PJ Fleck on Sports Huddle 9-2-18

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Gopher Football Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the WCCO Sports Huddle on Sunday.

Sid: Everyone wants to know how you felt about Annexstad?
PJ: He Played solid. still has a lot of things to get better at. we found out some of his strengths, and we can continue to enhance those with our game plans going forward. We played close to 25 FR. good experience for a lot of guys, not just Zack. We've got a lot to work on. We have a great opponent coming in.

Sid: How did you feel when New Mexico State took a 10-7 lead?
PJ: was glad to see how the players responded. nobody wants to be down, but the players came back fighting. we started slow on offense, but then we got into a rhythm. once we got that first 1st-down, things started flowing. we're a very young team, and I think the players showed a little anxiety. then we settled down, started to go. started to click.

Sid: had to like those long TD drives, and Winfield's Punt Return
PJ: those were solid drives. made some big 3rd-down conversions. we did a great job winning 1st-down, 2nd-down. get in manageable 3rd-down situations. Rodney ran hard. The OL struggled early, then settled down and played well in key instances. got to get better. practices are really important. the fundamentals are important. we've got practice tonight.

Sid: were you impressed by the defense?
PJ: we played hard in a lot of areas. you always want to play better. some of the young guys are just out of HS; (couldn't get next part - something about HS players celebrate a win and don't think they have to do anything until next week) - we have so many young guys on team, they were asking about the weekend, saying they have family in town, and I was like "What? this is college Football." players have to get used to - even when you win, you come into film study. We'll show you the good - but we've got to get better at so much. some of the players are shocked at how much you analyze even after a win. we need to change the way we think. need to think at a championship level.

Max: Winfield - sets an example.
PJ: he's become a great leader. his actions speak so loud. practice hard, play hard, do the right things. demonstrates the fundamentals to show young guys. his punt return was a big spark - had 6 broken tackles on that play. nice to have #11 back on field. expect big things from him. gives us the ability to be creative on defense. the team that's coming in scored 79 points last night.

Mona: looks like you have a good receiving corps
PJ: wouldn't consider them great yet. MN has had good receivers in the past - Decker - Johnson. But I love where we're at. 1st full recruiting class. great wide-out corps - Bell, Douglas, Batemen, Ty. 4 receivers who can hurt you in a lot of areas. last year we were limited. now we have WR's who can make plays. Wide-outs at a higher level than true FR should be at. got 1st-game jitters out of the way. nice to have a corps of WR you can go to. last year on some plays it was like "we're not able to throw that...." This year, Coach is calling plays, rotating receivers. They all have plays they do well.

Sid: defense only gave up 81 yards in the 2nd half
PJ: That team averaged 475 yards a game last year, and had a lot of players returning. The defense did a great job limiting their offense. they were a bowl team last year. the defense did a solid job. got consistent pressure on QB - forced him to get ball out of his hands quickly. got some sacks. proud of how hard the defense played. we've still got to clean up a lot of things.

Mona: any guys dinged up?
PJ: I'll find out more today. we had a practice on Friday, gave them a day off on Saturday. (Injured players) had treatment three times on Saturday. need to give them time to rest. I'll find out more today. players get in here in this afternoon. don't know if any of them are too concerning.

Max: Seth Green? create more options?
PJ: we're working on creating options everywhere. last year we were so limited in personnel. now we can be more creative based on the people we have. Seth could have been sitting on the bench as our 3rd QB. Instead, he got 2 TD. that's the creativity of Kirk C. as we get better we'll bring more play-makers in. we've had full 1 recruiting class. down the road we'll probably see other people moving positions - it's only natural. find creative ways to get people on the field. Teams have seen (the wildcat), and they'll prepare for it, but there are always different ways we can run it. It will be part of our offense throughout the year.

Sid: what about Bateman - the FR WR?
PJ: people will like him as as FB player, and off the field. His whole family was there from Georgia. he's selfless - an amazing youngster. he is looking to do service to the State of MN. Love to see him on the field - has explosive speed. almost scored a long TD, but got tripped up with a shoelace. he'll have plenty of opportunities throughout the year. He's a True FR, but he can make a huge difference for us.

