PJ Fleck Interview new - Sunday 5-12-19

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Gopher Football coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio.

Mona: players got to meet Garth Brooks
PJ: lucky group of guys. I guess there are Friends in low places everywhere

Sid: do you have some players who dominate in weight room
PJ: getting stronger. Nickle one of of best coaches in country. getting stronger, bigger, faster. our players truly enjoy being in weight room. all breaking records. players are on a break for two weeks. when they come back, we'll start summer workouts.

Sid: will the recruiting class produce guys who might start
PJ: a lot of guys might help. we are a developmental program- bring guys in as FR and develop for 4 years. a lot of guys aren't here yet. Tyler Nubin, James Gordon, Donald Willis (another name I missed) they'll get here in June. lot of guys will help. build depth.

Mona: 4-game red-shirt rule.
PJ: guys like Dunlap - lot of guys we did that with. players have to be willing to do that. we want to build the program the right way. we started over. invest in each class. only 2 major classes here. this is only our 2nd big class we brought in. players will have opportunity to play as FR - 4 games or whole year. Daniel Faalele - we planned to red-shirt him, but at some point, we said there's no such thing as 4 games anymore, we're going to play him. Dunlap is different. we wanted to hold onto him. he's just a RS FR now. we will still need FR to contribute.

Sid: Shannon, Winfield and Smith
PJ: Winfield 100%. Rodney close. Shannon a little behind Rodney. they will all be ready to go this fall

Max: QB position. more important to make plays or not make mistakes?
PJ: most games are lost, not won. not that we want players to play afraid - but understand how games are lost. turnover battle. our system is our system. we develop QB's in our system. work on things they get better at. last year had 2 Fr QBs. we knew we'd make bad decisions. come out of failing. grow from failing. allow them to fail, allow them to grow. tell them "here's the things that lose games. let's not do this." a punt can be a good play.

Mona: scholarships to specialists?
PJ: I have my own philosophy. if we need a punter, I'll offer a punter. Brady Weeks, LS, #2 in country. don't have to worry about that position for 4 years. Kicking battle - some guys will be joining us in June. will offer scholarships if we think someone has a unique skill set, and feel they can play for 4 years.

Sid: Center with the Vikings. played at Western Michigan
PJ: John Keenoy. undrafted free agent. wonderful young man. part of a big recruiting class at WMU. all-conf. gritty player. tough. intelligent. all A's in college. hidden gem. John can be one of those guys. he's with a great organization

Max: when give scholarships to walk-ons, do you weigh academics?
PJ: it's everything. good grades, do the right thing off the field. football is the last thing. gave scholarship to a 3rd-string kicker who never saw the field. move the culture forward. not about best players -it's about the best people.

Sid: is there a limit to what the OLine can do?
PJ: Callahan is one of the best coaches in country. all arrows point to the line being really good. I've seen him take an average line and make them elite. take not-so-good line and make them really good. tremendous developers of talent. line has chance to be what it wants to be. still young, but more experienced. can see growth. a work in progress every day. like how line's developing.

Mona: awarding scholarships to surprise people. how do you come up with ideas?
PJ: lot of people meet. it's about creative moments and memories. create an experience for 5 years. want players to remember their experience. awarding a scholarship is a very important day for that player, their family. financially it's a huge reward. never want them to forget it. 15-20 years down the road, they won't remember that play against WI or IA, but they'll talk about those scholarships. not remember the score - remember those moments. Chernoff, creative team. Heather comes up with ideas. all about the players, their interest, their needs. we find out what that athlete likes. Had a player who wanted to be a Navy Seal, so we brought in a Navy Seal to speak to team and help award a scholarship.

Mona: Mother's day?
PJ: Happy Mothers day. to all of our Gopher Family. Heather - things she does inspire me. She holds our family together.

Sid: Tickets available. fantastic plans. win a lot of games. get on the ball. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.
 


Great Report Son! Fleck obviously willing to do things out of the norm.
 

Thanks SON, great report. Look forward to the reports every time they are available.
 

Thanks Son


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


Thanks SON. PJ is still referencing the offensive line in very positive terms. The mention of Callahan as a teacher is great and the work he has done with the O-line.
 

PJ’s comment about awarding scholarships to the best people not necessarily the best players is the way walk-on programs should be run.
 




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