Fleck: There will probably be 17-18 freshmen on this football team with major roles

BleedGopher

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Fleck said freshmen quarterbacks Tanner Morgan (redshirt) and Zack Annexstad (true) and offensive linemen Curtis Dunlap Jr. (true) and Daniel Faalele (true) are two more playing-time competitions to keep an eye on.

“There will probably be 17-18 freshmen on this football team with major roles this year,” Fleck said.

Morgan was the most impressive quarterback in the spring game last month. Fleck still hasn’t decided if he’ll name a starter going into fall camp, but called Morgan a “winner” since high school.

“He reminds me of Zach Terrell at Western Michigan who we had,” Fleck said. “Where all (Terrell) did was win games, but he had to build it. He had to fail to grow. We’re going to have quarterbacks who come in and haven’t thrown a college pass yet. But that’s the exciting part.”

http://www.startribune.com/don-t-ex...d-bateman-to-transfer-anytime-soon/481978641/

Go Gophers!!
 


With reports like this I just keep setting my expectations lower and lower for the 2018 season. I'm almost looking forward to Spring 2019 so I can have just a smidgen of hope for a winning season. I'm afraid 2018 may even be worse than 2017. It's just hard to get excited when these quotes come in from PJ.
 

With reports like this I just keep setting my expectations lower and lower for the 2018 season. I'm almost looking forward to Spring 2019 so I can have just a smidgen of hope for a winning season. I'm afraid 2018 may even be worse than 2017. It's just hard to get excited when these quotes come in from PJ.

He's a smart man. Talk down about the talent on the team so if we don't make a bowl game he can say that he has been saying all along that we are a young team and expectations should be low. But, if we make a bowl game, it all due to his stellar coaching. It is a win, win for him.
 

I think you might not realize what he is “actually” saying. Altogether we probably had 30 freshmen red shirt last year. That makes up a big part of his “Freshmen”. Then some incoming guys with fanfare may play too. Bateman comes to mind.

How would you like to be in any other class? He’s kind of saying in May already you won’t play.
He did it last year, he’s doing it this year...in covering his butt about how bad we are he’s telling his players we’re no good.

Then define “prominent role”? It’s pretty normal i’d Guess for 15-17 freshman to play between 50 some guys. Just more how can I say this so people will realize I’m a miracle worker when we win.
 


I feel like PJ could talk about how nice a day it is and we'd have some complex narratives on here about what he really was saying....
 

All PJ’s comments are about PJ. Not about his football team. How can I protect myself, insulate myself from criticism.
Diminish the “nine” seniors. Don’t tell us what great leaders they are and how this is the year we turn the corner at Minnesota. Instead, how could we possibly win? We only have 9 seniors on the team. Today it’s 17 freshman will play major roles...don’t expect much.
Next week it’ll be something else...87% of our team are freshman and sophomores. It’s going to take some time, we’ve had 6 head coaches in 8 years. Just going to take time. We need stability.
 

All PJ’s comments are about PJ. Not about his football team. How can I protect myself, insulate myself from criticism.
Diminish the “nine” seniors. Don’t tell us what great leaders they are and how this is the year we turn the corner at Minnesota. Instead, how could we possibly win? We only have 9 seniors on the team. Today it’s 17 freshman will play major roles...don’t expect much.
Next week it’ll be something else...87% of our team are freshman and sophomores. It’s going to take some time, we’ve had 6 head coaches in 8 years. Just going to take time. We need stability.

As long as you are consistent and were also angry at Jerry Kill when he took this tactic, I have no issue with this bothering you. The facts are we've had one (7th round) draft pick in the past two years and Fleck was left with a QB depth chart that included a long time walk-on, a guy who is now at Tennessee State and may not even win that job, a Tight End, and my personal favorite a guy who had to go back to JUCO and play a different position. Lets not even get in to the situation at defensive back, wide receiver, or defensive line. I'd prefer coaches didn't take this tactic, but when Tim Brewster talked about going to the Rose Bowl, it was somehow misconstrued by a large percentage of the fan base that he was talking about doing it with the terrible roster he inherited. If coaches talk about actually accomplishing something here, they are snake oil salesman and if they talk about needing some time, they are looked at as trying to save their job. My bigger gripe with coaches is when they have actually had time (4-5 years) at Minnesota they lower the bar and start trumpeting their accomplishments compared to the previous failed coaches as if they weren't hired to compete in the B1G and instead against the terrible last 50 years of Gopher football.

As for what PJ said in the article, I hope they don't feel the need to play any of the true freshman along the offensive line. Give all those guys a year to work on their bodies if at all possible.
 

As long as you are consistent and were also angry at Jerry Kill when he took this tactic, I have no issue with this bothering you. The facts are we've had one (7th round) draft pick in the past two years and Fleck was left with a QB depth chart that included a long time walk-on, a guy who is now at Tennessee State and may not even win that job, a Tight End, and my personal favorite a guy who had to go back to JUCO and play a different position. Lets not even get in to the situation at defensive back, wide receiver, or defensive line. I'd prefer coaches didn't take this tactic, but when Tim Brewster talked about going to the Rose Bowl, it was somehow misconstrued by a large percentage of the fan base that he was talking about doing it with the terrible roster he inherited. If coaches talk about actually accomplishing something here, they are snake oil salesman and if they talk about needing some time, they are looked at as trying to save their job. My bigger gripe with coaches is when they have actually had time (4-5 years) at Minnesota they lower the bar and start trumpeting their accomplishments compared to the previous failed coaches as if they weren't hired to compete in the B1G and instead against the terrible last 50 years of Gopher football.

As for what PJ said in the article, I hope they don't feel the need to play any of the true freshman along the offensive line. Give all those guys a year to work on their bodies if at all possible.

Speaking for myself, I did not like Kill always talking down the talent. I do not think it helps morale (it may have no effect, I don't Know, I am not a D1 FB coach). However, the constant downplaying makes it difficult to get excited about a football team's upcoming season. To be frank, I liked Brewster's optimism. I did get excited before every season started, hoping this was the season where we did actually go to the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, it did not work out for Brewster and his results dictated that he be fired. Nevertheless, hearing a coach be optimistic is a great, but when you set a high bar you set yourself up for failure rather quickly. This is the conversation I imagine playing out from a '61 UM grad with his wife after Brewster's second year, "Mabel, he said he was going to take us to the Rose Bowl this year and we made the Toilet Bowl. Fire him!"

I get why Fleck is lowering expectations, I guess when you hear it all the time, including Kill doing it, it takes away the excitement for the coming football season.
 



This is like reading tea leaves interpreting every word that PJ Fleck says...
 

I am just glad we have posters here to breakdown everything Fleck says and enlighten us all with what he “actually” means.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

If he said we were going to have all Seniors playing, every post would be about how we will suck in 2019. Gotta love GH.
 

I am just glad we have posters here to breakdown everything Fleck says and enlighten us all with what he “actually” means.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I wish we didn't need it.

By 9 scholarship seniors, what he meant was. . .
By nekton, what he means is. . .
By culture, what they are getting at is. . .

It'd be easier if "9 scholarship seniors" didn't really mean something different. It'd be easier if he never said the words "nekton" and "hyprr".

That kind of stuff doesn't really bother me, it's just background noise. However, it does make deciphering PJ a necessity, at times.
 




With reports like this I just keep setting my expectations lower and lower for the 2018 season. I'm almost looking forward to Spring 2019 so I can have just a smidgen of hope for a winning season. I'm afraid 2018 may even be worse than 2017. It's just hard to get excited when these quotes come in from PJ.

Agree completely. I'm starting to think Fleck knows it will be another long season. That said, it doesn't impact my opinion of him at all. As pointed out below, Kill did this all the time too...as do many other coaches. This team looks a lot better to me than last year. The spring game was played at a much higher tempo. Our QBs look way more talented, although they're extremely young. Many key contributors are back with another year in the system and more strength. I still believe Fleck has the program on the right path long term...

As long as you are consistent and were also angry at Jerry Kill when he took this tactic, I have no issue with this bothering you. The facts are we've had one (7th round) draft pick in the past two years and Fleck was left with a QB depth chart that included a long time walk-on, a guy who is now at Tennessee State and may not even win that job, a Tight End, and my personal favorite a guy who had to go back to JUCO and play a different position. Lets not even get in to the situation at defensive back, wide receiver, or defensive line. I'd prefer coaches didn't take this tactic, but when Tim Brewster talked about going to the Rose Bowl, it was somehow misconstrued by a large percentage of the fan base that he was talking about doing it with the terrible roster he inherited. If coaches talk about actually accomplishing something here, they are snake oil salesman and if they talk about needing some time, they are looked at as trying to save their job. My bigger gripe with coaches is when they have actually had time (4-5 years) at Minnesota they lower the bar and start trumpeting their accomplishments compared to the previous failed coaches as if they weren't hired to compete in the B1G and instead against the terrible last 50 years of Gopher football.

As for what PJ said in the article, I hope they don't feel the need to play any of the true freshman along the offensive line. Give all those guys a year to work on their bodies if at all possible.

Again, agree completely. One can recognize what Fleck is doing with expectations while not jumping all over him for it. That said, I also don't fault people for analyzing his every word...we're big fans around here and they guy gets paid a ton of money. In the end, if he wins it'll all be forgiven.
 

If he said we were going to have all Seniors playing, every post would be about how we will suck in 2019. Gotta love GH.

Also how would you like to be those poor juniors, sophomores, and freshmen? Think of how they would feel? Why poor 60's Guy wouldn't have enough sympathy for all of them.
 

Agree completely. I'm starting to think Fleck knows it will be another long season. That said, it doesn't impact my opinion of him at all. As pointed out below, Kill did this all the time too...as do many other coaches. This team looks a lot better to me than last year. The spring game was played at a much higher tempo. Our QBs look way more talented, although they're extremely young. Many key contributors are back with another year in the system and more strength. I still believe Fleck has the program on the right path long term...



Again, agree completely. One can recognize what Fleck is doing with expectations while not jumping all over him for it. That said, I also don't fault people for analyzing his every word...we're big fans around here and they guy gets paid a ton of money. In the end, if he wins it'll all be forgiven.

Yeah. I agree with your entire post.

Every coach does it. A coach would have to be a complete lunatic to have a relatively young team, coming off of 5 win season to not talk down the talent. But as fans, we should critique what he says when his hyperbole blends into fiction.
 

Also how would you like to be those poor juniors, sophomores, and freshmen? Think of how they would feel? Why poor 60's Guy wouldn't have enough sympathy for all of them.

Have people on here really expressed sympathy for upperclassmen who get passed on the depth chart?
 

Bottom line...set your expectations low this season. Hope we can win our non-conference games and maybe one game in the B1G...
 

Averaged roughly a dozen on the two-deeps last year, not counting the special teams coverage players, so I don't think this should be too surprising. Badgers had 14 last year as a comparison.
 

Maybe a major role means they will be key to pushing the starters/backups in practice. Scout team is an overlooked aspect of a teams success. :p
 

Speaking for myself, I did not like Kill always talking down the talent. I do not think it helps morale (it may have no effect, I don't Know, I am not a D1 FB coach). However, the constant downplaying makes it difficult to get excited about a football team's upcoming season. To be frank, I liked Brewster's optimism. I did get excited before every season started, hoping this was the season where we did actually go to the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, it did not work out for Brewster and his results dictated that he be fired. Nevertheless, hearing a coach be optimistic is a great, but when you set a high bar you set yourself up for failure rather quickly. This is the conversation I imagine playing out from a '61 UM grad with his wife after Brewster's second year, "Mabel, he said he was going to take us to the Rose Bowl this year and we made the Toilet Bowl. Fire him!"

