Fleck: There will probably be 17-18 freshmen on this football team with major roles

[GFBfan]

Hey, all sorts of people give their opinions on P.J. and that's fine. Just get really tired of the several who pounce on any coach-speak sentence or phrase to make him seem like this totally untrustworthy clown who's concerned only about himself. BTW, I've been both skeptical amused by his emphasis on sayings and his sprinting down the sideline and was critical of how last season ended. After watching this program for over half a century though, he's still the best bet to get the Gophers back to a level where they're actually in the conversation for conference championships.

Nice try on the Crusade line, but I'd never think myself worthy enough to be compared to the dearly departed Sir Spoofin.

Kill/Claeys had us in that conversation.
PJ is now the best bet, as he is the coach. He also has better resources and a facility that along with his drive, are getting us in the conversation for higher rated players. Time will tell if he's able to land more of them and then can "coach them up" and contend for titles.
Last year the team regressed from the year before AND it also regressed as the season went on. Neither of which are good signs for this coming season.

 

[CentralGopher]

At this point I am not greatly concerned but if he is saying the same thing two years from now I might be.


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[PMWinSTP]

At this point I am not greatly concerned but if he is saying the same thing two years from now I might be.


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I really don't see this as much of a big deal, if at all...a quick look at B1G West team two-deeps from last year show 10-15 Fr on most, not including the special team coverage players.

 

[beavergopher]

By major roles he means offense and defense, or?

Rowing.....

 

[WHB Brewer]

I'm anxiously waiting for the discussion after only 16 end up playing major roles.

You beat me to it. I wonder the same thing. First topic for next off-season for sure

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[short ornery norwegian]

Yeah. I agree with your entire post.

Every coach does it. A coach would have to be a complete lunatic to have a relatively young team, coming off of 5 win season to not talk down the talent. But as fans, we should critique what he says when his hyperbole blends into fiction.

That is your opinion. I do not think a coach has to "talk down the talent." There are a number of ways to present the same facts. You can give those facts a positive spin, a neutral spin or a negative spin. As for me, I just want coaches to be realistic. Lay out the positives and the negatives, and let people form their own conclusions.

For example: (if I was Fleck's speech-writer): "We're excited about the true FR and RS FR on the roster. Some of these young men are going to be immediate contributors. In some cases, they'll play because they're one of the best players at their position. In other cases, our depth may be thin in some areas, and we might have to give some younger kids more playing time - but we will not put any player in the game who isn't ready to handle his assignments. And, those young players will be learning from a solid group of upperclassmen who will provide a lot of leadership."

 

[fraternity2017]

Every college football coach would prefer low expectations at this point in the year. Only the real national title contenders are setting expectations high. I'm not worried but I also don't expect much. It will probably take 3 more years until this team has the players to be in the mix for yearly top 25 contention and if that's not the goal, what is?

 

[MaxyJR1]

Is saying that 17 Freshmen will possibly play, talking down the talent? It's more about numbers and attrition at upper classes. There are 60 Freshmen listed on the roster, less than 1/3 will play. How many players see the field every game? 60-70? That is 12-14 per class. We're simply bottom heavy.

 

[Word]

We're simply bottom heavy.

Speak for yourself.

 

[50PoundHead]

Is saying that 17 Freshmen will possibly play, talking down the talent? It's more about numbers and attrition at upper classes. There are 60 Freshmen listed on the roster, less than 1/3 will play. How many players see the field every game? 60-70? That is 12-14 per class. We're simply bottom heavy.

I agree. He got to recruit a very big class in 2017 and most of those guys red-shirted and many will see the field. I'm more curious as to how many true freshmen will play.