P.J. Fleck on freshman QB Drake Lindsey’s debut: ‘Cool, calm, precise’

[BleedGopher]

Per Greder:

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck told the Pioneer Press he saw Lindsey as “cool, calm and precise” in his debut. Lindsey is the next man up, if Brosmer goes down this season. Fleck needs to have confidence in Lindsey; and Lindsey needs it in himself. “It’s just the management of the game, functioning,” Fleck said. “Not that I didn’t expect that he would, it’s we have to get him as much experience as we possibly can.”

Gophers football: P.J. Fleck on freshman QB Drake Lindsey’s debut: ‘Cool, calm, precise’

Koi Perich isn’t the only true freshman to have early success for the U this season.

www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

It was nice to see him get a TD.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Would love to see him come in Saturday for some extended clean up play time like last week.

 

[upnorthkid]

I also appreciate they actually let him and the backups play, not just run the ball

 

[Arminius]

When Drake Lindsey and the other backups came in, I thought to myself, "Good. Let them make mistakes and let them play through those mistakes. We may need any one of them at any moment on any given snap in a game."

Watching Lindsey, I said to myself, "This kid is cool, calm, and precise." Very methodical. Nothing rattled him. Had command of the offense.

 

[#2Gopher]

Would love to see him come in Saturday for some extended clean up play time like last week.

At the same time be mindful of only playing 4 games to save his redshirt. Might need to save at least 2 if that is the plan should Brosmer go down, maybe 3.

 

[MNVCGUY]

At the same time be mindful of only playing 4 games to save his redshirt. Might need to save at least 2 if that is the plan should Brosmer go down, maybe 3.

No point worrying about redshirts anymore, especially for QBs. There was a time when that was important but with player movement these days you play the kids that can play and you don't project your roster out for more than a year or two tops.

Hopefully Brosmer stays healthy but they are still able to get Lindsey quality reps the way they did against Rhode Island over the course of the season. No potential for a QB controversy next year between Brosmer and Lindsey so they can play Drake when it makes sense without worrying about what it might do to locker room dynamics.

 

[PMWinSTP]

No point worrying about redshirts anymore, especially for QBs. There was a time when that was important but with player movement these days you play the kids that can play and you don't project your roster out for more than a year or two tops.

Hopefully Brosmer stays healthy but they are still able to get Lindsey quality reps the way they did against Rhode Island over the course of the season. No potential for a QB controversy next year between Brosmer and Lindsey so they can play Drake when it makes sense without worrying about what it might do to locker room dynamics.

Yes, pretty much what I was thinking in the brave new NIL world, the red shirt importance for any player becomes less important, even more so if they are highly recruited. If Perich is ready to go at a high level, Fleck would be a bit foolish not to play him to red shirt this year.

 

[Flecknation]

I predict he will play 1 to 1-1/2 quarters tomorrow.

 

[Dave H]

At the same time be mindful of only playing 4 games to save his redshirt. Might need to save at least 2 if that is the plan should Brosmer go down, maybe 3.

If Brosmer goes down the red shirt is getting burned anyways so...

 

[Dave H]

No point worrying about redshirts anymore, especially for QBs. There was a time when that was important but with player movement these days you play the kids that can play and you don't project your roster out for more than a year or two tops.

Hopefully Brosmer stays healthy but they are still able to get Lindsey quality reps the way they did against Rhode Island over the course of the season. No potential for a QB controversy next year between Brosmer and Lindsey so they can play Drake when it makes sense without worrying about what it might do to locker room dynamics.

Yep...and the truth is Drake needs to be ready to be #1 next year so any chance he has to play needs to be taken.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Yep...and the truth is Drake needs to be ready to be #1 next year so any chance he has to play needs to be taken.

Would seem like the coaches agree because in the past they would not have had Drake running the normal offense during mop up time the way they did this past Saturday. Was good to see them let him put the ball in the air and not just turn and hand off.

Obviously a chance we go back into the qb carousel after this season but best case scenario would be Drake being ready to take over next year with a year of experience under his belt as the backup.

 

[Arminius]

Would seem like the coaches agree because in the past they would not have had Drake running the normal offense during mop up time the way they did this past Saturday. Was good to see them let him put the ball in the air and not just turn and hand off.

Obviously a chance we go back into the qb carousel after this season but best case scenario would be Drake being ready to take over next year with a year of experience under his belt as the backup.

Insightful comment Venture Capital guy...all coaches everywhere are learning, "Either give me meaningful time coach...or I'm going to bounce in Transfer Portal..."

