DanielHouse
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2017
- Messages
- 594
- Reaction score
- 248
- Points
- 43
True freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad is learning every week. His head coach understands that’s part of developing talent at the position. Through five games, Annexstad has completed 52 percent of his passes for 924 yards and eight touchdowns. He has tossed just five interceptions, three of which came in last week’s game. Sure, there are mistakes, but his head coach is seeing signs of progress.
“I think he’s a lot more decisive with his decision making. Whether it’s the right or wrong decision, he’s more decisive,” Fleck said. “It think he’s doing what he has to be able to do to get out of the pocket a little bit better. Now, there’s a difference, now you’re out of the pocket and now just get rid of it. Instead of getting tackled for a sack, re-injure yourself or anything like that, put yourself at risk.”
Annexstad was tasked with throwing the ball down the field more in Saturday’s 48-31 loss to Iowa. He passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions. Fleck said the young quarterback is showing flashes as a passer, but certain variables such as handling pressure and decision making are areas he must continue to improve.
“The ball he throws to Rashod Bateman in the end zone, the second touchdown is phenomenal. The fade throw is phenomenal. The deep balls he is throwing are phenomenal. Are there some that you sit there and go, eh, that got away from him? Yeah. Why did it get away from him? Pressure in his face. Had to make a back footed throw. Those are the ones we’ve gotta get away from,” Fleck said. “This is the Big Ten. You’re throwing off your back foot with somebody in your face and it’s a 22-25-yard throw, those aren’t the best. We’ve gotta be able to find and feel the pocket better, step up, escape and do those things.”
Young wide receivers are learning
The biggest area of immediate growth for the Gophers has been at the wide receiver position. P.J. Fleck said the rapid development of freshmen Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell has been the result of the team’s focus on technique. The duo combined to grab ten passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Minnesota’s emphasis on recruiting wide receiver talent has started to pay off.
“I think you’re starting to see a development of a really special wide receiver unit here at the University of Minnesota. Not just one guy, but a lot of guys. And that’s something we wanted to create the day we walked in here,” Fleck said. “We had to change a lot to be able to do that and bring in a lot of guys to be able to do that as well and develop some.”
Fleck explained how the technique of wide receivers is extra important when gaining separation from defensive backs. The technical components are critical, especially a receiver’s ability to keep his shoulders vertical and change his directional speed.
“There’s three parts to it, there’s a release, there’s the vertical extension part of that route and then there’s the finish. I think all guys are doing a tremendous job of keeping their shoulders vertical as long as they possibly can,” Fleck said. “They’re doing a great job of pumping their inside arm and not just pressing and giving somebody else something to grab onto. We call it a meat grinder where our inside arm has to continue to pump and continue to keep us strong. The speed that you’re running at has to change, not the opening of your shoulders to do that.”
Not only that, but several of the grabs in Saturday’s game were contested catches. It’s something wide receivers coach Matt Simon has been emphasizing. In practice, the Gophers stress the importance of 50-50 passes becoming 90-10 catches. It paid off as Chris Autman-Bell and Rashod Bateman corralled passes with defensive backs draped all over them.
“We needed to be able to extend the field last game. We were down 14-0 before you could sneeze and the next thing you know, we’ve gotta the ball down the field. We need to create, synthetically here, some explosive plays without being able to get pressure on our quarterback or get sacked.”
Faalele listed as a starter on the depth chart
The Gophers released a depth chart on Tuesday morning and true freshmen Daniel Faalele was listed as the starting right tackle. He entered in the second half of Saturday’s game for Sam Schlueter. With just two games remaining before he loses his redshirt, it appears Minnesota is willing to continue playing Faalele. Fleck feels the mammoth offensive lineman has grown mentally over the past nine months.
“I think the biggest growth he’s has hasn’t been the physical part because he’s just physically, naturally strong. He’s only going to get stronger as he grows. It’s the mental and emotional part,” Fleck said. “I thought he did pretty well when he was in there. He’s got to get a lot better, but he’s fully committed to making himself a really good football player.”
The variables to improving third down defense
One of the areas the Gophers must improve is their third down defense. Iowa converted 10 of their 19 third down tries as they gashed the Gophers’ “off man” and zone coverage looks. Fleck noted many of the issues related to getting off the field on third down are due to smaller details, such as alignments.
“That was not good on third down, at all….I mean, if you got off half of those, you could possibly win the football games. It’s the details, it’s the small, small details. It’s the alignment, it’s the depth, it’s the ability go set the edge, it’s the ability to brake foot, drive foot on the hip and keep your eyes on the key,” Fleck said. “If you’re going down the field with a guy, your eyes should be on his hip, not down the field because you think it should be a deep ball. It’s the small, small, small details that you really worry about as a coach when you’re playing so many young kids.”
The challenge of Ohio State
The Gophers will need to be ready for the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes as they travel to Columbus on Saturday. With a dominant trio of wide receivers led by Parris Campbell, the secondary will have difficult matchups. Not to mention, quarterback Dwayne Haskins has a rocket arm to stretch the secondary.
Fleck directly discussed the talent at all levels of the Buckeyes’ defense and said they have one of the fastest defensive backfields in the country. With players like speedster Kendall Sheffield at cornerback, the Gophers’ wide receivers will have their hands full.
“They can be able to lock you down on the outside, plus still get pressure with four, let alone still have an under coverage or a rat down in there that can be able to do things. Not only can they cover the outside, they can take away your screens, they can do a lot of that,” Fleck said. “They make it very dangerous and they can put pressure on you very quickly. It’s an enormous challenge for us, we know that, but we just have to keep getting better every single day at what we need to get better at.”
