track (as I drive to work). I haven't seen one yet. Heather said she saw a few -she said "I saw you again on the highway." this isn't about me. it's about us as a FB team- growing together.
Sid: Murray's certificate. Good Luck in Chicago. Make a big hit on media people.
PJF: RTB. Ski-U-Mah.
