BleedGopher
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per Greder:
Blake Cashman never considered quitting the Gophers football team.
Not as the freshman walk-on who struggled in his transition to college in 2015. Not as a sophomore who failed at first to grasp added linebacker responsibilities in 2016. Not as a rising junior who played in all 26 games those two seasons without a scholarship, just as the team made a coaching change for the 2017 season.
When Cashman was named to the Associated Press all-state first-team as a senior at Eden Prairie High School, which won a state championship his senior year, his father, Steve Cashman, an undersized defensive back at St. Thomas in the 1980s, didn't chime in much with life advice or coaching points. Blake could fend for himself.
That changed over the past few years when Blake felt, at times, other players were getting more undue chances to play.
"He would be the one to step in and tell me how proud of me he was and (to) push through because, 'You're a hard worker. Get after it and things will fall into place,'" Blake relayed Wednesday.
Fleck believes Cashman could play in the NFL because of his speed and versatility to play on special teams.
But as a senior, Cashman is more reflective than forward-thinking, with a deeper appreciation of his dad's pep talks.
"Especially being an adult now, hearing that from him, it was very touching because I didn't hear that from my dad in high school," Cashman said. "... Then coming here, it was a big change because I wasn't getting looked at by the coaches the same way I was in high school. That was an adjustment, but he knew it and he kept giving me confidence and helped guide me along the way."
https://www.inforum.com/sports/foot...s-his-fathers-pep-talks-when-times-were-tough
Go Gophers!!
Blake Cashman never considered quitting the Gophers football team.
Not as the freshman walk-on who struggled in his transition to college in 2015. Not as a sophomore who failed at first to grasp added linebacker responsibilities in 2016. Not as a rising junior who played in all 26 games those two seasons without a scholarship, just as the team made a coaching change for the 2017 season.
When Cashman was named to the Associated Press all-state first-team as a senior at Eden Prairie High School, which won a state championship his senior year, his father, Steve Cashman, an undersized defensive back at St. Thomas in the 1980s, didn't chime in much with life advice or coaching points. Blake could fend for himself.
That changed over the past few years when Blake felt, at times, other players were getting more undue chances to play.
"He would be the one to step in and tell me how proud of me he was and (to) push through because, 'You're a hard worker. Get after it and things will fall into place,'" Blake relayed Wednesday.
Fleck believes Cashman could play in the NFL because of his speed and versatility to play on special teams.
But as a senior, Cashman is more reflective than forward-thinking, with a deeper appreciation of his dad's pep talks.
"Especially being an adult now, hearing that from him, it was very touching because I didn't hear that from my dad in high school," Cashman said. "... Then coming here, it was a big change because I wasn't getting looked at by the coaches the same way I was in high school. That was an adjustment, but he knew it and he kept giving me confidence and helped guide me along the way."
https://www.inforum.com/sports/foot...s-his-fathers-pep-talks-when-times-were-tough
Go Gophers!!