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Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio.
Sid: What's your schedule for bye week?
PJ: we've had it set for a while. give the players some time off. they need it. get ready for the 4-game stretch coming up. playing some rivalry games. facing ranked opponents. we've got to get healthy. have a health and wellness type week. something very new for us, different. get them ready mentally, physically, emotionally. coaches will go out recruiting Thurs, Fri, Sat. We'll get into our normal game week routine next Sunday.
Sid: how did you feel about game on Thursday? (huh?)
PJ: Thursday - the Vikings were awesome. Our game, we found a way to play well on offense, defense, special teams. I thought the offense started slow the previous week and the defense kept us in game. this week, the offense got going, and benefited from takeaways. Sori-Marin led us in tackles, Durr with the Pick 6, Winfield. We call it "Family room" defense. The Offense ran for over 300 yards. Receiving - Chris-Autman Bell, Johnson, Bateman, Douglas. wasn't just one guy. Potts. Ibrahim. Green 2 TD's. Rodney ran for over 100 yards. Shannon had the 2nd-most carries.
Mona: tip drill
PJ: you plan for some of those. we have a 'program' drill. the ball is the program. we work on tipped passes. Players ask sometimes "why are we working on this?" every team works on tipped balls. We found a way to make a play.
Max: Facing a team that's struggling, do you try to bring heat early. test opposing QB's?
PJ: that's our emphasis no matter who you're playing. last two weeks, people were talking about trap games, having a let-up. we don't believe in those things. we have 100% respect for all of our opponents. I'm not sure how many of them respect us. we game plan against who we're playing. we don't say this is an easier game, or a harder game.
Sid: healthy?
PJ: players do a good job taking care of their bodies. bye week lets us take a breath.
Mona: Goal line luncheon. Heather knocked it out of the park.
PJ: I told her she's going to be on the radio show, the TV show, speaking to you on Sunday. She'll be taking over all my media responsibilities. very proud of her. an advocate in the TC area. Huge heart. She's Wonder Woman. the things she does on a daily basis. helping to serve, give. Ronald Mc Donald House, Love Your Melon. RTB. be a mom to 125 football players, a mom to our 4 kids, and be a wife to me. That's not easy at times.
Sid: are there many better RB's than Smith?
PJ: Rodney over 100 yards. all-time leader in U of MN all-purpose yards. been here a long time, played a lot of football. leaving his stamp on the program. been able to stick it out, become better, grow, lead the culture. wants to finish strong.
Max: recruiting restrictions during bye week?
PJ: we'll go watch some games, be in some HS's. gather info from guidance counselors. get grade information. be sure players are up on their grades. it's a two-way bargain. players we recruit need to keep up their, grades, show progress in the classroom. do the right things off the field. we check up on that.
Mona: Recruiting - do you start looking at 10th graders? // Smith will go directly from playing to Social Security.
PJ: Rodney's been here a long time. has a wealth of knowledge. he helps to lead our young players. Recruiting - working on 2021 class. try to hold onto 2020. still have a few things moving around. go in and check everything. recruit 2020 class through signing day, then on to 2021, 2022. smoke coming out of the doors, they're working so hard. we work so far in advance.
Sid: have an extra week to prepare for next game.
PJ: Penn State has an extra week too. James Franklin is one of my best friends in the profession, one of the coaches I respect. one of top 5 coaches in country. Look what he did at Vanderbilt, Penn State. Special person, special coach. we have a lot to prepare for. He has a very talented FB team. wonderful match-up. this could be one of the biggest games in the modern history of Gopher football. happening in 2 weeks at TCF. we have a lot of things planned. game-day experience. ticket people. two weeks to try and make it one of the greatest game-day environments in college football.
Max: talk about gaining trust of players. what's most important thing to them? timetable?
PJ: honesty. consistency. authentic and real. If players find its not authentic and real, they're not in. It takes 18 months. year 1 leaks into year 2. Year 1 is the pouring of the foundation. year 2 is the hardening of the foundation. year 3 is the framework, you start building the house. year 1, some people are on the fence, might not be in. some might be all the way out. it takes time to find that out. It's about being yourself - that's what the players want. they can decide if that's what they want.
Mona: Gophers catching national attention. your name enters conversation for other coaching jobs.
PJ: I'm trying to make sure MN gets attention on national level. for our team, coaches, the state, the Twin Cities area. Heather and I love it here. we've very grateful to the Gopher fans, the administration. We've got a lot of things to finish here this year.
Sid: OL has improved this year
PJ: They've improved a lot. Coach Callahan deserves credit, and the players deserve credit. We have 6 starters. selfless. we rotate in the OL. we have a set rotation. Not everyone would do that, but it works for us.
Mona: never met coach who, when he had two weeks to prepare, didn't think about new wrinkles. are you working on anything?
PJ: I don't know. we've got two weeks. we'll game plan like a normal game. Try to find every advantage against that team that we can think of. Need to do everything first to get better as us, then start working toward Penn State.
Sid: Fantastic job. you and your staff have done the job. need to get the stadium packed. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers. Skol Vikes.
