PJ Fleck on Sports Huddle Christmas Eve

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Here is the belated report on the Fleck Interview from Dec 24th. I have returned to the land of high-speed internet access.

Sid - last year's class compared to this year's class?
PJF: last year had 2 weeks to put together 2017 class. difficult to do. recruiting is all about building relationships. this year, for 2018 class, able to build relationships for over a year. really excited about the future of Gopher football with this incoming class. only one class, but it's a start.

Sid: how much preparation?
PJF: different time frame for each kid. we're on 2019 already. we've been recruiting some of those kids for 8 to 9 months, and they won't sign for another year. that's 18 to 24 months of work. whatever we have to do - start that relationship as soon as we can.

Sid: do you use any services?
PJF: every university uses different services. one thing we use services for is information - address, phone number - these days, a lot of what we're doing is talking to the HS coach. these days, you're allowed to contact these kids really early, and they're allowed to come on campus really early. doing a lot of service work to get information. other than that, talking through e-mail, social media, on the phone.

Max: can you split up a scholarship?
PJF: not at FBS level. all one or the other. 100% full ride or walk-on. nothing in between.

Mona: (liked signing day press conference). You asked to see kid's bedrooms. and What is two-handed bowling?
PJF: there's a book called "Make Your Bed," about the importance of starting your day out right. if your bed is made, you feel like you've accomplished something. taking care of your things, that tells you something about young men. walk in and see - are they organized, detail-oriented, organized, are things thrown in the corner, are they sloppy? find out a lot about a young man when you step inside a room, so I ask to see their room. HS - also putting accomplishments on the wall - take you through their whole career.
The two-handed bowler -something that's hit PBA tour. keep two hands on the ball, don't put fingers in the holes. use two hands spinning the ball - the pins explode when the ball hits the pins. Jornell Manns is a two-handed bowler, averages 212. whatever he's doing, I need to copy it.

Sid: what about your QB? how good is he? will there be competition for the spot
PJF: great thing about QB position - all of our QB's will be here in January competing for the starting spot. right now, everybody is going to compete. whoever is named the starter will not have any experience, so we're kind of back to last year. this could be one of the last years we have that. eventually we will get to someone who can be the QB for 3-4 years, and be able to sustain over a longer period of time. I'm very excited about the QB position - I'm excited about all our positions. Just because we had one really exciting recruiting class doesn't mean we've fixed all our problems. I've Talked about how the '18 and '19 recruiting classes are going to be the most impactful classes that we have during our tenure. we're a year away from that '19 class being here, but one step closer with the incredible class our staff has put together.

Sid: players you think might play and be starters next fall.
PJF: not into talking about starters, but guys that can have an impact: Bateman, WR from Georgia, very dynamic. 8 or 9 SEC offers- some major ones. decided to stay with the Gophers. he's a playmaker on the outside. You'll see him play as a true FR. If all goes well, if he stays healthy and does all the right things, which we expect him to do. on the Defensive side, a guy like Braylin Oliver, LB - someone to replace Jon Celestin. Runs a 4.5 40- can really fly. about 6'. 220 pounds. he will hit you hard. Our QB position - I can go through every position with you, and I'll bet you somehow, someway, there's a freshman impacting that unit come the fall.

Max: do you tell guys, "you have a chance to be a starter in the fall?"
PJF: young men are really smart. you can't lie to them and tell them "you're going to have a chance to start." next thing, they look at the wide-out room, and there's 3 sophomore all-americans, and they think, how am I going to be able to start. they have to be able to see it, experience it, watch a practice, come to a game. you can tell them you're going to be an impact player your first year. with others, you tell them we're going to red-shirt you, but when you come back, you're going to have a chance to be a 4-year starter. - or , there's a guy in front of you who's really good, but by your red-shirt sophomore year, you should be starting. those are the conversations that you have. you have to tell them the truth. got to be able to look them in the eye and tell them what's going to happen. there are a lot of guys who come because of that - and then there are guys who don't come because of that, they sit there and say, I don't see myself ever playing. we want guys who are incredibly competitive, earn their spot - the guys we recruited, we see them that way.

Mona: when does staff talk about position changes?
PJF: we talked about moving some positions around. had to do some of that last year, which you never want to do during the season. that happens during winter conditioning, spring ball. like to be able to have the majority of position changes at the end of the year - going into January, so they can build in the film room, build in the weight room, designed to that specific position. then when you hit spring ball, they're working at that new position. so you want to make position changes by spring ball - it doesn't always happen that way. sometimes you're forced into making a change later than that. but in our case, I think most of the changes will be made soon.

Sid: talk about the 7 players who will report in January, and how they'll fit it.
PJF: we have 7 players who will report in January. we're excited about all of them contributing. I think it's really important these days, if you have an opportunity to start early, as long as you're OK with doing it - giving up the last semester of High School gives you, then I think it's beneficial for a young man to get there, start classes and go. I think one of the major benefits is the classes - you're not just starting your first true academic schedule, and also starting the rigorous in-season football schedule. now, you get to do your first semester out of season, which is a little more laid-back than in season, especially if you're not travelling. got to give something up for that to happen.

Sid: extra year for Winfield, Douglas?
PJF: looks like we're going to get an extra year for those guys. so Douglas will come back as a RS FR, and Winfield will come back as a RS SO. Again, like I said, we're going to be younger before we get more experience, and right now, It's going to be about 49, 50% of the team will be FR and RS FR. we're going to get younger, but more talented. And that's why we're so excited to get season started. sometimes, you can't wait for a break. our whole staff, we're excited for the future.

Sid: Murray's certificate. Mr Murray loves it when you and your lovely bride come in for a meal.
PJF: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. RTB. Ski-U-Mah.
 

Thanks SON. I wish they'd ask different questions once in a while, it seems repetitive week to week.
 


Thank you SON! Great as always!! Happy Holidays!!
 

Thanks SON. I wish they'd ask different questions once in a while, it seems repetitive week to week.

I wish they would do one of two things:

1) Take Gopherhole questions again.

2) Take a few months off and let SON have his Sunday mornings back!
 


I wish they would do one of two things:

1) Take Gopherhole questions again.

2) Take a few months off and let SON have his Sunday mornings back!

3. Stop putting Sid Hartman on the radio
 

Max: can you split up a scholarship?
PJF: not at FBS level. all one or the other. 100% full ride or walk-on. nothing in between.

This is technically incorrect, as far as NCAA rules go.

The only rules in the NCAA rulebook say that FBS teams: 1) have to provide a minimum of 90% of the maximum allowed aid, and 2) may provide a maximum of 85 scholarships to 85 players.

Furthermore, FBS football is a "head count" sport, meaning that any player receiving any amount of athletic scholarship counts as one full "head" against the 85 maximum. This is probably what he was referring to.


But it absolutely allowed to, for example give 10 players half rides and 75 players full rides.
 

But it absolutely allowed to, for example give 10 players half rides and 75 players full rides.

Is there any realistic scenario where anyone would do that? I can't think of one.
 

But it absolutely allowed to, for example give 10 players half rides and 75 players full rides.

But wasn't the question whether or not you could split up scholarships? This isn't splitting up a scholarship.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 






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