Chip: P.J. Fleck's old-school U offense desperately needs star receivers, and that's his No. 1 offseason to-do

[BleedGopher]

Per Chip:

Moral of the story: The Gophers no longer have Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson to turn limited passing into an explosive, balanced attack.

If this is indeed Fleck's preference, he better find more high-end receivers.

The falloff in talent at that position is staggering, especially given Fleck's background as a receiver and having produced two first-round draft picks — Bateman and Corey Davis at Western Michigan.

"When you have your No. 1 receiver out, that plays a role in it," Fleck said of injured Chris Autman-Bell. "It plays a role in the back of your mind of what you're going to do to go win games. It doesn't mean we don't have faith in our pass game."

Autman-Bell is a quality Big Ten receiver but losing one receiver should not cause the passing game to disappear. This is Fleck's sixth season. The roster is comprised of his recruits.

Fleck and his staff need to recruit better and develop better at the receiver position because relying so heavily on the running game is not a championship formula.

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Go Gophers!!

 

[#2Gopher]

Bell will be awesome next year. I know it. Now we just need a number one running back to emerge from the group we have.

 

[PMWinSTP]

I think they have good enough receivers, just need to develop an average passing gameplan. That's on the OC. Athan can extend plays so build on that.

 

[SuperMeat]

Why would any good WR recruits want to join his team when they've seen the terrible, conservative game plan for the past several years?

 

[Some guy]

I think they have good enough receivers, just need to develop an average passing gameplan. That's on the OC. Athan can extend plays so build on that.

I disagree. They have a bunch of wideouts who could be okay 3/4 guys. All of them are worthless the second anyone is physical and that includes Wright. Just not good enough

 

[Some guy]

Why would any good WR recruits want to join his team when they've seen the terrible, conservative game plan for the past several years?

Because the terrible conservative gameplan put guys in the nfl and they can step in and maybe play and contribute quickly ?

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I disagree. They have a bunch of wideouts who could be okay 3/4 guys. All of them are worthless the second anyone is physical and that includes Wright. Just not good enough

Agree. Their WRs are not good. Wright and Jackson show flashes but are no where near consistent enough or are extremely gifted.

 

[PMWinSTP]

I disagree. They have a bunch of wideouts who could be okay 3/4 guys. All of them are worthless the second anyone is physical and that includes Wright. Just not good enough

In this anemic passing scheme, I agree. Have a TE that that is completely underutilized. Get just slightly more creative with Athan's ability to move and extend plays and the passing game definitely improves.

 

[SuperMeat]

Because the terrible conservative gameplan put guys in the nfl and they can step in and maybe play and contribute quickly ?

If I'm a junior or senior in high school, I'm not gambling on a coach who runs the ball nearly 70% of the time for the past few years. Maybe if Fleck opted for a more pass happy philosophy to showcase WR talent when we actually had Bateman and Johnson, he would have got better recruits and we wouldn't be in this mess now.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

I look at the roster and it's mostly 5'11, 190 guys, except for Wright. You need one Drew Wolitarsky to balance out each KJ maye.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I disagree. They have a bunch of wideouts who could be okay 3/4 guys. All of them are worthless the second anyone is physical and that includes Wright. Just not good enough

This is my view too. Really will need to find one more that can be at Autman-Bell’s level.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

I think they have good enough receivers,

Based on what exactly?

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

I look at the roster and it's mostly 5'11, 190 guys, except for Wright. You need one Drew Wolitarsky to balance out each KJ maye.

Exactly. Even if you didn't hardly watch the games at all, the fact that they continue to trot out a young man (MBS) that repeatedly has the ball bounce off his chest should tell anyone what they need to know about the level of talent in that WR group.

We've heard for a handful of years how brilliant Simon is because he called a few plays to help beat Auburn and yet this is what they have to work with at the WR position.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Based on what exactly?

See post #8.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

OK, you're a star HS WR, or a College WR entering the portal.

What is MN's sales pitch?

Come to MN, where we were 123rd out of 129 teams in number of passes thrown last year.

that should get them lining up.

the only way MN gets a star WR is with a big NIL deal - probably at least $100,000 or more.

 

[COS Gopherfan]

Bell will be awesome next year. I know it. Now we just need a number one running back to emerge from the group we have.

Zach Evans is that back..no doubt but what's the depth at RB after him??