Different Vibe

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TNGophfan

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Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to get a different vibe with the program. Fleck is successfully recruiting higher ranked kids it seems and now getting the top Minnesota kids.
If he can keep getting the QB position right, I think we are about to make the next step up.
Hope I'm correct and not being too enamored with recent developments.
 
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Just as important as the QB position is the receiving corp. We saw in 2019 what happens when you have a capable QB and skilled receivers. Brosmer was fantastic, but didn't have difference makers for receivers.
 







TNGophfan said:
Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to get a different vibe with the program. Fleck is successfully recruiting higher ranked kids it seems and now getting the top Minnesota kids.
If he can keep getting the QB position right, I think we are about to make the next step up.
Hope I'm correct and not being too enamored with recent developments.
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I have the same feeling too. We're continuously getting more high end talent each year.
 

GopherGold01 said:
You can definitely see the shift over the last 5 years in how the top in-state recruits view the program.
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Biggest thing to me is that those kids formative years have been while gopher football was good. They didn’t watch a bunch of 2 or 3 win teams. Kill into Fleck has been stable and solid or better. Every year.
 
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MN kids clearly like what Fleck is doing, so do their coaches. The top guys routinely stay home now. Wisky isn't getting a sniff anymore. Kudos to Fleck.

I would love to see a 5-star kid emerge in the next class or two and see if Fleck can keep him home.
 

I think kids and families are realizing Fleck is who Fleck is. Not a carpet bagger and not a phony. He is who he is and many kids and parents love it.
Also, most of these kids have spent some time at his camps and get him and the program.
I admit that I never thought he would be here 9 years, but, and it's a big but, with the proper support and NIL money, I can see him being our Ferenz or Alvarez.
 

TNGophfan said:
Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to get a different vibe with the program. Fleck is successfully recruiting higher ranked kids it seems and now getting the top Minnesota kids.
If he can keep getting the QB position right, I think we are about to make the next step up.
Hope I'm correct and not being too enamored with recent developments.
Click to expand...
I think part of what we are seeing is the benefit of the program being relevant again for an extended period of time, especially as it pertains to local kids.

Current local recruits were in middle school and high school during these Fleck years and many of them probably attended youth camps at the U of M.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Biggest thing to me is that those kids formative years have been whole gopher football was good. They didn’t watch a bunch of 2 or 3 win teams. Kill into Fleck has been stable and solid or better. Every year.
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It also helps that there are a number of Gophers who were coached by P.J. and are now in the NFL.
 



It's a combination of all of these takes that y'all have posted. Fleck is the common denominator but the guy has been doing ALL of the right things in the intangibles and behind the scenes departments
 


NIL is for sure playing a role here. In Minnesota, I’m thinking we have enough money to be competitive and to expend a little bit more on local guys. I know tOSU has unlimited funds for football but they would’ve priced Perich like a four star while we would’ve assigned a higher value. So, although they have more overall resources, our offer may have been competitive plus the quick availability of playtime would allow a quick upgrade in terms.

Also, the fact that this is above board also really helps. All the schools bending the rules clearly had a prior advantage and we sure weren’t one of them.
 

In the end Fleck seems to be the same pre NIL and post. He did not sell out his culture for stars who would take a check. He is using NIL to enhance his culture and his culture is bound to attract more $$$ if he can show he can win at a high level. People love a program that develops young men, not merely football players and the U of M seems to be collecting young men who want a program like this. Excited to see where this goes.
 

I gotta believe them being able to largely keep their best talent from leaving in the portal helps too. That gets noticed. "They must be doing something right if they're able to keep a lot of those guys even with less NIL."

I imagine most parents would prefer their kid go to a program and stay there. Daniels was a big loss of course and depth guys like Lewis and Bryson were nice contributors, but the rest of the guys that left this last year have largely been bench guys.
 

TNGophfan said:
Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to get a different vibe with the program. Fleck is successfully recruiting higher ranked kids it seems and now getting the top Minnesota kids.
If he can keep getting the QB position right, I think we are about to make the next step up.
Hope I'm correct and not being too enamored with recent developments.
Click to expand...

