I apologize for being a couple days late. Here is the recap:
PJ opened that his defense besides the first drive played spectacular and that they tackled very well. Coach also didn’t look at any stats quarterback-wise from the game, but thought he played better than he did the week prior. “He threw some very nice balls at times, and our ground game was good at times. Pass-pro was good, not spectacular. We have to find a way to pull out some of these games, there are no moral victories.” His tone seemed optimistic and positive.
The offensive line must be firm in protection, and Demry did a good job of throwing the ball away and getting out of the pocket. Fleck also gave credit to Kirk Ciarocca for building the game plan around each quarterback and what their strengths are for every given week. This past week they got Demry out of the pocket, but also ran some draws, counters, other runs to open things up.
It was Fleck’s call in the game to go for it on the fourth down on the goal line throw to Wozniak. “Coach Tressel always told me, if you don’t do it exactly right the eighteenth time in practice, then you should’ve done it a nineteenth time.” Coach said it looked good in practice, they just weren’t able to execute. He also commented that execution is simply the difference between 7-1 and 4-4. “Like I said, close gets you cut in the National Football League, close gets you .500 in college football. We have to be able to close that gap.”
PJ gave a ton of credit to the defense for continuing to respond regardless of the circumstances.
“To be able to win, you have to fail enough to know how not to lose.” Fleck talked about this being a process, in recruiting where they are reloading instead of rebuilding. Also, Pitino’s struggles in Year Three were highlighted as going through the growing pains.
In regard to the tradition at Iowa of waiving to the Children’s Hospital, PJ said it is the best tradition in college sports and so much bigger than football. Great quote: “I have to teach these players that on our worst days, those are their best days. My job is to teach these players how to win at life. If you win at life by serving and giving, you’re going to have a ton of success.”
Coach says that Conor Rhoda is a first-class act, him and PJ had a conversation regarding giving Demry the starting job. Said that his response and leadership are real. “We might see him before the end of the year, and he knows that.”
In the beginning of the spring, Kobe McCrary would’ve been academically ineligible. At the end of the last semester, 3.0 GPA. This semester: 3.0 GPA. Part of the culture building the coaches are doing.
“Our visions are so big, that a lot of people (fans) have already jumped out of the boat. We have won championships in this culture, and that is what I came here to do. We live in such an immediate society, and I get that. But then you have to put in the work, and the growing pains of the work. That result is only data, how you respond to that data is how you become successful.”
There was an interesting conversation regarding trying to get youth kids to be around our coaches, learning our offensive and defensive systems, so that they are growing up as Gophers. Mentioned Iowa as a school that if a kid grows up in Iowa, he most likely is going to Iowa, and that was what Fleck wants to establish here.
Coach does not want his kids playing tackle football until middle school, and thinks that kids can get burnt out of playing tackle football by the time they get to college. He also had an extensive talking point about parents always focusing on the result of their kid’s games and if a team won, rather than how they played, and used that to compare talking about their football team.
Fleck had great things to say about playing at Michigan for the little brown jug, and said it is a great opportunity for them. He has great admiration for Jim Harbaugh and said that Harbaugh is not afraid to be himself, which makes him great.
Defensively Michigan is very athletic, and their linebackers are extremely fast. Defensive backs tackle very well and have length. They also play as a whole very well, PJ says.
Michigan is also starting a new quarterback, and Coach said they review recruiting film, as well as film on him this year. They will take everything into consideration, however there are 10 other players on the field that know the playbook, so things shouldn’t change very much.
Athletes Village will be ready in 68 days (from Halloween), and will be a game changer for all sports.
PJ opened that his defense besides the first drive played spectacular and that they tackled very well. Coach also didn’t look at any stats quarterback-wise from the game, but thought he played better than he did the week prior. “He threw some very nice balls at times, and our ground game was good at times. Pass-pro was good, not spectacular. We have to find a way to pull out some of these games, there are no moral victories.” His tone seemed optimistic and positive.
The offensive line must be firm in protection, and Demry did a good job of throwing the ball away and getting out of the pocket. Fleck also gave credit to Kirk Ciarocca for building the game plan around each quarterback and what their strengths are for every given week. This past week they got Demry out of the pocket, but also ran some draws, counters, other runs to open things up.
It was Fleck’s call in the game to go for it on the fourth down on the goal line throw to Wozniak. “Coach Tressel always told me, if you don’t do it exactly right the eighteenth time in practice, then you should’ve done it a nineteenth time.” Coach said it looked good in practice, they just weren’t able to execute. He also commented that execution is simply the difference between 7-1 and 4-4. “Like I said, close gets you cut in the National Football League, close gets you .500 in college football. We have to be able to close that gap.”
PJ gave a ton of credit to the defense for continuing to respond regardless of the circumstances.
“To be able to win, you have to fail enough to know how not to lose.” Fleck talked about this being a process, in recruiting where they are reloading instead of rebuilding. Also, Pitino’s struggles in Year Three were highlighted as going through the growing pains.
In regard to the tradition at Iowa of waiving to the Children’s Hospital, PJ said it is the best tradition in college sports and so much bigger than football. Great quote: “I have to teach these players that on our worst days, those are their best days. My job is to teach these players how to win at life. If you win at life by serving and giving, you’re going to have a ton of success.”
Coach says that Conor Rhoda is a first-class act, him and PJ had a conversation regarding giving Demry the starting job. Said that his response and leadership are real. “We might see him before the end of the year, and he knows that.”
In the beginning of the spring, Kobe McCrary would’ve been academically ineligible. At the end of the last semester, 3.0 GPA. This semester: 3.0 GPA. Part of the culture building the coaches are doing.
“Our visions are so big, that a lot of people (fans) have already jumped out of the boat. We have won championships in this culture, and that is what I came here to do. We live in such an immediate society, and I get that. But then you have to put in the work, and the growing pains of the work. That result is only data, how you respond to that data is how you become successful.”
There was an interesting conversation regarding trying to get youth kids to be around our coaches, learning our offensive and defensive systems, so that they are growing up as Gophers. Mentioned Iowa as a school that if a kid grows up in Iowa, he most likely is going to Iowa, and that was what Fleck wants to establish here.
Coach does not want his kids playing tackle football until middle school, and thinks that kids can get burnt out of playing tackle football by the time they get to college. He also had an extensive talking point about parents always focusing on the result of their kid’s games and if a team won, rather than how they played, and used that to compare talking about their football team.
Fleck had great things to say about playing at Michigan for the little brown jug, and said it is a great opportunity for them. He has great admiration for Jim Harbaugh and said that Harbaugh is not afraid to be himself, which makes him great.
Defensively Michigan is very athletic, and their linebackers are extremely fast. Defensive backs tackle very well and have length. They also play as a whole very well, PJ says.
Michigan is also starting a new quarterback, and Coach said they review recruiting film, as well as film on him this year. They will take everything into consideration, however there are 10 other players on the field that know the playbook, so things shouldn’t change very much.
Athletes Village will be ready in 68 days (from Halloween), and will be a game changer for all sports.
