House Report: P.J. Fleck names Rhoda and Croft co-starters

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Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck named co-starting quarterbacks for the 2017 season. Redshirt sophomore Demry Croft will share snaps with fifth-year senior Conor Rhoda.

“We are going to play both,” Fleck said after Thursday’s practice. “In terms of the starter, they’re both the starters.”

It is unknown who will take the first snap when the Gophers open the season vs. Buffalo on Aug. 31. Fleck said experience played a factor in the decision to choose both quarterbacks as starters entering the season. Rhoda has played in just one game, leading the Gophers to a 31-10 victory in Maryland last year. Croft has notched a few snaps, but redshirted last year after playing in three games as a freshman.

“Both quarterbacks don’t have true game experience,” Fleck said. “If I was to tell you I knew exactly how those quarterbacks were going to play in a game, that’s a guess. Both quarterbacks have continued to get better. Every time I think I see one nudging someone else out, the other one closed the gap, and then passed them and they’ve continued to do that.”

Fleck noted the tight competition throughout training camp proved that both Croft and Rhoda earned the right to play. This isn’t the first time Fleck has used a quarterback by committee system. At Western Michigan, Fleck had co-starting quarterbacks for two seasons.

“So what that tells me, this late in training camp, as that continues to be the case, that both of them deserve to play,” Fleck said. “This is going to be a competition with each other, not against one another as we hit the season. This is not a controversy; this is two guys are going to start. They have both earned the right to play.”

Despite having two different playing styles at the quarterback positon, Fleck said the system won’t change. The entire playbook will be open for each quarterback to gain experience in live action. At this time, the head coach said he doesn’t have a ratio of snaps in mind for the quarterbacks.

“We’re not going to change [the offense] for anybody. As we keep going through the season, if one’s playing a little better, maybe they’ll get more snaps,” Fleck noted. “We’ll handle that accordingly.”

Fleck said the decision won’t impact chemistry with the wide receivers as Croft and Rhoda split snaps throughout the spring and fall. He believes the lack of experience at the quarterback position leaves the team best suited to play both Croft and Rhoda.

“I think our wide receivers -- they have relationships, they have the comradery, they have the understanding,” Fleck said. “But again, we need more consistency on a day-to-day basis and it’s hard to be able to sit there and say they have all this comradery with this four-year starter and then you’re putting someone else in. That’s the predicament we’re in, but that’s also, I think, an advantage for us.”

Fleck is looking forward to the idea of having co-starting quarterbacks because it presents an unknown. The coaches have seen Croft and Rhoda in practices and scrimmages, but not in game situations.

“What I’m excited for is what we haven’t seen from them,” he said. “There’s that risk factor and I love that.”

Practice Notes:

- P.J. Fleck said defensive back Ray Estes has been handling the transition from quarterback to cornerback well. Estes had one notable pass breakup during the practice session. As a whole, Coach Fleck said the secondary will be inexperienced this year.

“[Ray Estes] might have an outside shot of starting, so that just shows you our need for defensive backs.”

I’ve also been intrigued by freshman cornerback Justus Harris, who could see more snaps this year. He has tallied a few pass breakups throughout practice sessions.

- The offensive line opened up wide lanes for the running backs throughout practice, sparking several runs for Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks. I’ve been impressed with the run blocking across all units of the Gophers’ offensive line. The tight end group has also been opening lanes by setting the edge for runs. However, the offensive line struggled more in pass protection Thursday as the defensive line picked up a few sacks in the team drills. Defensive tackle Gary Moore and Jaylen Waters had notable quarterback pressures during team drills.

- During pressure situations, there were a few missed kicks, which resulted in extra sprints at the end of practice. This hasn’t been the case recently, but Carpenter drilled in an important field goal in a situational drill to redeem himself. There were also more drops from the wide receivers than I had seen at previous practices.