Mona: I think the new Red-Shirt rule is going to be a favorite.
PJ: makes a huge difference. whatever we decide to do with Dunlap or Faalele, they've got their 1st game in the pocket. later in the season, if you need players, they've already played in a game. we'll start to see what that can do to create depth, create confidence. we're such a young team. if we were heavy with upperclassmen, we might not need to use the Red-Shirt rule as much. But it's perfect for us to get experience. the only problem is, once they've been in a game, everybody wants to play. we need to teach them why the rule's there, and what we're doing with them.

Sid: Fresno State?
PJ: very good team. 10 wins last year. possibly have a shot at a NY Day's bowl game. scored 79 points last night vs Idaho. a very good team. Their QB is dangerous. they have 3 explosive WR's. their middle LB might be one of better middle LB's we face. they swarm on defense. reminds us of those Pat Hill-coached teams at Fresno State. they're very dangerous. we'll practice tonight. The Coaches have put in a lot of work already.

Sid: congratulations on victory. Murray's certificate. People - we need more fans to attend games. Good Deals available. Buy tickets and support the Gophers.
PJ: RTB, ski-U-Mah, go Gophers. (PJ signed off while Sid was droning on about tickets.....)


(personal note from Shorty - I'm 63 years old today. Another year closer to retirement......)
 


Great summary. I do wonder about the health of Smith and ZA. Hopefully just dinged a little. Ryan Burns mentioned he didn't believe either were hurt significantly.

Will be a good test vs FSU.
 




Thanks for posting.
We'll see what the injury report says Tuesday.
 

Thanks for your effort in posting these reports. And happy birthday!

JTG
 

Thank you SON. I wasn't able to tune in today. I really appreciate your posting and happy birthday!
 

Happy 29th SON! Thanks for another fine summary.
 




Happy Birthday Son! You're at that age where retirement is looming and kind of fun to think/plan ahead. Hoping that you enjoy your day time job though to make it easier to enjoy. Great recap with interesting information. Kids wanting to know if they have the weekend off etc. to be with families is something that they hadn't bothered to ask prior to the weekend. Perhaps the coaches need to talk about things like this during the fall practice time. Kids obviously aren't prepared for this transition from high school to college. Can't really blame the kids.
 

Gopher Football Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the WCCO Sports Huddle on Sunday.

Sid: Everyone wants to know how you felt about Annexstad?
PJ: He Played solid. still has a lot of things to get better at. we found out some of his strengths, and we can continue to enhance those with our game plans going forward. We played close to 25 FR. good experience for a lot of guys, not just Zack. We've got a lot to work on. We have a great opponent coming in.

Sid: How did you feel when New Mexico State took a 10-7 lead?
PJ: was glad to see how the players responded. nobody wants to be down, but the players came back fighting. we started slow on offense, but then we got into a rhythm. once we got that first 1st-down, things started flowing. we're a very young team, and I think the players showed a little anxiety. then we settled down, started to go. started to click.

Sid: had to like those long TD drives, and Winfield's Punt Return
PJ: those were solid drives. made some big 3rd-down conversions. we did a great job winning 1st-down, 2nd-down. get in manageable 3rd-down situations. Rodney ran hard. The OL struggled early, then settled down and played well in key instances. got to get better. practices are really important. the fundamentals are important. we've got practice tonight.

Sid: were you impressed by the defense?
PJ: we played hard in a lot of areas. you always want to play better. some of the young guys are just out of HS; (couldn't get next part - something about HS players celebrate a win and don't think they have to do anything until next week) - we have so many young guys on team, they were asking about the weekend, saying they have family in town, and I was like "What? this is college Football." players have to get used to - even when you win, you come into film study. We'll show you the good - but we've got to get better at so much. some of the players are shocked at how much you analyze even after a win. we need to change the way we think. need to think at a championship level.

Max: Winfield - sets an example.
PJ: he's become a great leader. his actions speak so loud. practice hard, play hard, do the right things. demonstrates the fundamentals to show young guys. his punt return was a big spark - had 6 broken tackles on that play. nice to have #11 back on field. expect big things from him. gives us the ability to be creative on defense. the team that's coming in scored 79 points last night.

Mona: looks like you have a good receiving corps
PJ: wouldn't consider them great yet. MN has had good receivers in the past - Decker - Johnson. But I love where we're at. 1st full recruiting class. great wide-out corps - Bell, Douglas, Batemen, Ty. 4 receivers who can hurt you in a lot of areas. last year we were limited. now we have WR's who can make plays. Wide-outs at a higher level than true FR should be at. got 1st-game jitters out of the way. nice to have a corps of WR you can go to. last year on some plays it was like "we're not able to throw that...." This year, Coach is calling plays, rotating receivers. They all have plays they do well.