You ain't wrong - it DOES feel like we are actually taking a next step. QB is all we need, and we might actually have it.
ROMAN - fuck yes.
 

Having a reputation for having good culture probably helps a lot in the NIL era. Probably a decent amount of parents who figure that if their son is going to be making 6-7 figures before he can even drink, he should probably have some good influences on his college team. Not going to work on everyone, but I think Fleck has his niche firmly figured out.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I gotta believe them being able to largely keep their best talent from leaving in the portal helps too. That gets noticed. "They must be doing something right if they're able to keep a lot of those guys even with less NIL."

I imagine most parents would prefer their kid go to a program and stay there. Daniels was a big loss of course and depth guys like Lewis and Bryson were nice contributors, but the rest of the guys that left this last year have largely been bench guys.
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This post combined with the one from Gophernut that proceeded it really hit the nail on the head.

Even with all the changes in the college landscape Fleck is still targeting a certain type of personality and that personality lends itself more to finding the kind of players who are willing to stick around as opposed to jumping ship as soon as things get difficult.
 

PJ and his values are a breath of fresh air in a seemingly sea of sewage.

I wonder sometimes if we don’t give the HS kids less credit than they deserve for realizing that Fleck offers them something thst will benefit them for the future and not just the time they play in college.
 

gophernut1 said:
In the end Fleck seems to be the same pre NIL and post. He did not sell out his culture for stars who would take a check. He is using NIL to enhance his culture and his culture is bound to attract more $$$ if he can show he can win at a high level. People love a program that develops young men, not merely football players and the U of M seems to be collecting young men who want a program like this. Excited to see where this goes.
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This. It's more than money. It's an education and learning to be a man.
 

I sometimes post this story, but this is when the vibe changed around the gophers:


Not a lot of people at that game, but it was LOUD, and the crowd just ... just knew something was different about this team now with PJ around.

Old crowds would have been "ho hum, here we go, going to lose" but that crowd knew we were going to do something.

Supposedly before the playcall PJ was in the huddle and asked Batemen if he wants to win a football game ;)

Defense also comes up big and seals it.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I sometimes post this story, but this is when the vibe changed around the gophers:


Not a lot of people at that game, but it was LOUD, and the crowd just ... just knew something was different about this team now with PJ around.

Old crowds would have been "ho hum, here we go, going to lose" but that crowd knew we were going to do something.

Supposedly before the playcall PJ was in the huddle and asked Batemen if he wants to win a football game ;)

Defense also comes up big and seals it.
Click to expand...
I knew something was different with the program when the official took the nosedive at the goal line.
 

The overall attendance seems to have finally reached a consistent level as well, especially with the students. I sit fairly close to the student section and there were some frustrating years where I would whine about the student section being in better shape at the Metrodome than it was at the Bank. It seems like the first week student ticket give away started to put things on the right path and now the student section regularly shows up. I'd say it has leap frogged general attendance in terms of weekly impressiveness. The student section is what makes college football more fun for me compared to NFL football.

There is still room for improvement overall but the sellouts are more frequent now and attendance under 43K has become a rarity it seems.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I sometimes post this story, but this is when the vibe changed around the gophers:


Not a lot of people at that game, but it was LOUD, and the crowd just ... just knew something was different about this team now with PJ around.

Old crowds would have been "ho hum, here we go, going to lose" but that crowd knew we were going to do something.

Supposedly before the playcall PJ was in the huddle and asked Batemen if he wants to win a football game ;)

Defense also comes up big and seals it.
Click to expand...
I thought it was Ciarocca that asked PJ if he wanted to win the game?
 

Schnauzer said:
The overall attendance seems to have finally reached a consistent level as well, especially with the students. I sit fairly close to the student section and there were some frustrating years where I would whine about the student section being in better shape at the Metrodome than it was at the Bank. It seems like the first week student ticket give away started to put things on the right path and now the student section regularly shows up. I'd say it has leap frogged general attendance in terms of weekly impressiveness. The student section is what makes college football more fun for me compared to NFL football.

There is still room for improvement overall but the sellouts are more frequent now and attendance under 43K has become a rarity it seems.
Click to expand...
The students have been great lately!
 

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