- The co-quarterback decision wasn’t shocking. As I said on my radio spot with 1500ESPN yesterday, both Demry Croft and Conor Rhoda had strengths and weaknesses throughout the fall practices. The team will likely see how they perform in game action and develop a rotation that maximizes the potential of the offense. It’s not to say one quarterback won’t earn more snaps moving forward. The predicament the Gophers face is the overall lack of experience they have at the position. It will essentially be on the job training for the two quarterbacks this year. In today’s practice, Demry Croft had a great throw deep up the field to Eric Carter, displaying impressive touch and accuracy. Rhoda also looked sharp, delivering a beautiful throw to wide receiver Tyler Johnson. Croft is better when throwing down the field, while Rhoda is accurate on short-to-intermediate throws at all hashes. In addition, Croft tends to struggle more when he throws on the run, forcing passes. Each of them provide different value with their skill-sets, but now they’ll have an opportunity to show it during games.

- Linebacker Cody Poock could have a big year is he can stay healthy. I was impressed with his coverage skills during 1-on-1 drills. He also displays above average instincts against the run. He is a rangy, downhill run defender that can deliver a big hit when he squares up in the gap. The Gophers have a very talented group of linebackers with a variety of different skill-sets. Length, athleticism, and run thumpers, all of which can be used creatively to attack opposing offenses.
 


Here's a video of Fleck's explanation of the why the two QB's:

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^^ Pretty much. None of the practice observations about our QBs have left me with a good taste, neither has the coach speak - and this decision seems to confirm that we don't have much at the position, at least at this point. That's a tough pill to swallow for the most important position on the field.

It's gonna be really rough on here the first few weeks if neither QB looks any good in game action.
 


If you've got two quarterbacks, you've got no quarterbacks.
 

If he thought Croft had the skill to be a starter you would think he would take a couple growing pains this year to develop a solid starting QB for next year. Croft not being the starter this year might be a signal that he's not the starter next year either.
 

I would say it might be cause for concern - but it's not panic time yet.

I agree with Fleck on this - we have to see these guys play in games to really know what the Gophers have at QB. There are four possibilities:
1. One of them plays well
2. both of them play well
3. one of them plays poorly
4. both of them play poorly.

Of that group, only option #4 is panic time.

Somebody is going to play QB. the coaches will evaluate how they play, and make adjustments as needed.

if the Gophers come out for the B1G opener, and they're playing Rodney Smith at wildcat, that will be time to panic.
 

It's likely fans will start leaning towards one or the other after the first game. About halfway through the first quarter at OSU the boo birds will start coming out if things don't go well and we have our patented first quarter offensive woes and defensive feel out.

I watched those Fleck interviews and he pretty much stated what I suspected: he feels Rhoda brings more from a leadership perspective. He may be right and Croft is "toxic" to his culture but if he's merely not a hyperextroverted cheerleader then that's a mistake. Introverted individuals almost always become more comfortable and outspoken as time goes on, in my experience, all things else equal. I've seen this before in other arenas.
 



"Did it my fourth year as a head coach with Tom Flacco"......1 pass attempt and 10 times rushing the ball all season. PJ stretching it a little.
 

It's likely fans will start leaning towards one or the other after the first game. About halfway through the first quarter at OSU the boo birds will start coming out if things don't go well and we have our patented first quarter offensive woes and defensive feel out.

I watched those Fleck interviews and he pretty much stated what I suspected: he feels Rhoda brings more from a leadership perspective. He may be right and Croft is "toxic" to his culture but if he's merely not a hyperextroverted cheerleader then that's a mistake. Introverted individuals almost always become more comfortable and outspoken as time goes on, in my experience, all things else equal. I've seen this before in other arenas.

It would be a really good news if the boo birds come out at OSU.


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"Did it my fourth year as a head coach with Tom Flacco"......1 pass attempt and 10 times rushing the ball all season. PJ stretching it a little.

To play devils advocate, it might be that they made the same announcement. Although after watching his press conference, he was quick to say that an opening scoring drive doesn't mean that QB will stay in.