Sid: defense only gave up 81 yards in the 2nd half
PJ: That team averaged 475 yards a game last year, and had a lot of players returning. The defense did a great job limiting their offense. they were a bowl team last year. the defense did a solid job. got consistent pressure on QB - forced him to get ball out of his hands quickly. got some sacks. proud of how hard the defense played. we've still got to clean up a lot of things.

Mona: any guys dinged up?
PJ: I'll find out more today. we had a practice on Friday, gave them a day off on Saturday. (Injured players) had treatment three times on Saturday. need to give them time to rest. I'll find out more today. players get in here in this afternoon. don't know if any of them are too concerning.

Max: Seth Green? create more options?
PJ: we're working on creating options everywhere. last year we were so limited in personnel. now we can be more creative based on the people we have. Seth could have been sitting on the bench as our 3rd QB. Instead, he got 2 TD. that's the creativity of Kirk C. as we get better we'll bring more play-makers in. we've had full 1 recruiting class. down the road we'll probably see other people moving positions - it's only natural. find creative ways to get people on the field. Teams have seen (the wildcat), and they'll prepare for it, but there are always different ways we can run it. It will be part of our offense throughout the year.

Sid: what about Bateman - the FR WR?
PJ: people will like him as as FB player, and off the field. His whole family was there from Georgia. he's selfless - an amazing youngster. he is looking to do service to the State of MN. Love to see him on the field - has explosive speed. almost scored a long TD, but got tripped up with a shoelace. he'll have plenty of opportunities throughout the year. He's a True FR, but he can make a huge difference for us.

Mona: I think the new Red-Shirt rule is going to be a favorite.
PJ: makes a huge difference. whatever we decide to do with Dunlap or Faalele, they've got their 1st game in the pocket. later in the season, if you need players, they've already played in a game. we'll start to see what that can do to create depth, create confidence. we're such a young team. if we were heavy with upperclassmen, we might not need to use the Red-Shirt rule as much. But it's perfect for us to get experience. the only problem is, once they've been in a game, everybody wants to play. we need to teach them why the rule's there, and what we're doing with them.

Sid: Fresno State?
PJ: very good team. 10 wins last year. possibly have a shot at a NY Day's bowl game. scored 79 points last night vs Idaho. a very good team. Their QB is dangerous. they have 3 explosive WR's. their middle LB might be one of better middle LB's we face. they swarm on defense. reminds us of those Pat Hill-coached teams at Fresno State. they're very dangerous. we'll practice tonight. The Coaches have put in a lot of work already.

Sid: congratulations on victory. Murray's certificate. People - we need more fans to attend games. Good Deals available. Buy tickets and support the Gophers.
PJ: RTB, ski-U-Mah, go Gophers. (PJ signed off while Sid was droning on about tickets.....)


(personal note from Shorty - I'm 63 years old today. Another year closer to retirement......)

Happy Birthday!!!! and thanks for all that you do!
 

Great as always. Happy Birthday!
 



People love ZA and his story, great person, great player, from Minn ... deservedly so!


But really think Bateman deserves so much credit -- Georgia kid, family is all there, could've EASILY, EASILY, taken the SEC U of Georgia offer and ran with it. We would've been pissed sure, but no one would've blamed him. NOPE he stuck with his commitment, and family committed to him, came all the way up to Mpls. Awesome!!
 

Gratulerer med dagen, SON. Pensjonere tidlig. [emoji41]
 

Happy Birthday to the Football board MVP. Thanks again.
 

Max: Seth Green? create more options?
PJ: we're working on creating options everywhere. last year we were so limited in personnel. now we can be more creative based on the people we have.

Seth was here in 2017. Not complaining, just saying.

Happy Birthday, my friend. I thought you were much older!! (Just kidding.) You do a remakable job.
 

Sixty three is a good age, I remember it well. Happy birthday and keep up your contrarian ways.
 

Keep moving. Motion is the lotion of life.
 

Happy Birthday SON. It's an honor to share the same Birthday as you. It's my 75th today. Keep up the good work on GH.
 

What a great way for you guys to spend your birthday! :clap:

Thank you SON! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to TLHGO4 2!
 




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