PJ Fleck on Sports Huddle 9-23-18

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Gopher FB coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO with Steve Thompson and Sid Hartman. (Dave Mona off - Mike Max at Vikings game)

Sid: playing all those FR - sooner or later it was going to be tough. you never promised you were going to be a winner for a couple of years.
PJ: we're playing a lot of young kids. learning to play on the road. when you fall behind 14 points quickly it's tough, with the way they were running the FB. it was a very emotional week. with bye week, we'll have a chance to get our emotions in order. have a chance to grieve for a teammate. it happened so fast during the week. (with Connelly) We didn't play well enough. the emotional fire, mental fire, physical fire - I didn't feel that from our team. they took it to us. we just didn't play well enough to win. there was some really good stuff, and some really bad stuff.

Sid: Winfield?
PJ: that's the hard part. we've already lost our 2 best RB. then, we lose Winfield. I said all along that if we stay healthy, we'll be OK. When we lose guys, that means more FR playing. With Winfield, we lose one of the guys who has played a lot, and there's a FR behind them. that's part of the rebuilding process. Winfield will hopefully be OK. they're doing some imaging of his foot. he was walking around on it after the game.

Sid: Annexstad
PJ: some really good stuff, some really bad. part of being a FR - go through inconsistency. he threw some really nice balls, and he let some balls sail on him. he got hit early - trying to feel comfortable in the pocket. he doesn't have that familiarity yet, and I think he got skittish back there. we've got to be a lot better. We had a great conversation on the plane. he understands what he has to do to get better. it's part of the journey. need to continue to develop these guys.

Sid: not easy having to play all these FR
PJ: we always expect to win. we expect to win all the time. had a great week in practice. there were 3 plays right at beginning (that set the tone). On 3rd down, one of our young players doesn't do what he's supposed to do. they go for it on 4th down, get it. AW gets hurt, we put in player, he misses a tackle, results in TD. They (Maryland) are one of the most skillful teams in league. they've got a lot of really good transfers. they're in a fertile recruiting ground. they've got a lot of older guys. we saw that. they didn't give us anything: no turnovers, no takeaways. when that happens, you don't give yourself a chance to win in B1G. our team learned that yesterday.

Steve: Nick Connelly. tough situation.
PJ: very difficult. no excuses why you win or lose. these are 18 to 22 yr old young men. they find out on Thursday that their teammate passed away. he was a best friend to a lot of these kids. the players didn't get chance to say goodbye. I didn't do a good enough job to rally them. football was not the most important thing. they didn't have a chance to grieve. I don't want to push that aside for a FB game. they're still kids, still young people. very difficult. it's hard to be a teenager these days, and then you throw death on top of that. it's difficult to understand. then you have to go on the road and play a FB game. they wanted to win for him so bad. when that's your focus, you're not going to play well. we're dealing with tragedy and loss. we'll go through it together. want to be there for Nick's family. we'll help the players get to where they need to be mentally.

Sid: defense was so good 1st 3 games - what happened?
PJ; (Maryland) did a tremendous job. that's the same team that beat TX. they're a very good team. they'll surprise a lot of people. very explosive. the way they run their offense is similar to option football. makes it hard for defense to swarm to the ball. they isolate you on defense. if you miss that tackle, it's a touchdown. if you don't tackle well, they get huge plays. we saw the difference in team speed. that's why we're recruiting, and developing. They're a really good team and they have good players.

Steve: bye week. Iowa next
PJ: chance for us to get a deep breath. grieve. got to get better. get the young guys caught up. IA is a good team, played WI tough. one of best rivalries in B1G. I hope everyone packs TCF. one of the most respected rivalries in all of college FB. we've got 2 weeks to prepare. the coaches will go out recruiting. then we'll go back to work.

Sid: Schedule this week
PJ: give the players some time off, but we've got to get these guys better. can't waste opportunities. we've got to get to work. we'll practice tonight. Monday off. Practice Tues, Weds, Thurs. Coaches will be out recruiting. I'll be out recruiting, but also, myself and the coordinators will be in. we'll run practices with myself and the coordinators. the other assistants will be out on the road recruiting.

Sid: you showed class going on the radio show after a tough loss. a lot of tickets left for Iowa game. let's fill the stadium. don't give up on the Gophers. They're going to win some games. Murray's certificate.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.
 



Thank you as always, shorty. My expectations for this year were sunk yesterday, but we have a chance on almost every game if the coaching improves. These guys weren't even slightly prepared to play yesterday.
 

PJ put things into perspective. He is going to get a pass from the fanbase with where his team was at mentally. Got 2 weeks for Iowa. This isn't coming from me but from some friends that are casual fans but with 2 weeks to prepare and if he has another no show against a huge rival he's going to be hearing about it badly. I just can't see that happening personally.
 


Thanks Son, excellent but tough recap. We've got a few things going against us right now as to injuries, Connolly's death and freshman learning on the job right away.
 

PJ put things into perspective. He is going to get a pass from the fanbase with where his team was at mentally. Got 2 weeks for Iowa. This isn't coming from me but from some friends that are casual fans but with 2 weeks to prepare and if he has another no show against a huge rival he's going to be hearing about it badly. I just can't see that happening personally.

Unfortunately Iowa has a bye next week as well


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Thanks SON. I think the bye week comes at a good time for the Golden Gophers.
 



Thanks SON.

Always appreciate the recap since I often miss it on Sundays.
 


PJ put things into perspective. He is going to get a pass from the fanbase with where his team was at mentally. Got 2 weeks for Iowa. This isn't coming from me but from some friends that are casual fans but with 2 weeks to prepare and if he has another no show against a huge rival he's going to be hearing about it badly. I just can't see that happening personally.

I do so very hope so.

If it’s like the last two games of last year ......... let’s just hope not.
 




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