Coach opened that he split the season into two halves. Fresno State was a great team win, Iowa is now a Top 25 team, and the team played a close game at Ohio State. Now, the team has moved on to the 2nd half of the season and said the team had an outstanding practice that day.
While most college programs have class in the morning and practice in the afternoon, the Gophers have lifting sessions, meetings, and practice early in the morning to get them a jump start in the morning and avoid lethargy at practice in the afternoon. After 11:30am, the football commitment is over for the day and the players can then focus on academics.
Regarding the game at Ohio State, “We knew we’d have to play very well. We did play very well. Johnson’s fumble, which could have gone either way, and the two field goals were big. However, if you have to rely on calls or an official making a call, you probably shouldn’t have won the game. You need to leave zero doubt that you were the better team.”
Fleck gave a ton of credit to OC Kirk Ciarrocca and DC Robb Smith for putting players in the best positions possible to give the team a chance to win. “The result is my responsibility. Put it on me. I just want our team and players to focus on getting better each week.”
Mo Ibrahim was named Co-Offensive Freshman of the Week for his 157-yard, two touchdown performance at Ohio State. PJ thought the offensive line played outstanding against the Buckeyes and continues to grow weekly. After receiving the award, Mo immediately gave credit to his offensive line for their performance.
On the controversial 4th down call, the officials gave him a 1st down and said it wasn’t close. The official told PJ not to call a timeout because they wouldn’t review it in the booth. Big Ten conference came out after the game and said that they should have brought out the sticks to review. In college, coaches do not have a challenge flag like coaches do in the pros. Coaches can call a timeout, however, the official told Fleck they wouldn’t review it if he did call a timeout.
Coach knew coming into the game that he had to use his timeouts wisely. He utilized all timeouts in the 1st and 2nd half to get Ohio State to show their hand on offense or if they felt like they were in a bad situation.
Mike asked about Shannon Brooks and his situation with the arrest for domestic assault. No charges were filed for Shannon and also no injuries between Shannon or his male roommate. PJ said the situation is “evolving”. The team was going to bring him back for the Nebraska game but it is unclear if he will play.
Fleck’s message to Emmit Carpenter after missing two kicks last week: “Keep your head up. Change your best.”
The decision to kick the field goal in the 4th quarter was to try to make it a one score game. If it was 4th & 1 or 2, the team probably would’ve gone for it. But the coaches wanted to get it to a one score game.
Tyler Johnson had a tremendous game against Ohio State. Coach commented the best thing for Tyler Johnson is Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell. His breakout is credit to how hard he has worked honing the position.
Going forward the team may play faster offensively due to the success they had the last game establishing a rhythm.
Carter Coughlin had a great game at Ohio State with a couple of sacks. Jerry Gibson, Esezi Otomewo, Jamaal Teague are all guys that Coach listed as players that needed to step up and will be key players the remainder of the season.
“Carter (Coughlin) is a self-made guy. He’s one of our hardest workers, he stays after practice. I’m extremely proud of him.”
Scott Frost is in his 1st year as the head coach at Nebraska after a successful tenure at UCF. While Nebraska is currently 0-6, the have had a chance to win a few of those games. Their QB, Adrian Martinez, is also a true freshman. Fleck also gave a ton of praise to Eden Prairie native, JD Spielman, who is the top receiver on the Cornhuskers.
PJ reiterated that a lot of freshmen will play the remainder of the season to get their four games in for this season while still preserving their redshirt. If a freshman does not play this season, it is because maybe they weren’t emotionally or mentally ready yet to compete.
The 2018 and 2019 class are pivotal for the growth of the football team getting them to where they want to go. Fleck believes the player’s job is to keep their starting gig and the Coach’s job is to recruit players to replace them. That is the ultimate motivator that keeps the team progressing in the right direction.
Fleck called freshman TE Brevyn Spann-Ford a “special, special player” and somebody that should see the field in the coming weeks.
While most college programs have class in the morning and practice in the afternoon, the Gophers have lifting sessions, meetings, and practice early in the morning to get them a jump start in the morning and avoid lethargy at practice in the afternoon. After 11:30am, the football commitment is over for the day and the players can then focus on academics.
Regarding the game at Ohio State, “We knew we’d have to play very well. We did play very well. Johnson’s fumble, which could have gone either way, and the two field goals were big. However, if you have to rely on calls or an official making a call, you probably shouldn’t have won the game. You need to leave zero doubt that you were the better team.”
Fleck gave a ton of credit to OC Kirk Ciarrocca and DC Robb Smith for putting players in the best positions possible to give the team a chance to win. “The result is my responsibility. Put it on me. I just want our team and players to focus on getting better each week.”
Mo Ibrahim was named Co-Offensive Freshman of the Week for his 157-yard, two touchdown performance at Ohio State. PJ thought the offensive line played outstanding against the Buckeyes and continues to grow weekly. After receiving the award, Mo immediately gave credit to his offensive line for their performance.
On the controversial 4th down call, the officials gave him a 1st down and said it wasn’t close. The official told PJ not to call a timeout because they wouldn’t review it in the booth. Big Ten conference came out after the game and said that they should have brought out the sticks to review. In college, coaches do not have a challenge flag like coaches do in the pros. Coaches can call a timeout, however, the official told Fleck they wouldn’t review it if he did call a timeout.
Coach knew coming into the game that he had to use his timeouts wisely. He utilized all timeouts in the 1st and 2nd half to get Ohio State to show their hand on offense or if they felt like they were in a bad situation.
Mike asked about Shannon Brooks and his situation with the arrest for domestic assault. No charges were filed for Shannon and also no injuries between Shannon or his male roommate. PJ said the situation is “evolving”. The team was going to bring him back for the Nebraska game but it is unclear if he will play.
Fleck’s message to Emmit Carpenter after missing two kicks last week: “Keep your head up. Change your best.”
The decision to kick the field goal in the 4th quarter was to try to make it a one score game. If it was 4th & 1 or 2, the team probably would’ve gone for it. But the coaches wanted to get it to a one score game.
Tyler Johnson had a tremendous game against Ohio State. Coach commented the best thing for Tyler Johnson is Rashod Bateman and Chris Autman-Bell. His breakout is credit to how hard he has worked honing the position.
Going forward the team may play faster offensively due to the success they had the last game establishing a rhythm.
Carter Coughlin had a great game at Ohio State with a couple of sacks. Jerry Gibson, Esezi Otomewo, Jamaal Teague are all guys that Coach listed as players that needed to step up and will be key players the remainder of the season.
“Carter (Coughlin) is a self-made guy. He’s one of our hardest workers, he stays after practice. I’m extremely proud of him.”
Scott Frost is in his 1st year as the head coach at Nebraska after a successful tenure at UCF. While Nebraska is currently 0-6, the have had a chance to win a few of those games. Their QB, Adrian Martinez, is also a true freshman. Fleck also gave a ton of praise to Eden Prairie native, JD Spielman, who is the top receiver on the Cornhuskers.
PJ reiterated that a lot of freshmen will play the remainder of the season to get their four games in for this season while still preserving their redshirt. If a freshman does not play this season, it is because maybe they weren’t emotionally or mentally ready yet to compete.
The 2018 and 2019 class are pivotal for the growth of the football team getting them to where they want to go. Fleck believes the player’s job is to keep their starting gig and the Coach’s job is to recruit players to replace them. That is the ultimate motivator that keeps the team progressing in the right direction.
Fleck called freshman TE Brevyn Spann-Ford a “special, special player” and somebody that should see the field in the coming weeks.
