LINCOLN —
..... He’s a go-go-go guy, aiming to get Minnesota to the top of the Big Ten with a blend of new-age salesmanship and old-school, sit-on-the-ball playing style that produced a league-best 35-minute-average in time of possession. The offense was often an unexplosive bore — so much so that Fleck fired his offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford — but it was part of a 9-4 squad that beat rival Wisconsin and dominated West Virginia in a bowl game.
After an 11-win campaign in 2019 — built on players largely recruited by his predecessor — it was reasonable to wonder if Fleck could follow-up on that success.
In 2021, the Gophers did so in a surprising way. With elite defense. Stunning defense, really. A better scoring defense than Michigan, Iowa and Alabama. A 17-points-a-game defense — top ten nationally against the run and pass. A defense that grounded Purdue 20-13 and pounded Wisconsin 23-13. A defense that had a terrific line that freed up linebackers to make tackles against the run and collapsed pockets against the pass.
Two of those linemen — including pass rusher Boye Mafe — were selected in the NFL draft.
Minnesota answered by adding transfers Kyler Baugh (Houston Baptist), Darnell Jeffries (Clemson) and Lorenza Surgers (Vanderbilt). UM used the transfer portal to address experienced departures on its offense line, too, adding Chuck Filiaga (Michigan) and Quinn Carroll (Notre Dame).
Perhaps new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca — who called plays for the Gophers in 2019 — can bring back Morgan’s magic play from that season, when he threw 30 touchdowns.
Minnesota’s receiving corps that season had a lot to do with Morgan’s success, but the group in 2022 has a chance to be special, too. Chris Autman-Bell (36 catches, 506 yards, six touchdowns) is a legit deep threat, while Mike Brown-Stephens’ quickness in the slot gave Nebraska fits.
And while several Gopher backs left the program, senior Mo Ibrahim — lost in the first game of last season to a ruptured Achilles tendon — opted to return. He has two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. Freshman Zach Evans ran for 51 yards in the spring game. Fleck and his staff have an eye for finding good backs who roll onto the field when another rolls off.
Fleck’s good in general at evaluating and developing players. Minnesota’s recruiting rankings have not been that flashy — 49th in 2022 according to 247Sports Composite service, preceded by 38th in 2021, 38th in 2020 and 45th in 2019 — but the Gophers have had far more success than a program like Nebraska, which routinely turns in top 25 recruiting classes.
The nonconference schedule features home games against New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Colorado. Iowa — the one team Fleck can’t seem to beat — visits Nov. 19. The road slate is tough — at Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin are three of the five — but it’s nothing Minnesota can’t handle. The team is hard to blow out.
Sitting on the ball has its perks.
Nebraska’s defense has struggled for years to get Minnesota off the field for starters, and it increases pressure on the Huskers’ offense to make the most out of their possessions. Efficiency hasn’t been the Huskers’ thing, frankly. Minnesota seized early leads in each of the last three games. Nebraska only led for one minute and 34 seconds out of 180 minutes of game clock.
You could argue no other Big Ten team has controlled Nebraska quite like Minnesota in the last three seasons. Fleck is big reason why. He’s toned down the salesman routine a bit more as Minnesota wins a bit more.
“This is the fastest team we've had — and one of the most athletic teams by the numbers from our testing — but we also talked about this team for us to be as good as we want to be, we have to be really tough,” Fleck said. “And tough isn't about just smashing pads and helmets. It's that ability to overcome adversity, to the ability to respond.”
And players seem to respond to him. Minnesota’s 11-win season and nine-win season prove it. Fleck’s no fluke.
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..... He’s a go-go-go guy, aiming to get Minnesota to the top of the Big Ten with a blend of new-age salesmanship and old-school, sit-on-the-ball playing style that produced a league-best 35-minute-average in time of possession. The offense was often an unexplosive bore — so much so that Fleck fired his offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford — but it was part of a 9-4 squad that beat rival Wisconsin and dominated West Virginia in a bowl game.
After an 11-win campaign in 2019 — built on players largely recruited by his predecessor — it was reasonable to wonder if Fleck could follow-up on that success.
In 2021, the Gophers did so in a surprising way. With elite defense. Stunning defense, really. A better scoring defense than Michigan, Iowa and Alabama. A 17-points-a-game defense — top ten nationally against the run and pass. A defense that grounded Purdue 20-13 and pounded Wisconsin 23-13. A defense that had a terrific line that freed up linebackers to make tackles against the run and collapsed pockets against the pass.
Two of those linemen — including pass rusher Boye Mafe — were selected in the NFL draft.
Minnesota answered by adding transfers Kyler Baugh (Houston Baptist), Darnell Jeffries (Clemson) and Lorenza Surgers (Vanderbilt). UM used the transfer portal to address experienced departures on its offense line, too, adding Chuck Filiaga (Michigan) and Quinn Carroll (Notre Dame).
Perhaps new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca — who called plays for the Gophers in 2019 — can bring back Morgan’s magic play from that season, when he threw 30 touchdowns.
Minnesota’s receiving corps that season had a lot to do with Morgan’s success, but the group in 2022 has a chance to be special, too. Chris Autman-Bell (36 catches, 506 yards, six touchdowns) is a legit deep threat, while Mike Brown-Stephens’ quickness in the slot gave Nebraska fits.
And while several Gopher backs left the program, senior Mo Ibrahim — lost in the first game of last season to a ruptured Achilles tendon — opted to return. He has two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. Freshman Zach Evans ran for 51 yards in the spring game. Fleck and his staff have an eye for finding good backs who roll onto the field when another rolls off.
Fleck’s good in general at evaluating and developing players. Minnesota’s recruiting rankings have not been that flashy — 49th in 2022 according to 247Sports Composite service, preceded by 38th in 2021, 38th in 2020 and 45th in 2019 — but the Gophers have had far more success than a program like Nebraska, which routinely turns in top 25 recruiting classes.
The nonconference schedule features home games against New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Colorado. Iowa — the one team Fleck can’t seem to beat — visits Nov. 19. The road slate is tough — at Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin are three of the five — but it’s nothing Minnesota can’t handle. The team is hard to blow out.
Sitting on the ball has its perks.
Nebraska’s defense has struggled for years to get Minnesota off the field for starters, and it increases pressure on the Huskers’ offense to make the most out of their possessions. Efficiency hasn’t been the Huskers’ thing, frankly. Minnesota seized early leads in each of the last three games. Nebraska only led for one minute and 34 seconds out of 180 minutes of game clock.
You could argue no other Big Ten team has controlled Nebraska quite like Minnesota in the last three seasons. Fleck is big reason why. He’s toned down the salesman routine a bit more as Minnesota wins a bit more.
“This is the fastest team we've had — and one of the most athletic teams by the numbers from our testing — but we also talked about this team for us to be as good as we want to be, we have to be really tough,” Fleck said. “And tough isn't about just smashing pads and helmets. It's that ability to overcome adversity, to the ability to respond.”
And players seem to respond to him. Minnesota’s 11-win season and nine-win season prove it. Fleck’s no fluke.
McKewon: With a new seven-year deal, P.J. Fleck is no fluke at Minnesota
P.J. Fleck proved he's no fluke with a nine-win season in 2021. If Minnesota successfully rebuilds its offensive and defensive lines with transfers, the Gophers could see similar results in