Sid: What's your schedule for bye week?
PJ: we've had it set for a while. give the players some time off. they need it. get ready for the 4-game stretch coming up. playing some rivalry games. facing ranked opponents. we've got to get healthy. have a health and wellness type week. something very new for us, different. get them ready mentally, physically, emotionally. coaches will go out recruiting Thurs, Fri, Sat. We'll get into our normal game week routine next Sunday.
Sid: how did you feel about game on Thursday? (huh?)
PJ: Thursday - the Vikings were awesome. Our game, we found a way to play well on offense, defense, special teams. I thought the offense started slow the previous week and the defense kept us in game. this week, the offense got going, and benefited from takeaways. Sori-Marin led us in tackles, Durr with the Pick 6, Winfield. We call it "Family room" defense. The Offense ran for over 300 yards. Receiving - Chris-Autman Bell, Johnson, Bateman, Douglas. wasn't just one guy. Potts. Ibrahim. Green 2 TD's. Rodney ran for over 100 yards. Shannon had the 2nd-most carries.
Mona: tip drill
PJ: you plan for some of those. we have a 'program' drill. the ball is the program. we work on tipped passes. Players ask sometimes "why are we working on this?" every team works on tipped balls. We found a way to make a play.
Max: Facing a team that's struggling, do you try to bring heat early. test opposing QB's?
PJ: that's our emphasis no matter who you're playing. last two weeks, people were talking about trap games, having a let-up. we don't believe in those things. we have 100% respect for all of our opponents. I'm not sure how many of them respect us. we game plan against who we're playing. we don't say this is an easier game, or a harder game.
Sid: healthy?
PJ: players do a good job taking care of their bodies. bye week lets us take a breath.
Mona: Goal line luncheon. Heather knocked it out of the park.
PJ: I told her she's going to be on the radio show, the TV show, speaking to you on Sunday. She'll be taking over all my media responsibilities. very proud of her. an advocate in the TC area. Huge heart. She's Wonder Woman. the things she does on a daily basis. helping to serve, give. Ronald Mc Donald House, Love Your Melon. RTB. be a mom to 125 football players, a mom to our 4 kids, and be a wife to me. That's not easy at times.
Sid: are there many better RB's than Smith?
PJ: Rodney over 100 yards. all-time leader in U of MN all-purpose yards. been here a long time, played a lot of football. leaving his stamp on the program. been able to stick it out, become better, grow, lead the culture. wants to finish strong.
Max: recruiting restrictions during bye week?
PJ: we'll go watch some games, be in some HS's. gather info from guidance counselors. get grade information. be sure players are up on their grades. it's a two-way bargain. players we recruit need to keep up their, grades, show progress in the classroom. do the right things off the field. we check up on that.
Mona: Recruiting - do you start looking at 10th graders? // Smith will go directly from playing to Social Security.
PJ: Rodney's been here a long time. has a wealth of knowledge. he helps to lead our young players. Recruiting - working on 2021 class. try to hold onto 2020. still have a few things moving around. go in and check everything. recruit 2020 class through signing day, then on to 2021, 2022. smoke coming out of the doors, they're working so hard. we work so far in advance.
Sid: have an extra week to prepare for next game.
PJ: Penn State has an extra week too. James Franklin is one of my best friends in the profession, one of the coaches I respect. one of top 5 coaches in country. Look what he did at Vanderbilt, Penn State. Special person, special coach. we have a lot to prepare for. He has a very talented FB team. wonderful match-up. this could be one of the biggest games in the modern history of Gopher football. happening in 2 weeks at TCF. we have a lot of things planned. game-day experience. ticket people. two weeks to try and make it one of the greatest game-day environments in college football.
Max: talk about gaining trust of players. what's most important thing to them? timetable?
PJ: honesty. consistency. authentic and real. If players find its not authentic and real, they're not in. It takes 18 months. year 1 leaks into year 2. Year 1 is the pouring of the foundation. year 2 is the hardening of the foundation. year 3 is the framework, you start building the house. year 1, some people are on the fence, might not be in. some might be all the way out. it takes time to find that out. It's about being yourself - that's what the players want. they can decide if that's what they want.
Mona: Gophers catching national attention. your name enters conversation for other coaching jobs.
PJ: I'm trying to make sure MN gets attention on national level. for our team, coaches, the state, the Twin Cities area. Heather and I love it here. we've very grateful to the Gopher fans, the administration. We've got a lot of things to finish here this year.
Sid: OL has improved this year
PJ: They've improved a lot. Coach Callahan deserves credit, and the players deserve credit. We have 6 starters. selfless. we rotate in the OL. we have a set rotation. Not everyone would do that, but it works for us.
Mona: never met coach who, when he had two weeks to prepare, didn't think about new wrinkles. are you working on anything?
PJ: I don't know. we've got two weeks. we'll game plan like a normal game. Try to find every advantage against that team that we can think of. Need to do everything first to get better as us, then start working toward Penn State.
Sid: Fantastic job. you and your staff have done the job. need to get the stadium packed. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers. Skol Vikes.