PJ Fleck Interview new - Sunday 8-4-19

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Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the sports huddle on WCCO radio with Sid and Mike Max. Dave Mona had the week off.

Max: what is schedule like at camp?
PJ: today meetings. players come in at noon or so - lunch, massages. soft-tissue, deep-tissue work. voluntary. then 2 hours of meetings. great time for coaches to see families.

Sid: Annexstad? Bud Grant likes Kramer of Eden Prairie.
PJ: Tanner has won a lot of big games for us. that was important to see last year. with Zach's injury, Tanner will be the guy game #1. that made the decision easier. hopefully Zach will be back before the end of the year. he's worked hard. this will help him become a better leader, better teammate. important to be with kids as they go through difficult times. we will look at Clark and Kramer, both are very talented. have to expedite the maturation process. get more reps at practice. we plan for things like this. we always have options.

Sid: do you see any FR moving in as starters?
PJ: only been in camp 4 days. impressed with RS FR, true FR. Treadway. Ben St-Juste, kid from Michigan. excited about those guys. bring in (to fill) needs we had. good players and people.

Max: what do you look for in training camp. learn about players going 11 on 11. evaluation? have to see these guys?
PJ: don't need to see Martin, Coughlin, Barber. need to see the young guys play football. there is a physical component to game - block, tackle, hit. need a certain toughness. mental, physical toughness. got to evaluate. see them go at it in high-stress environment. evaluate all the way through. yesterday was the 1st practice in uppers. we will get into full padded practices. next week will be more physical. we will scrimmage a little bit more at the end of practices, let them tackle a little bit.

Sid: Brooks and Smith
PJ: Shannon still limited. Rodney is full go. Mo, Williams, Wiley, Potts. very deep there. With Rodney, it's one thing to be cleared - another thing to be in football shape.

Sid: Winfield
PJ: playing SS right now. looks good. tremendous. we've scheduled Weds and Sunday in terms of no running activity. massages and no running on Sunday. as coaches we've re-evaluated length of practice. try to be best team we can be when we need to be. we know what older players can do. need to give more time to young guys.

Max: how do you Evaluate OL at HS level?
PJ: it's system related. we are mainly a 3-point stance team, with OT in 2-point sometimes. we like to put our hands on the ground and run the ball. OL is - tackle is a little different. more projections. some of them - Guedet was 240 in HS, now 315. there's a projection to that, if they're not already 310-315. some guys are naturally that big. try to find diamonds in the rough. we like extremely athletic tackles. see kids who are 235 in HS, they're going to get bigger. only 16 years old. question is will he be big enough, strong enough, athletic enough?

Sid: how do you replace D guys you lost? (Cashman, Huffs)
PJ: we hope to. they were tremendous players for us. need to find guys who do the right things. be in right position. At LB Martin is having good camp. so is Barber. below that, we have Rush, Sori-Marin, Oliver - they have to step up. long way to go. only August 4th. we're not ready to play a game - have a long way to go. have practice tomorrow.

Sid: Kicker?
PJ: 3 guys in competition. Walker - great spring. he's so much better. Lantz from GA - excited about future. very strong leg. to come here and kick as a true FR is very difficult. Tarbutt is a transfer. we put guys in competition every single day. need to find out how they do in high-pressure situations. none of them have run away with it yet. got to get more consistent.

Mona: you attended a funeral service for Marty Davis' relative.
PJ: Special family. Marty has been really good to me. pay our respect to family. the world is about people. lot of people there. it's funny - people won't say anything good about you until your funeral. you always hear the bad when you're alive.

Max: Thanks - Murray's certificate. (Sid was talking in background but his mic was off......)
RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.
 







Thanks SON. Some good tidbits in there about Rodney and Shannon. LB position is going to be really interesting too.
 

I want to hear about the offensive and defensive lines. Who is playing first team LT? What about DT behind Treadway?
 

Interesting comment in there about Rodney. He’s full go but there’s a difference between being cleared and being in football shape.
 



Sid should ask PJ if he would ever consider going through camp with the players for a day. Is that illegal?
 

Sid should ask PJ if he would ever consider going through camp with the players for a day. Is that illegal?

I’ll bet he’s the only P5 head coach who could keep up with his players. He might be really sore the next day, but I think he could do it.


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I’ll bet he’s the only P5 head coach who could keep up with his players. He might be really sore the next day, but I think he could do it.


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Yeah, he's in elite shape for 30-something. Notice him doing planks at midfield during the team break Saturday? I'd throw Lincoln Riley in the mix.
 

Yeah, he's in elite shape for 30-something. Notice him doing planks at midfield during the team break Saturday? I'd throw Lincoln Riley in the mix.

They are still way behind that super cool S&C coach at jNU.


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I’ll bet he’s the only P5 head coach who could keep up with his players. He might be really sore the next day, but I think he could do it.


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PJ is younger than 4 current NFL QBs though.

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