VIDEO
“I think he’s a lot more decisive with his decision making. Whether it’s the right or wrong decision, he’s more decisive,” Fleck said. “It think he’s doing what he has to be able to do to get out of the pocket a little bit better. Now, there’s a difference, now you’re out of the pocket and now just get rid of it. Instead of getting tackled for a sack, re-injure yourself or anything like that, put yourself at risk.”
Annexstad was tasked with throwing the ball down the field more in Saturday’s 48-31 loss to Iowa. He passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions. Fleck said the young quarterback is showing flashes as a passer, but certain variables such as handling pressure and decision making are areas he must continue to improve.
“The ball he throws to Rashod Bateman in the end zone, the second touchdown is phenomenal. The fade throw is phenomenal. The deep balls he is throwing are phenomenal. Are there some that you sit there and go, eh, that got away from him? Yeah. Why did it get away from him? Pressure in his face. Had to make a back footed throw. Those are the ones we’ve gotta get away from,” Fleck said. “This is the Big Ten. You’re throwing off your back foot with somebody in your face and it’s a 22-25-yard throw, those aren’t the best. We’ve gotta be able to find and feel the pocket better, step up, escape and do those things.”
Young wide receivers are learning
The biggest area of immediate growth for the Gophers has been at the wide receiver position. P.J. Fleck said the rapid development of freshmen Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell has been the result of the team’s focus on technique. The duo combined to grab ten passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Minnesota’s emphasis on recruiting wide receiver talent has started to pay off.
“I think you’re starting to see a development of a really special wide receiver unit here at the University of Minnesota. Not just one guy, but a lot of guys. And that’s something we wanted to create the day we walked in here,” Fleck said. “We had to change a lot to be able to do that and bring in a lot of guys to be able to do that as well and develop some.”
Fleck explained how the technique of wide receivers is extra important when gaining separation from defensive backs. The technical components are critical, especially a receiver’s ability to keep his shoulders vertical and change his directional speed.
“There’s three parts to it, there’s a release, there’s the vertical extension part of that route and then there’s the finish. I think all guys are doing a tremendous job of keeping their shoulders vertical as long as they possibly can,” Fleck said. “They’re doing a great job of pumping their inside arm and not just pressing and giving somebody else something to grab onto. We call it a meat grinder where our inside arm has to continue to pump and continue to keep us strong. The speed that you’re running at has to change, not the opening of your shoulders to do that.”
Not only that, but several of the grabs in Saturday’s game were contested catches. It’s something wide receivers coach Matt Simon has been emphasizing. In practice, the Gophers stress the importance of 50-50 passes becoming 90-10 catches. It paid off as Chris Autman-Bell and Rashod Bateman corralled passes with defensive backs draped all over them.
“We needed to be able to extend the field last game. We were down 14-0 before you could sneeze and the next thing you know, we’ve gotta the ball down the field. We need to create, synthetically here, some explosive plays without being able to get pressure on our quarterback or get sacked.”
Faalele listed as a starter on the depth chart
The Gophers released a depth chart on Tuesday morning and true freshmen Daniel Faalele was listed as the starting right tackle. He entered in the second half of Saturday’s game for Sam Schlueter. With just two games remaining before he loses his redshirt, it appears Minnesota is willing to continue playing Faalele. Fleck feels the mammoth offensive lineman has grown mentally over the past nine months.
“I think the biggest growth he’s has hasn’t been the physical part because he’s just physically, naturally strong. He’s only going to get stronger as he grows. It’s the mental and emotional part,” Fleck said. “I thought he did pretty well when he was in there. He’s got to get a lot better, but he’s fully committed to making himself a really good football player.”
The variables to improving third down defense
One of the areas the Gophers must improve is their third down defense. Iowa converted 10 of their 19 third down tries as they gashed the Gophers’ “off man” and zone coverage looks. Fleck noted many of the issues related to getting off the field on third down are due to smaller details, such as alignments.
“That was not good on third down, at all….I mean, if you got off half of those, you could possibly win the football games. It’s the details, it’s the small, small details. It’s the alignment, it’s the depth, it’s the ability go set the edge, it’s the ability to brake foot, drive foot on the hip and keep your eyes on the key,” Fleck said. “If you’re going down the field with a guy, your eyes should be on his hip, not down the field because you think it should be a deep ball. It’s the small, small, small details that you really worry about as a coach when you’re playing so many young kids.”
The challenge of Ohio State
The Gophers will need to be ready for the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes as they travel to Columbus on Saturday. With a dominant trio of wide receivers led by Parris Campbell, the secondary will have difficult matchups. Not to mention, quarterback Dwayne Haskins has a rocket arm to stretch the secondary.
Fleck directly discussed the talent at all levels of the Buckeyes’ defense and said they have one of the fastest defensive backfields in the country. With players like speedster Kendall Sheffield at cornerback, the Gophers’ wide receivers will have their hands full.
“They can be able to lock you down on the outside, plus still get pressure with four, let alone still have an under coverage or a rat down in there that can be able to do things. Not only can they cover the outside, they can take away your screens, they can do a lot of that,” Fleck said. “They make it very dangerous and they can put pressure on you very quickly. It’s an enormous challenge for us, we know that, but we just have to keep getting better every single day at what we need to get better at.”
VIDEO
Last edited:
