PJ Fleck Interview new - Sunday 4-28-19

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Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle with Sid, Dave and Max.

Sid: Happy to see Cashman draftrd?
PJ: congratulations. it's tremendous for our program. great opportunity for him. he's earned it. talented FB player. great story from Walk-on to 5th-round pick.

Sid: Any other Gophers sign deals?
PJ: Greene to Jaguars. other guys have opportunities. didn't have a lot of seniors. in future years, I expect more Gopher fans will want to be tuned into the draft.

Sid: any other signings?
PJ: hard to tell. NFL is a business. hard to get into it. have to get there to get the opportunity.

Sid: did you accomplish everything you wanted to with spring practice?
PJ: proud of our progress as a team. look at where we were at the end of last year and where we are now. every year is its own entity. this week the players are taking finals - important week academically. they'll get a few weeks off then start summer workouts.

Mona: dealing with expectations. looking better for Gophers in fall previews.
PJ: can't be naive. going to hear those things. educate players about that and why. let them know why. last year we were the youngest team in America, and no one thinks we'll be good. it was a race to maturity. players grew up. won 4 of last 5. that was when they were ready. this year, we're the 2nd youngest team in America, but we have some experience. try to educate them about expectations coming from the outside. expectations rising. educate players about how to handle that, process that. educate them about dealing with expectations. that does not mean it has to be the end result

Sid: any players surprise you in spring
PJ: I don't think so. guys are growing up, playing up to their ability. fundamentals and technique getting better. Mafe, Rush, Sori-Marin - the next guys. you expect guys like Coughlin, Martin, Winfield to play well. looking at the backups to those guys - guys who are going to maybe fill 3rd-down roles. need to raise them to the level of starters.

Max: show on ESPN about 13-year old offered scholarship. when do you know. earliest you can tell if kid has potential?
PJ: incredible story. last year he was one of best WR in country, going to Buffalo Bills. it's an organized, educated guess. do everything you can to maximize percentages. not going to be right all of the time. if you can be right on 65-75% of players, you're doing really well. I don't know if there is a time frame. certain characteristics you look for on and off field. athleticism. body structure. his parents. not everyone has one time frame. we've offered freshman before - we've waited till a kid's senior year before. Lane Kiffen offered a 7th grader. why wait? so much with development can go right or wrong. every kid is different.

Mona: How is recruiting doing? IMG academy connections remain?
PJ: 2020 recruiting is doing well. have 8 commits. other guys are close to committing in the next month or two. it's on a need basis. sooner or later, want to have 25 players graduate. get to a point where we're a senior-dominated team. we're probably 2 or 3 years away from that. have 3 commits for 2021. outstanding players for that class. hope to get more. we look at 2020 and 2021 as one class. that will be a huge push as we go forward. always got to be years ahead. coaches are out there, getting into schools. As far as IMG - we go where we have connections. there are players all over country. we feel good about what we have from those kind of players.

Sid: young QB's?
PJ: impressed with the two young kids. they competed. they were thrown into the fire. they didn't just get a few snaps - they got to run the offense from practice one. Kirk C is one of the best developers of QB's I've been around. incredible listener. knows the strengths and weaknesses of the players. Zach and Tanner both improved. if we had to list a starter now, you're looking to see if one stood out in the Spring. They're both competitors. both got better. they're both working at an elite level. they're raising the level of competition in the QB room.

Sid: lots of new ticket plans. get tickets. big-time schedule. Murray's
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, go Gophers.
 

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PJ shares my enthusiasm for having draftable seniors on the team.
 

PJ shares my enthusiasm for having draftable seniors on the team.

I’d prefer to have a team of players so good they’re gone after 3 or 4 years but I’ll take your option as a close second. I don’t think anyone will disagree.

We should have several guys up for draft consideration this season. Plenty of playmakers up and down the roster, hopefully left tackle solidifies and could be a special season.
 



Everyone wants draftable seniors.

Everyone laughs at you using it as the metric to quantify talent.

Why would anyone want draftable seniors if it doesn’t correlate to talent? I would imagine the correlation between draftable seniors and wins is similar if not stronger than the correlation between recruiting rankings and wins. Would anyone question that Ohio St, the best team in the B1G over the past decade, would be at the top of the B1G with players drafted?
 

Where’s spoofin? Fleck said we won 4 of our last 5.
 

Here is the list of draft picks by college: https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...minates-sets-record-with-64-players-selected/

Alabama - 10
Ohio St - 9
Oklahoma - 8
Washington - 8
Georgia - 7
Texas A&M - 7
Auburn - 6
Clemson - 6
Notre Dame - 6
Ole Miss - 6
Penn St - 6

To no one's surprise, most of those teams were pretty good in 2019. The correlation between drafted players, most of which tend to be seniors, and wins is extremely high. It's probably the most obvious take out there.


I would question why anyone would take issue with this, except the agenda of a few is obvious.
 



Mona: dealing with expectations. looking better for Gophers in fall previews.
PJ: can't be naive. going to hear those things. educate players about that and why. let them know why. last year we were the youngest team in America, and no one thinks we'll be good. it was a race to maturity. players grew up. <b>won 4 of last 5. </b>that was when they were ready. this year, we're the 2nd youngest team in America, but we have some experience. try to educate them about expectations coming from the outside. expectations rising. educate players about how to handle that, process that. educate them about dealing with expectations. that does not mean it has to be the end result

You have to be trolling me now.......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


2018 B1G football standings:

1. Ohio St.
2. Northwestern
3. Michigan
4. Penn St.
5. Iowa
6. Michigan St.
7. Wisconsin
8. Purdue
9. Minnesota
10. Maryland
11. Nebraska
12. Indiana
13. Illinois
14. Rutgers

2019 Draft picks by team:

1. Ohio St. - 9
2. Penn St. - 6
3. Michigan - 5
4, 5,6. Iowa, Maryland, Wisconsin - 4
7,8 - Michigan St, Rutgers - 2
9, 10,11,12. Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, NW - 1
13,14 - Nebraska, Purdue - 0

That's a pretty strong correlation. NW outperformed based on draft picks, but everyone knows Fitz is a great coach that has outperformed his talent level for years. Brohm also outperformed by finishing in the middle of the conference despite no draft picks. Everything else lines up pretty close.
 
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Just to quibble - since the discussion was over draftable seniors, we would need to break down the draft picks by grade level. I'm assuming at least some of them were juniors who came out early.

The overall point is still valid - a team that has a lot of players drafted has a lot of talent, and a lot of talent generally translates into on-field success.
 



I’d prefer to have a team of players so good they’re gone after 3 or 4 years but I’ll take your option as a close second. I don’t think anyone will disagree.

We should have several guys up for draft consideration this season. Plenty of playmakers up and down the roster, hopefully left tackle solidifies and could be a special season.

Assuming he was talking about scholarship players, graduating 25 seniors would mean smaller recruiting classes, right? Sounds great but...
 

Yeah, Ohio State has had the best recruiting classes every year and likely the most players drafted every year (I’m not going to bother) but you recruiting guys keep arguing with yourselves- PJ is going to HAVE to outperform expectations and available talent to win the west and particularly the Big Ten and keep recruiting momentum going. Like Fitz, Brohm, Ferentz, Wisconsin...
 

OK, just for fun, I looked it up. B1G draft by school -

OSU 9 drafted - 4 seniors, 5 early entry
PSU 6 drafted - 3 seniors, 3 early entry
Mich 5 drafted - 1 senior, 4 early entry
IA 4 drafted - 1 senior, 3 early entry
Maryland 4 drafted - 4 seniors, 0 early entry
WI 4 drafted - 3 seniors, 1 early entry
MSU 2 drafted - 1 senior, 1 early entry
Rutgers 2 drafted - 2 seniors, 0 early entry
MN 1 drafted - 1 senior
Illinois 1 drafted - 1 senior
NW 1 drafted - 1 senior
Indiana 1 drafted - 1 senior

Totals 40 drafted - 23 seniors, 17 early entry. 57.5% of drafted players from B1G schools were seniors. 42.5% were early entry

looks like teams with most talent tend to have more early entry players drafted.

still works out to same thing - more talent is good.
 

“Draftable Juniors” is the new “Draftable Seniors”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Which Gophers get drafted next year? Johnson and Coughlin will. Winfield? Treadwey?
 

OK, just for fun, I looked it up. B1G draft by school -

OSU 9 drafted - 4 seniors, 5 early entry
PSU 6 drafted - 3 seniors, 3 early entry
Mich 5 drafted - 1 senior, 4 early entry
IA 4 drafted - 1 senior, 3 early entry
Maryland 4 drafted - 4 seniors, 0 early entry
WI 4 drafted - 3 seniors, 1 early entry
MSU 2 drafted - 1 senior, 1 early entry
Rutgers 2 drafted - 2 seniors, 0 early entry
MN 1 drafted - 1 senior
Illinois 1 drafted - 1 senior
NW 1 drafted - 1 senior
Indiana 1 drafted - 1 senior

Totals 40 drafted - 23 seniors, 17 early entry. 57.5% of drafted players from B1G schools were seniors. 42.5% were early entry

looks like teams with most talent tend to have more early entry players drafted.

still works out to same thing - more talent is good.

Thanks SON for pulling this together.
 


Which Gophers get drafted next year? Johnson and Coughlin will. Winfield? Treadwey?

Agree that Johnson and Coughlin will get drafted.

Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks could with healthy productive seasons, possibly.

Kamal Martin and Barber may attract some interest with great seasons....maybe so with Winston De as well.

Winfield could leave early but he needs to stay on the field and play well to think about it.

Did Treadwey get an additional year of eligibility? He's probably same as Winfield if so.

There are others who could entertain leaving early with a great year but nobody else seems like a high draft choice possibility, do they?
 


Okay, in the Fleckdom, who is the youngest team, since we are second to the youngest?
Honestly, I don't understand Fleck's tactic with invoking youngsterism.
 

Okay, in the Fleckdom, who is the youngest team, since we are second to the youngest?
Honestly, I don't understand Fleck's tactic with invoking youngsterism.

Since so many will swear he is altruistic, it certainly can't be that he has a pathological need to inflate his accomplishments/value.
 

Thanks Son for this report. Created much discussion! LOL!
 

Agree that Johnson and Coughlin will get drafted.

Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks could with healthy productive seasons, possibly.

Kamal Martin and Barber may attract some interest with great seasons....maybe so with Winston De as well.

Winfield could leave early but he needs to stay on the field and play well to think about it.

Did Treadwey get an additional year of eligibility? He's probably same as Winfield if so.

There are others who could entertain leaving early with a great year but nobody else seems like a high draft choice possibility, do they?

Agree Johnson, Coughlin, Smith, Brooks, Winfield.
Kiondre, Durr, Chris Williamson all could get a shot. I hope Owens and Clemmons are good enough to be considered.
If Andries develops, he might. I hope Dickson is good enough to be considered.
Herbers?
 

Okay, in the Fleckdom, who is the youngest team, since we are second to the youngest?
Honestly, I don't understand Fleck's tactic with invoking youngsterism.

I don't understand the obsession to keep reacting. He has most of us looking forward to next season. He seems like our best chance to escape the lower rungs of the BIG in a long time. He beat the Badgers.

It's PJ. Certainly isn't worth the reaction of some.
 

I don't understand the obsession to keep reacting. He has most of us looking forward to next season. He seems like our best chance to escape the lower rungs of the BIG in a long time. He beat the Badgers.

It's PJ. Certainly isn't worth the reaction of some.
That's my point. His kids won 3 out of 4 to end last season. He has talent returning. Why keep tamping down the excitement by saying "we're the 2nd youngest team in America"? It seems valueless to bring it up.
 

That's my point. His kids won 3 out of 4 to end last season. He has talent returning. Why keep tamping down the excitement by saying "we're the 2nd youngest team in America"? It seems valueless to bring it up.

Well in reality we still are young. Why does it bug you that he states this? Really not that big of deal in my opinion. Time to move on.
 

Well in reality we still are young. Why does it bug you that he states this? Really not that big of deal in my opinion. Time to move on.
It's not about bugging me. It's about my curiosity as to why he brings it up. What benefit does saying we're the 2nd youngest team provide? Why should anyone care?
Also, I'm curious to know who he says is the youngest team.
 




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