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by: Daniel House (@DanielHouseNFL)
This season will be a “Race to Mah-turity” for the Gophers football team.
When Minnesota takes the field on Aug. 30 against New Mexico State, head coach P.J. Fleck understands his team is going to be inexperienced. It’s something the coaching staff has embraced entering the 2018 campaign.
“Our whole motto for this year is ‘Race to Mah-turity.’ Maturity we define as when doing what you have to do becomes doing what you want to do,” P.J. Fleck said at his Big Ten Media Day press conference.
It will be a race to develop a Minnesota team with one of the least experienced rosters in the country this season. When looking at the Gophers’ roster, 72% of the team will be sophomores or younger. In addition, when factoring in transfers, 77% have been with the program for two years or less. Out of all the programs in the country, the Gophers rank 128th out of 130 teams in overall experience.
“We have a very, very youthful, very young, very inexperienced football team, which does not necessarily mean we can’t win,” Fleck said. “We have a very talented football team, just incredibly young. We are going to rely heavily on our young players to play — makes plays.”
The current state of the roster means Minnesota will be tossing freshmen into major roles as they adjust to the Big Ten’s style of play. With the recently approved redshirt rule, players can now appear in four games before they lose a year of eligibility. It provides flexibility for late season injuries and may help teams with inexperience, such as the Gophers.
“The new redshirt rule really helps us a lot,” Fleck said. “We are going to need those players to grow up really fast and that’s what this whole offseason has been designed about.”
There is no timetable for how quickly P.J. Fleck and his staff can develop a consistent program. At Western Michigan, Fleck won eight games in his second season. However, with the physical playing style and quality opponents in the Big Ten, Fleck thinks it’s harder to predict player development with a young roster.
“Being young and inexperienced -- playing freshmen in the Big Ten -- I think is a little different than it was in the MAC,” Fleck said. “There’s a strength component to that when you’re young that maybe you can get away with in the league I was in before, but you can’t get away with that in the Big Ten. We’re [now] in year one the way I look at it.”
If the coaching staff wants to change the trajectory of the program, they’ll need to use young players immediately. The Gophers simply won’t have the luxury to wait for players to fully develop and transition at the college level.
No matter what, Fleck is trying to build his program with the future in mind. The head coach is hopeful the experience those players gain now, will pay off down the road. It’s why he calls the first few seasons in a new program the “Muddy Water” years. Fleck said every decision he makes is impacted by the future vision of his program.
“It goes back to the greatest lesson I learned from Greg Schiano who still continues to be an influence in my life — never sacrifice what you really want down the road for what you really want right now,” Fleck said.
Fleck calls the first year of his program “year zero” as players transition into a new environment. Following the firing of Tracy Claeys early in 2017, Fleck had just six months to implement his culture and learn the roster.
“Year zero, everybody is learning, everybody is getting to know one another,” Fleck said. We took over at a very tumultuous time to be honest with you. We had players leave, had players stay. It was a transitional time.
Fleck is confident that what’s at the end of the road has the potential to change the landscape of the program. With the highest rated recruiting class of the internet era joining this year and a potential top-25 class in the mix for 2019, the Gophers are starting to build future depth.
“[I’m] really excited about one of the greatest recruiting classes in Minnesota history joining us in 2018, right now. And then we’re really excited I think right now a top-25 recruiting class in 2019 that will join us later.”
After a 5-7 finish to the 2017 season, Fleck said developing leaders on the field is equally important. This is accomplished through developing experience and depth throughout position groups.
“Last year, we were not a player-led football team. Bad teams, nobody leads; average teams, coaches lead; elite teams, players lead. We weren’t at that level. We have to build that as we continue to go,” Fleck said. “That’s why we are going to rely heavily on those seniors. Not a lot of them, but they have to do a tremendous job of bringing those young guys along.”
After overcoming the inexperience, the focus will transition to finishing games. The Gophers lost three matchups by less than a possession to Maryland, Purdue and Iowa. For Fleck, developing the right mentality can go a long way toward changing the outcome.
“We just didn’t finish games and I thought that our team last year wanted to win, but we didn’t refuse to lose. We didn’t have that refuse to lose mentality,” Fleck said. “There’s a major difference between those two things."
Nobody knows how long it will take to develop the roster completely, but the head coach isn’t ruling out any outcomes as each player matures differently.
“Just because we are a young and inexperienced team doesn’t mean we can’t win ahead of schedule,” Fleck said.
