On the heels of a great recruiting class, I thought it might be helpful to give a little insight as to why the PJ Fleck experiment is going to be successful here at Minnesota. It is no question that recruiting is the lifeblood of success in college football. PJ said it himself. He has answered that call and you can see the results. I can promise you it will only get better.
I know this because I know the 2017 class of kids that came from WMU very well, and several in the 2016 class there. What you have to realize is that it was no accident that PJ was able to keep Bateman and win the hearts of kids like Dunlap and Faalele. He has been doing that for years. Many of the kids that committed to WMU had legitimate P5 offers and so many of those kids could have earned much better but shut down their recruitments with commitments a year before signing day, never camped, nothing. So you wouldn't know the real talent level of these kids. Those who are still concerned about the WMU flips of 2017 not being ELITE talent? Just wait.
That said, talent isn't all you get with Fleck and let me point to some of the indicators that this team will be competing for championships in the next 2-3 years. PJ excels as a head coach, a CEO. He cares about every aspect of the game. S+C, offense, defense and ST. He is relentless in his assesment of it all. Let me point some things out that you should observe. First, his kids play as a team, not individuals. Perhaps you have noticed that when the Gophers get a first down now, the whole team holds their fist in the air indicating 4th down. Not the defense, the whole team! You might recall a big sack Barber had early in the season on a 3rd down and he started a solo celebration, only to have Celestine come over and push his elbow in the air. Barber responded in kind. Shifting mind set. You'll see more of this in games as kids are assignment driven, not me driven. Expect the defense to be better. It's about discipline. Speaking of discipline, anybody know what the least penalized team in the BIG was this year. Expect them to be the best in the country in two years. This gets to the level of detail Fleck focuses on with his team. No penalties.
Speaking of detail, who wants to see less turnovers? Expect this to improve dramatically. The ball is the program, right? Anybody notice how the running backs, or anybody for that matter is starting to carry the ball. No joke, that ball is chinned more than any team in the country. 5 points of contact, always. Just watch how they take care of the ball. Heck, go back and watch tape and see what every player does with the ball after they are tackled or score. Leave it on the ground? Nope. Flip it to a ref? Nope. Every player, every time will take it to a ref and hand it to him. HAND it to him. Every. Single. Time. You may say this is unimportant but I can assure you, this is one small reason that this team will have the largest turnover margin in the country in two years. An experienced Fleck team does not turnover the ball. It wins games.
I've watched some of the best coaches lead practice all over the country when going on recruiting visits- Richt at Georgia, Fedora at UNC, Doeren at NC State, Harbaugh at UM and yes Saban at Bama. I've never seen one coach get as much out of his players in 90 minutes than what Fleck gets. It's not just the pace, it's the effort, attention to detail and yes, he sees everything. Everything. Offense, Defense, ST. Guys that are injured, working on their craft. I remember seeing Cory Davis working with tennis balls on the sidelines and catching balls dropped over his head while on his knees so his hand reaction time would improve. All while on the sideline with a hamstring injury. Fleck has volumes collected on coaching techniques and methods, and he devours the stuff. His knowledge is deep and he applies it.
One more reason. Some of you may recall the video of the challace from the Indiana Jones movie Fleck put in the glass case. Essentially symbolizing how you must choose if you want to attain greatness. It's not the flashy trophy that symbolizes the national championship, it's the grind of hard work. But here is the thing, he believes that he will win that national championship trophy, and he will get really good players to believe they will win it. Not can win it. That they will in it. IF... if they buy into the HYPRR culture of being ELITE and do all the necessary things to get there. I can assure you, the formula works. In February of 2016, I heard first hand the claim that WMU was going to the Cotton Bowl that year. That's right, in February. And they knew they would. It was no fluke that Spillane caused that fumble against Northwestern late in that first game of 2016. He knew he would. They were good enough, they developed enough, and they believed.