Have to wait and see. This isn't that big of a deal to me. Worse if he named one the starter and they stunk and everyone clamored for the unseen backup. Get em both out there. It will probably be apparent who is better in games.


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To play devils advocate, it might be that they made the same announcement. Although after watching his press conference, he was quick to say that an opening scoring drive doesn't mean that QB will stay in.

Have to wait and see. This isn't that big of a deal to me. Worse if he named one the starter and they stunk and everyone clamored for the unseen backup. Get em both out there. <b>It will probably be apparent who is better in games. </b>


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Or we will have another PN9 vs ML7 situation.


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To me Croft is an unknown (which is why I was hoping he would win the starting role) but Rhoda is basically Leidner if you took away Mitch's power running ability. I'm starting to get a little worried about this year (Fleck-agendas aside - let's talk Gophers). RB, LB, and DT are elite. I'm a little less concerned about WR than I was a couple months ago as some young guys seem to be stepping up. DE/Edge Rushers and TE should be solid - about what you would expect from a middling Big 10 team. Now the bad news: CB, OL, and QB are all question marks at best and absolute disasters at worst. It's a really odd roster because there are some real areas of strength - I guess we will see what position groups are the most important to winning games. I was pretty confident in us winning 7 games at one point, but I think I am more in the 5 or 6 range now. I see us being favored in 5 (maybe 6) games this year: Buffalo, MTSU, Purdue, Illinois, and Maryland with OSU being the 'maybe.' I would honestly trade this roster for any Gopher team over the last 4 years (in a one season scenario - we do have some very good potential young talent).
 

Or we will have another PN9 vs ML7 situation.


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Except one is gone next year and one is a soph


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Except one is gone next year and one is a soph


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They are both here this year. Not sure I get your point.


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I would say it might be cause for concern - but it's not panic time yet.

I agree with Fleck on this - we have to see these guys play in games to really know what the Gophers have at QB. There are four possibilities:
1. One of them plays well
2. both of them play well
3. one of them plays poorly
4. both of them play poorly.

Of that group, only option #4 is panic time.

Somebody is going to play QB. the coaches will evaluate how they play, and make adjustments as needed.

if the Gophers come out for the B1G opener, and they're playing Rodney Smith at wildcat, that will be time to panic.

This is the GopherHole! It is always panic time!
 

They are both here this year. Not sure I get your point.


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Think he's referring to what could have been multiple years of a contentious QB battle- but thanks to PN9 getting his panties in a bunch we didn't have to worry about that (then again the competition may have been helpful if it wasn't fractious).

This years competition is not going to leave the team potentially divided after this season in regards to who the QB is.


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They are both here this year. Not sure I get your point.


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The PN ML battle was important because the loser transferred. Not because it hurt us that year.


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The PN ML battle was important because the loser transferred. Not because it hurt us that year.


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Sure, but your post that I quoted stated it would likely sort itself out in games. I simply pointed out recent history where it really didn't.


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Sure, but your post that I quoted stated it would likely sort itself out in games. I simply pointed out recent history where it really didn't.


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It might not. It likely will in my eyes at least. I guess I'm more decisive than PJ.
One thing I know, if he picked one, we'd have millions of posts after losses begging for the other.


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His explanation makes sense to me. If they are really so close that it's difficult to pick one I like the idea of giving them both a share, at least for the first 2-3 games. You can always reevaluate after that. Like he said, some very good teams have done it successfully.
 

It might not. It likely will in my eyes at least. I guess I'm more decisive than PJ.
<b>One thing I know, if he picked one, we'd have millions of posts after losses begging for the other. </b>


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The most popular player on most FB teams is the back-up QB.

Put in Seth Green!


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The most popular player on most FB teams is the back-up QB.

Put in Seth Green!


