Coach Impression Alert...

BilldGopher

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Was buying supplies at my local Cub Foods where they often have groups/organizations and the like to assist with bagging groceries as a fundraiser. Such was the case today for my local HS Football Team...players and a few parent boosters were present. I won't name the team but I live in Robbinsdale/Crystal area.

Anyway, I engaged the young man at my aisle...asked his position and he played linebacker so I offered "he liked to hit" and that brought a smile. Anyway, followed with "What do you think of Fleck?" He came back with a "Who?"...which caught me a little off-guard...so I said the "Gophers HC." He came back with a non-committal "don't really know" so i ended with something like "well that needs to change" and went on.

As I contributed on the way out I similarly engaged the parent/boosters about Coach. They were not positive...basically there was "no interest in Minnesota kids from the regime" and "we've got good players going to NDSU and what-not." I offered that he's only been here a year "so hopefully the 'crootin" will look at home talent too"and I moved on.

Admittedly a small sample size but it did surprise me. My glasses are obviously a little too rose-colored. Hopefully the relationship-building makes it beyond the coaches to the next and very important level in HS football...mainly the kids themselves and their involved parents.

Happy New Year from the Billds!
 

Thanks for sharing. I too, find that a little surprising because they are football people. I'd think it might be more positive, optimistic and that there would be at least an awareness there. I mentioned before, among just people interested in football with an opinion...I hear 99% negative about PJ...some who just dismiss him and some who are very vocal in their ridicule.
I think it'll only change if we win 9 plus games consistently. I know he recruited well, but winning 5 games tuned a lot of people out.
 

Was buying supplies at my local Cub Foods where they often have groups/organizations and the like to assist with bagging groceries as a fundraiser. Such was the case today for my local HS Football Team...players and a few parent boosters were present. I won't name the team but I live in Robbinsdale/Crystal area.

Anyway, I engaged the young man at my aisle...asked his position and he played linebacker so I offered "he liked to hit" and that brought a smile. Anyway, followed with "What do you think of Fleck?" He came back with a "Who?"...which caught me a little off-guard...so I said the "Gophers HC." He came back with a non-committal "don't really know" so i ended with something like "well that needs to change" and went on.

As I contributed on the way out I similarly engaged the parent/boosters about Coach. They were not positive...basically there was "no interest in Minnesota kids from the regime" and "we've got good players going to NDSU and what-not." I offered that he's only been here a year "so hopefully the 'crootin" will look at home talent too"and I moved on.

Admittedly a small sample size but it did surprise me. My glasses are obviously a little too rose-colored. Hopefully the relationship-building makes it beyond the coaches to the next and very important level in HS football...mainly the kids themselves and their involved parents.

Happy New Year from the Billds!

The majority of NDSU players are not the same caliber of players we want at the U. If we want the best team we need to look at other states besides Minnesota. If we compare the state Minnesota recruiting pool nationally we are probably pretty low on the list.


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Thanks for sharing. I too, find that a little surprising because they are football people. I'd think it might be more positive, optimistic and that there would be at least an awareness there. I mentioned before, among just people interested in football with an opinion...I hear 99% negative about PJ...some who just dismiss him and some who are very vocal in their ridicule.
I think it'll only change if we win 9 plus games consistently. I know he recruited well, but winning 5 games tuned a lot of people out.

In my anecdotal experience, talking to casual fans 90% will speak positively of Fleck. I haven't encountered a hardcore fan in real life with a negative opinion of Fleck. Both groups had a similarly positive opinion of Kill and a negative opinion of Claeys. The players I spent time with loved Kill, were generally neutral towards Claeys (he seemed aloof to them), and love Fleck. I'm in my early-to-mid 20s.
 

Every parent that has a kid playing football that isn't offered by Minnesota is going to have hard feelings about the program. Fleck knows there are only half a dozen kids in any class from the state that are real difference makers. It's hard to focus on building relationships with people that in the end can't help our program get better.
 



Every parent that has a kid playing football that isn't offered by Minnesota is going to have hard feelings about the program. Fleck knows there are only half a dozen kids in any class from the state that are real difference makers. It's hard to focus on building relationships with people that in the end can't help our program get better.

Covered the board bingo
 

Covered the board bingo

The sentiment in this thread, given that Fleck just pulled in quick verbals from two solid recruits FROM MINNESOTA THIS PAST WEEK is just incredulous. Some people are nothing but frigging miserable. Gee whiz.
 




The sentiment in this thread, given that Fleck just pulled in quick verbals from two solid recruits FROM MINNESOTA THIS PAST WEEK is just incredulous. Some people are nothing but frigging miserable. Gee whiz.

What exactly is the sentiment. A couple people have shared real life stories they have experienced directly related to the title of the thread. What on earth has you upset by that?


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The sentiment in this thread, given that Fleck just pulled in quick verbals from two solid recruits FROM MINNESOTA THIS PAST WEEK is just incredulous. Some people are nothing but frigging miserable. Gee whiz.

Actually not that much negative sentiment in the responses to someone just passing on an experience that they had. But Flecksters have to fight for Fleck. Maybe you guys can dig up some dirt on the original poster.
 

What exactly is the sentiment. A couple people have shared real life stories they have experienced directly related to the title of the thread. What on earth has you upset by that?


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They are in denial about how many four and five star athletes Minnesota produces each year.
 

If some high school kid didn't know who PJ Fleck was, he sure as hell didn't know who Tracy Claeys or Jerry Kill were either.
 



There are maybe 20 programs in the state that have had players recruited by the U in the last 10 years. Players in all of the other programs have no real history of contact with the coaches at the U. Most all conference players (the best players in the area) throughout the state have no shot of playing for the U. Now if he was talking about Eden Praire or Cretin I would be worried.


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Why do you say that? He drove himself to the Gophers' camp. Nobody invited him or knew who he was.

So did Robbie Grimsley and Zach Vraa and others and never got offered. Grimsley is a stud right now for NDSU and Vraa is their all time leading receiver. Alot of NDSU's Minnesota players tryout for the Gophers and dont get offers.

Logan Richter only got offered by NDSU and Wyoming. IMO he is the type of recruit in the past was overlooked by the old regimes.
 

When I saw the title of this thread I was hoping for more stuff like this

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tf57O2T-TBM?start=30" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

So did Robbie Grimsley and Zach Vraa and others and never got offered. Grimsley is a stud right now for NDSU and Vraa is their all time leading receiver. Alot of NDSU's Minnesota players tryout for the Gophers and dont get offers.

Logan Richter only got offered by NDSU and Wyoming. IMO he is the type of recruit in the past was overlooked by the old regimes.

Don’t think Vraa would’ve had the same success at MN that he had at NDSU.

Having success at FCS means you are a great FCS player, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have put up those same numbers in the big ten. Vraa not even the biggest miss in that class as Zenner is/was a better player.
 


When I saw the title of this thread I was hoping for more stuff like this

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tf57O2T-TBM?start=30" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Never seen that before. Thanks for sharing.
 

Nor should they.

Good God no.

FCS Div 3 or whatever the heck NDSU plays is crap. I watched one of their games the other night.
Any NDSU fan will talk about their recent win over Iowa like they are really something but fact is Rutgers has as many Big Ten wins this year than NDSU has in 15 years.
 

What year was the kid? Do we know if they even start? Do we know their academic standing? These people are so engaged in their HS and own lives. Unless they are on the radar of recruiting by junior year it likely isn’t going to happen at FBS level without going to the camp for MN players. Coaches aren’t taking that chance.
 


I love the way Paul Chryst handles himself, down to earth, he is relatable and quite honestly reminds me of the guy Minnesota fired last year. But lest I forget, you can't be successful with someone like that.
 

I love the way Paul Chryst handles himself, down to earth, he is relatable and quite honestly reminds me of the guy Minnesota fired last year. But lest I forget, you can't be successful with someone like that.

He reminds me nothing of the guy we fired.
 

He reminds me nothing of the guy we fired.

Agree with this.

I don’t necessarily like Fleck’s personality all that much but to pretend Claeys and Kill regime was humble means you are either gullible or kidding yourself imo
 

So did Robbie Grimsley and Zach Vraa and others and never got offered. Grimsley is a stud right now for NDSU and Vraa is their all time leading receiver. Alot of NDSU's Minnesota players tryout for the Gophers and dont get offers.

Logan Richter only got offered by NDSU and Wyoming. IMO he is the type of recruit in the past was overlooked by the old regimes.

Respectfully, if he only got offers from NDSU and Wyoming, he was overlooked by virtually everyone.
 


Probably wasn't clear on my original point. My bad.

The point of my post was that I was surprised a metro-area football player did not know who the UM head coach was...and then some folks who'd actually spend their Saturday afternoon doing a fundraiser for their HS football team had a negative impression of the same HC...that this was out there.

Not meant as a shot at Coach Fleck, Coach Claeys, or whatever. Really that there's work to be done whether a team has D1 talent to offer or not.

I thought what is mostly positive PR on the program for the last year had broken through further than at least today offered. That is all.

A lot of good points have been made. Like I said a small sample size. Obviously should not have been surprised for a number of reasons.

Still looking forward to Season 1.0 in 2018.
 




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