If you spend time enough time at a Gophers practice, you might hear a concerto blasting through the speakers while players are stretching.
Sounds odd, right? Not for the Minnesota football staff.
Head coach P.J. Fleck said the Gophers are experimenting with classical music to aid player recovery.
“We have somebody on our staff that’s done a ton of research that after a workout if you play classical music, the recovery happens a lot faster,” Fleck said.
P.J. Fleck and his staff are consistently researching new methods to improve player performance. After taking a look at the literature surrounding athlete recovery, the Gophers are testing its effectiveness this spring.
“If we can become one percent better, somehow some way and one guy recovering faster and the tune of the music hits him, then we are doing our job,” Fleck said. “We will go back to our research — what did the film look like, what did injuries look like, soft tissues things and then we will kind of evaluate it, but it’s over a long period of time.
Music therapy is one strategy Fleck and his staff had never heard about until conducting more research. Now, they’ll wait and gather the results.
Fleck’s Quarterback Update
Practice intensity is starting to reach another level, which will provide P.J. Fleck with a chance to evaluate his quarterbacks. The positon is certainly an area of need for the Gophers this year. When the season beings, the team will be starting a quarterback with no previous game experience. With Vic Viramontes joining from Riverside Community College and Zack Annexstad performing well as a preferred walk-on, Fleck will have options available.
“[Vic’s] got a long way to go, just like all of our quarterbacks,” Fleck said. “But to jump in here in three months and do what he’s done, I think it’s pretty impressive.
Of course, incumbent Tanner Morgan will have a slight advantage in terms of understanding the playbook, but Fleck said the coaches will start dividing reps after evaluating Saturday’s practice tape.
“The guys that have been here are a little bit ahead just because they’ve been in the system at least a year,” Fleck said. “What I’ve seen from Zak, what I’ve seen from Vic, I’m very impressed with so far.”
Practice Notes:
It’s hard to glean much from individual sessions and assembled drills, but this is a time to see how players move on the field. It can help an evaluator decide which positions might be a fit for certain schemes.
The defensive line positon group is an area where there is a glaring improvement in physical condition. Sam Renner and Royal Silver have added more mass to their frame and possess the build necessary to hold up inside. O.J. Smith has massive size and will take on plenty of double-teams inside at the one or zero technique positions. There also was discussion at the end of last season about Esezi Otomewo and how much weight he added to his frame. At 6-foot-6, he provides necessary length as he potentially plays the five-technique defensive end spot.
The offensive line spots leave plenty of room for encouragement. It’s still a small sample size, but based upon the group of players they have, it might be a spot with the most depth. Conner Olson has been touted by P.J. Fleck for his improvement, the team added two solid freshmen (Faalele and Dunlap Jr.), and Blaise Andries is available after redshirting last year. It’s also clear to see growth from second-tier guys like Bronson Dovich and Sam Schlueter as they return for another season. An increased practice intensity and team action will reveal more about the growth up front. They certainly have more capable players, but need additional depth for the future.
“We don’t have a whole offensive line; I would like to have more,” P.J. Fleck said. “We are still adding four more scholarship offensive linemen this fall. We haven’t had an offensive lineman drafted in 12 years. We need to re-build that whole thing. That takes a little while.
Freshman linebacker Thomas Rush has incredible size for a linebacker. He not only measures in a 6-foot-3, but has impressive length and athleticism. His tape displayed a similar skill-set, however, it was very noticeable in on-field evaluation.
The quarterbacks are still trying to get the timing down, but it is clear to see the group has more talent available. The key word is talent — not experience. Each quarterback will be learning via game action. It’s clear the terminology, along with mechanics are still part of the learning process. One thing that was clear: Vic Viramontes gets the ball out very quickly and throws sound in short-to-intermediate passing action. Tanner Morgan also has taken strides mechanically, improving his overall skill-set. Team action is where everyone will want to take a very long look at the quarterbacks and how they fit. Fleck said the Gophers will have a lengthy scrimmage on Thursday to provide more evaluation tape.