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This season will be a “Race to Mah-turity” for the Gophers football team.
When Minnesota takes the field on Aug. 30 against New Mexico State, head coach P.J. Fleck understands his team is going to be inexperienced. It’s something the coaching staff has embraced entering the 2018 campaign.
“Our whole motto for this year is ‘Race to Mah-turity.’ Maturity we define as when doing what you have to do becomes doing what you want to do,” P.J. Fleck said at his Big Ten Media Day press conference.
It will be a race to develop a Minnesota team with one of the least experienced rosters in the country this season. When looking at the Gophers’ roster, 72% of the team will be sophomores or younger. In addition, when factoring in transfers, 77% have been with the program for two years or less. Out of all the programs in the country, the Gophers rank 128th out of 130 teams in overall experience.
“We have a very, very youthful, very young, very inexperienced football team, which does not necessarily mean we can’t win,” Fleck said. “We have a very talented football team, just incredibly young. We are going to rely heavily on our young players to play — makes plays.”
The current state of the roster means Minnesota will be tossing freshmen into major roles as they adjust to the Big Ten’s style of play. With the recently approved redshirt rule, players can now appear in four games before they lose a year of eligibility. It provides flexibility for late season injuries and may help teams with inexperience, such as the Gophers.
“The new redshirt rule really helps us a lot,” Fleck said. “We are going to need those players to grow up really fast and that’s what this whole offseason has been designed about.”
There is no timetable for how quickly P.J. Fleck and his staff can develop a consistent program. At Western Michigan, Fleck won eight games in his second season. However, with the physical playing style and quality opponents in the Big Ten, Fleck thinks it’s harder to predict player development with a young roster.
“Being young and inexperienced -- playing freshmen in the Big Ten -- I think is a little different than it was in the MAC,” Fleck said. “There’s a strength component to that when you’re young that maybe you can get away with in the league I was in before, but you can’t get away with that in the Big Ten. We’re [now] in year one the way I look at it.”
If the coaching staff wants to change the trajectory of the program, they’ll need to use young players immediately. The Gophers simply won’t have the luxury to wait for players to fully develop and transition at the college level.
No matter what, Fleck is trying to build his program with the future in mind. The head coach is hopeful the experience those players gain now, will pay off down the road. It’s why he calls the first few seasons in a new program the “Muddy Water” years. Fleck said every decision he makes is impacted by the future vision of his program.
“It goes back to the greatest lesson I learned from Greg Schiano who still continues to be an influence in my life — never sacrifice what you really want down the road for what you really want right now,” Fleck said.
Fleck calls the first year of his program “year zero” as players transition into a new environment. Following the firing of Tracy Claeys early in 2017, Fleck had just six months to implement his culture and learn the roster.
“Year zero, everybody is learning, everybody is getting to know one another,” Fleck said. We took over at a very tumultuous time to be honest with you. We had players leave, had players stay. It was a transitional time.
Fleck is confident that what’s at the end of the road has the potential to change the landscape of the program. With the highest rated recruiting class of the internet era joining this year and a potential top-25 class in the mix for 2019, the Gophers are starting to build future depth.
“[I’m] really excited about one of the greatest recruiting classes in Minnesota history joining us in 2018, right now. And then we’re really excited I think right now a top-25 recruiting class in 2019 that will join us later.”
After a 5-7 finish to the 2017 season, Fleck said developing leaders on the field is equally important. This is accomplished through developing experience and depth throughout position groups.
“Last year, we were not a player-led football team. Bad teams, nobody leads; average teams, coaches lead; elite teams, players lead. We weren’t at that level. We have to build that as we continue to go,” Fleck said. “That’s why we are going to rely heavily on those seniors. Not a lot of them, but they have to do a tremendous job of bringing those young guys along.”
After overcoming the inexperience, the focus will transition to finishing games. The Gophers lost three matchups by less than a possession to Maryland, Purdue and Iowa. For Fleck, developing the right mentality can go a long way toward changing the outcome.
“We just didn’t finish games and I thought that our team last year wanted to win, but we didn’t refuse to lose. We didn’t have that refuse to lose mentality,” Fleck said. “There’s a major difference between those two things."
Nobody knows how long it will take to develop the roster completely, but the head coach isn’t ruling out any outcomes as each player matures differently.
“Just because we are a young and inexperienced team doesn’t mean we can’t win ahead of schedule,” Fleck said.
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