STrib: Gophers seeing first camp under P.J. Fleck as a new start

per Johnson:

What Fleck has won’t be known until the Gophers take the field and throw a block in anger against an opponent. But his aim is to have a team that has fully bought in on the changes he’s made.

Consider Rodney Smith, the team’s leading rusher in 2016, on board.

‘’Any time you have new coaches, it’s high energy and you have to prove yourself to every coach all over again, and that’s different,’’ said Smith, a junior. “Guys have to go out ready to compete. You have to be ready to compete all the time.’’

And competition will be a theme that weaves its way throughout training camp, especially at quarterback.

Conor Rhoda, a senior and former walk-on, and Demry Croft, a sophomore who redshirted last year, are battling to be the starter. The two have thrown a combined 33 collegiate passes, and Fleck is looking for someone to seize the job.

‘’What I’m looking for is somebody to take ownership of our football team,’’ Fleck said. “[Florida State coach] Jimbo Fisher had a quote from ACC media day. ‘If you have a tough quarterback, you have a tough team.’ We have to find out how tough our quarterbacks are.’’

http://m.startribune.com/gophers-se...a-new-start/437770513/?section=sports/gophers

Go Gophers!!

BleedGopher said:

per Johnson:

What Fleck has won’t be known until the Gophers take the field and throw a block in anger against an opponent. But his aim is to have a team that has fully bought in on the changes he’s made.

Consider Rodney Smith, the team’s leading rusher in 2016, on board.

‘’Any time you have new coaches, it’s high energy and you have to prove yourself to every coach all over again, and that’s different,’’ said Smith, a junior. “Guys have to go out ready to compete. You have to be ready to compete all the time.’’

And competition will be a theme that weaves its way throughout training camp, especially at quarterback.

Conor Rhoda, a senior and former walk-on, and Demry Croft, a sophomore who redshirted last year, are battling to be the starter. The two have thrown a combined 33 collegiate passes, and Fleck is looking for someone to seize the job.

‘’What I’m looking for is somebody to take ownership of our football team,’’ Fleck said. “[Florida State coach] Jimbo Fisher had a quote from ACC media day. ‘If you have a tough quarterback, you have a tough team.’ We have to find out how tough our quarterbacks are.’’

http://m.startribune.com/gophers-se...a-new-start/437770513/?section=sports/gophers

Go Gophers!!

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I still maintain that Mitch Leidner was the toughest player to put on pads for the Gophers (playing a season without toes attached to his foot, damn). We didn't have the best team during his time, but the QB was absolutely tough. I'm interested in seeing a QB elevate the program to the next level, one that is a legitimate passing threat to give our run game a chance to dominate.