I know there will still be doubters here but in the future of the University of Minnesota there will not only be a BIG championship, there will be a playoff birth. And i would not be a bit surprised if that playoff birth turned into a national title. That challace has a shelf life, and it's going to be shorter than people think. RTB!
I know this because I know the 2017 class of kids that came from WMU very well, and several in the 2016 class there. What you have to realize is that it was no accident that PJ was able to keep Bateman and win the hearts of kids like Dunlap and Faalele. He has been doing that for years. Many of the kids that committed to WMU had legitimate P5 offers and so many of those kids could have earned much better but shut down their recruitments with commitments a year before signing day, never camped, nothing. So you wouldn't know the real talent level of these kids. Those who are still concerned about the WMU flips of 2017 not being ELITE talent? Just wait.
That said, talent isn't all you get with Fleck and let me point to some of the indicators that this team will be competing for championships in the next 2-3 years. PJ excels as a head coach, a CEO. He cares about every aspect of the game. S+C, offense, defense and ST. He is relentless in his assesment of it all. Let me point some things out that you should observe. First, his kids play as a team, not individuals. Perhaps you have noticed that when the Gophers get a first down now, the whole team holds their fist in the air indicating 4th down. Not the defense, the whole team! You might recall a big sack Barber had early in the season on a 3rd down and he started a solo celebration, only to have Celestine come over and push his elbow in the air. Barber responded in kind. Shifting mind set. You'll see more of this in games as kids are assignment driven, not me driven. Expect the defense to be better. It's about discipline. Speaking of discipline, anybody know what the least penalized team in the BIG was this year. Expect them to be the best in the country in two years. This gets to the level of detail Fleck focuses on with his team. No penalties.
Speaking of detail, who wants to see less turnovers? Expect this to improve dramatically. The ball is the program, right? Anybody notice how the running backs, or anybody for that matter is starting to carry the ball. No joke, that ball is chinned more than any team in the country. 5 points of contact, always. Just watch how they take care of the ball. Heck, go back and watch tape and see what every player does with the ball after they are tackled or score. Leave it on the ground? Nope. Flip it to a ref? Nope. Every player, every time will take it to a ref and hand it to him. HAND it to him. Every. Single. Time. You may say this is unimportant but I can assure you, this is one small reason that this team will have the largest turnover margin in the country in two years. An experienced Fleck team does not turnover the ball. It wins games.
I've watched some of the best coaches lead practice all over the country when going on recruiting visits- Richt at Georgia, Fedora at UNC, Doeren at NC State, Harbaugh at UM and yes Saban at Bama. I've never seen one coach get as much out of his players in 90 minutes than what Fleck gets. It's not just the pace, it's the effort, attention to detail and yes, he sees everything. Everything. Offense, Defense, ST. Guys that are injured, working on their craft. I remember seeing Cory Davis working with tennis balls on the sidelines and catching balls dropped over his head while on his knees so his hand reaction time would improve. All while on the sideline with a hamstring injury. Fleck has volumes collected on coaching techniques and methods, and he devours the stuff. His knowledge is deep and he applies it.
One more reason. Some of you may recall the video of the challace from the Indiana Jones movie Fleck put in the glass case. Essentially symbolizing how you must choose if you want to attain greatness. It's not the flashy trophy that symbolizes the national championship, it's the grind of hard work. But here is the thing, he believes that he will win that national championship trophy, and he will get really good players to believe they will win it. Not can win it. That they will in it. IF... if they buy into the HYPRR culture of being ELITE and do all the necessary things to get there. I can assure you, the formula works. In February of 2016, I heard first hand the claim that WMU was going to the Cotton Bowl that year. That's right, in February. And they knew they would. It was no fluke that Spillane caused that fumble against Northwestern late in that first game of 2016. He knew he would. They were good enough, they developed enough, and they believed.
I know there will still be doubters here but in the future of the University of Minnesota there will not only be a BIG championship, there will be a playoff birth. And i would not be a bit surprised if that playoff birth turned into a national title. That challace has a shelf life, and it's going to be shorter than people think. RTB!
