Sid opened questioning the weather and the elements the team has had to play in this year. PJ responded that we can’t control the elements and that we have to play better. Fleck added that it was the worst game they’ve had as far as turning the ball over. “You turn the ball over five times, they don’t turn the ball over at all, that’s the score you get. This is all part of the process, the journey.”
“We’re not built to be able to throw the ball for 400 yards just yet. We will be, but right now we’re not. When there’s that type of weather and they make you one dimensional, it makes for a long performance. They have one of the best rush defenses in the country, so you have to throw the ball to beat Northwestern. We’ve got some guys out on the offensive line, so we had to throw the ball and obviously we weren’t able to get that done.”
Regarding Demry’s performance last week to this week, Coach responded that it’s one thing to beat a team when they do not know what you are capable of, and it is another thing to beat someone who knows what you are capable of doing. The team had 5-6 drops, and also didn’t particularly throw the ball well. “Once you’re down 19-0, in that weather, everything changes. The team that forced the first mistake and scored first was going to be able to win because it was going to be hard to score a lot of points. Now, when you turn the ball over in your zone multiple times, we basically gave the game to them.”
Tyler Johnson broke his wrist and is out for the year for the Gophers. Fleck said that now they have guys in certain roles that maybe aren’t ready or shouldn’t be in those roles, but they need young guys to step up especially with Demry’s growth.
There is a lack of depth at some key positions, especially offensive line for this upcoming week with injuries. Fleck said that guys like Bronson Dovich and Quinn Oseland are going to have to get in there and play. “There’s nothing negative that is going to creep into our program. Like we said, those who stay will be champions one day. We have to learn to fail to learn how to be a champion. Failing and grow, not failing and quitting.”
Sid asked about recruiting a JUCO QB for the 2018 class. PJ did have an interesting response that he would like to take more than one QB possibly, but that the team has other needs they need to attend to with the other scholarships. The coaches won’t be able to solve every issue in one year. Fleck did also say later on that he prefers not to take guys that only have two years if he can avoid it.
“We’re not built to be able to throw the ball for 400 yards just yet. We will be, but right now we’re not. When there’s that type of weather and they make you one dimensional, it makes for a long performance. They have one of the best rush defenses in the country, so you have to throw the ball to beat Northwestern. We’ve got some guys out on the offensive line, so we had to throw the ball and obviously we weren’t able to get that done.”
Regarding Demry’s performance last week to this week, Coach responded that it’s one thing to beat a team when they do not know what you are capable of, and it is another thing to beat someone who knows what you are capable of doing. The team had 5-6 drops, and also didn’t particularly throw the ball well. “Once you’re down 19-0, in that weather, everything changes. The team that forced the first mistake and scored first was going to be able to win because it was going to be hard to score a lot of points. Now, when you turn the ball over in your zone multiple times, we basically gave the game to them.”
Tyler Johnson broke his wrist and is out for the year for the Gophers. Fleck said that now they have guys in certain roles that maybe aren’t ready or shouldn’t be in those roles, but they need young guys to step up especially with Demry’s growth.
There is a lack of depth at some key positions, especially offensive line for this upcoming week with injuries. Fleck said that guys like Bronson Dovich and Quinn Oseland are going to have to get in there and play. “There’s nothing negative that is going to creep into our program. Like we said, those who stay will be champions one day. We have to learn to fail to learn how to be a champion. Failing and grow, not failing and quitting.”
Sid asked about recruiting a JUCO QB for the 2018 class. PJ did have an interesting response that he would like to take more than one QB possibly, but that the team has other needs they need to attend to with the other scholarships. The coaches won’t be able to solve every issue in one year. Fleck did also say later on that he prefers not to take guys that only have two years if he can avoid it.