I get why Fleck is lowering expectations, I guess when you hear it all the time, including Kill doing it, it takes away the excitement for the coming football season.
Claeys spoke confidently about the team and I don't think it did him any good.

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 

Since it is the offseason and we are overanalyzing the heck out of everything let's look at a couple other things this could mean:

1. He's trying to pat himself on the back for a great recruiting class. "Look how many guys we brought in who are able to contribute right away!"

2. He's sending a message to recruits that he's serious about playing them immediately.

3. He's speaking in secret code, and this is actually a message to Heather telling her to pick up salmon for dinner and reminding her to get an oil change.

4. He's trying to make us all feel better about losing out on Quinn Carroll because Quinn would have been stuck behind all the freshman o-line starters we are going to have this year if he came here.

5. He drank so much red bull that he had no idea what he was saying, and will likely contradict himself on it the next time he is asked about it.

6. He's not even talking about football. He will be adopting a boatload of children, and will now have 17-18 kids.
 

Also how would you like to be those poor juniors, sophomores, and freshmen? Think of how they would feel? Why poor 60's Guy wouldn't have enough sympathy for all of them.

For someone that can’t stand for poor, poor PJ to be discussed or God forbid critiqued in some extremely minor and harmless way what percentage of your posts are venom towards other posters. One could almost call it Crusade-like.

Every coach talks down their teams in some way. One would think Saban’s teams were 1-11 squads with the way he talks and acts. It’s fine and nobody has said it isn’t. Has anyone said anything demonstrably untrue about PJ?
 

For all we know, Fleck was asked a direct question about how many young players we could expect to see.

He also didn't say "true freshman", so he's including all of the players that redshirted last year. Major roles doesn't necessarily mean starter, it could mean 2-deeps, special teams, etc. Here's who I think is likely to play that's a freshman...

QB - Tanner Morgan, Zack Annexstad (2)
RB - Mo Ibrahim, and either Bryce Williams or Nolan Edmonds (2)
WR - Douglas, Autman-Bell, Bateman (3)
TE - Jake Paulson (1)
OL - Andries, Schmitz (2)
DL - Otomewo, Robinson, Teague (3)
LB - Rush, Oliver (2)
DB - Estes, Smith (2)

That's 17 freshmen that are likely to be contributors. Oh, the horror!
 

I'm anxiously waiting for the discussion after only 16 end up playing major roles.
 

I'm anxiously waiting for the discussion after only 16 end up playing major roles.

I came to Gopherhole just now to get depressed and negative & this is what I get?!

Touche'. Thanks for the laugh!
 

For someone that can’t stand for poor, poor PJ to be discussed or God forbid critiqued in some extremely minor and harmless way what percentage of your posts are venom towards other posters. One could almost call it Crusade-like.

Every coach talks down their teams in some way. One would think Saban’s teams were 1-11 squads with the way he talks and acts. It’s fine and nobody has said it isn’t. Has anyone said anything demonstrably untrue about PJ?

Hey, all sorts of people give their opinions on P.J. and that's fine. Just get really tired of the several who pounce on any coach-speak sentence or phrase to make him seem like this totally untrustworthy clown who's concerned only about himself. BTW, I've been both skeptical amused by his emphasis on sayings and his sprinting down the sideline and was critical of how last season ended. After watching this program for over half a century though, he's still the best bet to get the Gophers back to a level where they're actually in the conversation for conference championships.

Nice try on the Crusade line, but I'd never think myself worthy enough to be compared to the dearly departed Sir Spoofin.
 

It doesn't matter to me how many Freshmen he plays. Redshirt or True Freshmen.

Finish 6-6 or better, and I feel better about this upcoming season. Next season, he would have two full classes and my expectations will be elevated.
 





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