Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck spoke with the media following the third spring practice of the season. The Gophers practiced for an hour and a half and moved between drills at a very high tempo. Fleck hollered out motivational phrases throughout practice and had players moving the entire session. Fleck calls this type of practice “organized chaos.” He said the players are adapting, but there is still a learning curve they will face.
“We’ve got to learn how to practice, Fleck said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. We practiced at a pretty high tempo. This was only there third time doing this. They’re not decisive enough yet, but they will get there.”
Fleck’s energy level rubs off on the players as he sprints across the field and provides 1-on-1 instruction for his players. He doesn’t see this being any different than how he lives his life on and off the field.
“If I don’t have the energy, how can they bring the energy?” Fleck said. “I’m just me. I just like being me. There’s a high, high standard of how we do things. Not what we do, but how we do it.”
The Gophers practiced outside in the elements on a 39-degree day in Minneapolis. Fleck figured the players should get adjusted to the climate they will play in come November.
“First of all, it’s sunny, we are in Minnesota, and it’s in March, and it’s about 30 degrees. You can bet we are outside,” Fleck said.
Minnesota practiced with their full roster Tuesday after cornerback Antoine Winfield, quarterback Mark Williams, and running back Kobe McCrary were cleared by the University in a sexual assault investigation Monday. Fleck said he was happy to have the players back on the field.
“First of all those guys are students first,” he said “They went through a policy that the University sets. I’m just glad to have the guys back.”
The team practiced with the reinstated players, but the Gophers only had five healthy offensive lineman on the field. The Gophers were forced to play freshman up front, but Fleck feels the extra reps will benefit the players in the future. He said the more important factor will be to improve the training of these players to prevent future surgeries.
“We had five out there today. I’ve never been around a program where there is only five healthy lineman,” he said. “It’s a challenge, it’s not a problem. What the problem is is the 22 surgeries we’ve had; we’ve got to get that fixed.”
The first-year coach thought he was going to be playing left tackle when a player’s shoelace snapped during a session of practice.
“We had a kid break a shoelace and it’s like the world stopped turning for a minute. I was literally ready to play left tackle,” he laughed.
The main competition on the roster is at the quarterback position with Conor Rhoda, Tanner Morgan, and Demry Croft all battling for the starting role. Fleck has been pleased with all of them, but said he won’t make any judgments until the team dives into more situational work.
“25 percent of the offense is in, but now it is going to start picking up with situational football, and that’s where I really want to see how they handle themselves,” Fleck said. “Football is a game of situations; it’s not just plays.”
Fleck said he showed the players a video of Chicago Cubs GM Theo Epstein and the vision he had five years ago for the baseball team. He used Epstien’s journey to a World Series as a model for the culture Minnesota football is developing.
“We showed them [Epstien’s] vision four or five years ago,” Fleck said. “He talked about the right people in the organization that understand their role at a very, very high level.”
P.J. Fleck and the coaching staff continue to craft this vision with the focus, tempo, and organized chaos on the practice field. They continue to strive toward the goal of building a new championship culture.
“One thing about our program from this point forward is there is no ceiling. We are going to break the glass ceiling every single day and we are going to create a new one,” he said.