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You know it's going to happen. :drink:

Personally I think Fleck is well into a lowering expectations campaign he began not long after he arrived. Standard procedure as he cannot lose under that scenario. If we were as bad off at QB as some insinuate why not start the true freshman he personally recruited for WMU? Kid clearly has some talent. Might as well kick off that era. The fact he hasn't even cracked open the door to that possibility means the 2 starter options cannot be uber-bad, catastrophic failures. Of course, maybe he realized Morgan isn't any good after getting him on campus and we truly are screwed. That blows up my coachspeak scenario.
 

The most popular player on most FB teams is the back-up QB.

Put in Jaran Roste!


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FIFY[emoji12]



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I would say it might be cause for concern - but it's not panic time yet.

I agree with Fleck on this - we have to see these guys play in games to really know what the Gophers have at QB. There are four possibilities:
1. One of them plays well
2. both of them play well
3. one of them plays poorly
4. both of them play poorly.

Of that group, only option #4 is panic time.

Somebody is going to play QB. the coaches will evaluate how they play, and make adjustments as needed.

if the Gophers come out for the B1G opener, and they're playing Rodney Smith at wildcat, that will be time to panic.

Or not. We do have 4 other QBs. I do agree with 95% of your post.

GopherHole continues to be tainted by "experts" that know nothing, let alone about college football.

We lost a basically a 4 year starter at QB. The best player will get the most snaps over time. It would not shock me at all if Tanner Morgan is the starter by season's end. I would love if the other two both play well. I have no problem with rotating QBs. You do it at every other position. Best guy in the situation. Worrying will not change that or have any effect on the season, let alone who plays at QB.

Being in and living in other parts of the country has shown me something, worrying about things that you have no control over and self-loathing is an almost uniquely Minnesota thing. "Minnesota Nice" is really "Minnesota Passive-Aggressive". I'm guilty too, but i'm working on it. Life is a lot more rewarding.
 

It's just a bunch of guys shooting the breeze here, genius.

You consistently come on here solely to beat your chest about how idiotic everyone is, and how worthless the discussions are.

Yet you keep reading them and visiting. It really is interesting.

I couldn't disagree more with your last paragraph. I've lived in numerous places coast to coast and the people of my home state are the most level-headed, responsible, clean, nicest, and thoughtful. They smell good. Nice teeth. Wash their cars and mow their lawns. Lutherans are particularly good people.
 

To me Croft is an unknown (which is why I was hoping he would win the starting role) but Rhoda is basically Leidner if you took away Mitch's power running ability. I'm starting to get a little worried about this year (Fleck-agendas aside - let's talk Gophers). RB, LB, and DT are elite. I'm a little less concerned about WR than I was a couple months ago as some young guys seem to be stepping up. DE/Edge Rushers and TE should be solid - about what you would expect from a middling Big 10 team. Now the bad news: CB, OL, and QB are all question marks at best and absolute disasters at worst. It's a really odd roster because there are some real areas of strength - I guess we will see what position groups are the most important to winning games. I was pretty confident in us winning 7 games at one point, but I think I am more in the 5 or 6 range now. I see us being favored in 5 (maybe 6) games this year: Buffalo, MTSU, Purdue, Illinois, and Maryland with OSU being the 'maybe.' I would honestly trade this roster for any Gopher team over the last 4 years (in a one season scenario - we do have some very good potential young talent).

Rhoda isn't close to Leidner.
 

Or not. We do have 4 other QBs. I do agree with 95% of your post.

GopherHole continues to be tainted by "experts" that know nothing, let alone about college football.

We lost a basically a 4 year starter at QB. The best player will get the most snaps over time. It would not shock me at all if Tanner Morgan is the starter by season's end. I would love if the other two both play well. I have no problem with rotating QBs. You do it at every other position. Best guy in the situation. Worrying will not change that or have any effect on the season, let alone who plays at QB.

Being in and living in other parts of the country has shown me something, worrying about things that you have no control over and self-loathing is an almost uniquely Minnesota thing. "Minnesota Nice" is really "Minnesota Passive-Aggressive". I'm guilty too, but i'm working on it. Life is a lot more rewarding.

Neil McLaurin. Enough said in regards to you ripping on other posters' football knowledge.
 




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