 

[Dave H]

Would seem like the coaches agree because in the past they would not have had Drake running the normal offense during mop up time the way they did this past Saturday. Was good to see them let him put the ball in the air and not just turn and hand off.

Obviously a chance we go back into the qb carousel after this season but best case scenario would be Drake being ready to take over next year with a year of experience under his belt as the backup.

Yep...plus, and this is sad to say, there is always the chance Drake will leave if he thinks he isn't going to get a chance next year. God it sucks we have to worry about stupid crap like that.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Insightful comment Venture Capital guy...all coaches everywhere are learning, "Either give me meaningful time coach...or I'm going to bounce in Transfer Portal..."

Not what my name means....

And I don't think they did what they did for fear of him transferring. Right now he is the starter next year so if they have opportunities to get him quality minutes I would expect to see them try to get the most out of those reps.

As a coach it would be foolish to let a player hold you hostage with threats of transferring. If a player is going to threaten that then they probably aren't the kind of player you want in the first place.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Yep...plus, and this is sad to say, there is always the chance Drake will leave if he thinks he isn't going to get a chance next year. God it sucks we have to worry about stupid crap like that.

The roster management piece of college athletics would be a nightmare these days.

As a fan the best course of action is to just enjoy the team you have that year knowing there is a good chance it will look quite a bit different next season.

 

[Willwin40]

Yep...plus, and this is sad to say, there is always the chance Drake will leave if he thinks he isn't going to get a chance next year. God it sucks we have to worry about stupid crap like that.

Why wouldn’t he get a chance to start next year? Bosmer is gone and Kollock probably won’t be ready yet. I would be very surprised if he wasn’t the starter. I think he’ll be very good.

 

[Word]

Why wouldn’t he get a chance to start next year? Bosmer is gone and Kollock probably won’t be ready yet. I would be very surprised if he wasn’t the starter. I think he’ll be very good.

Unless we bring in a transfer out of the blue, Lindsey will be the starter. If we bring in a high-level transfer, it would be a sign the staff doesn't think Lindsey is ready.

 

[howeda7]

If Brosmer goes down the red shirt is getting burned anyways so...

It seems crazy to worry about redshirts for anyone in the transfer portal era.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

It seems crazy to worry about redshirts for anyone in the transfer portal era.

I agree generally, but I also think that is more dependent on what the coaches and family have talked about kinda thing.

 

[SanDiegoGopherFan]

I don't remember if PJ has done this with any consistency in the past. Letting freshmen play in clean-up duty.

 

[MNVCGUY]

It seems crazy to worry about redshirts for anyone in the transfer portal era.

For fans, redshirts are similar to recruiting rankings at this point. Fans used to obsess about both of them, now they are more just something to keep tabs on but really not seen as nearly as important as they used to be.

Crazy to think that it wasn't that long ago where you would actually worry about not blowing a year of eligibility for a player you might want to have that year available for down the line. The extra covid year and the explosion of the transfer portal really made that thought process obsolete.

 

[50PoundHead]

At the same time be mindful of only playing 4 games to save his redshirt. Might need to save at least 2 if that is the plan should Brosmer go down, maybe 3.

It all depends on if Kollack stays committed, but I wouldn't be against them burning Lindsay's redshirt if Kollack stays on-board. Kollack redshirts next year and there is then two years between them. I think that would make for a fairly smooth succession IF one or the other doesn't get on the QB NIL Merry-go-Round.

 

[Dave H]

Why wouldn’t he get a chance to start next year? Bosmer is gone and Kollock probably won’t be ready yet. I would be very surprised if he wasn’t the starter. I think he’ll be very good.

Because they are going to bring in another person you can bet on that. If he can't se time now why would he assume he will in the future?

(remember he is a kid)

 

[Dave H]

Unless we bring in a transfer out of the blue, Lindsey will be the starter. If we bring in a high-level transfer, it would be a sign the staff doesn't think Lindsey is ready.

Its the portal, they will bring in someone. Not a top flight guy most likely but they aren't going to roll with just a kid who has at best a few starts under his belt. Those days are gone.

 

[Willwin40]

Because they are going to bring in another person you can bet on that. If he can't se time now why would he assume he will in the future?

(remember he is a kid)

How do you know?

 

[Willwin40]

It’s the portal, they will bring in someone. Not a top flight guy most likely but they aren't going to roll with just a kid who has at best a few starts under his belt. Those days are gone.

How do you know?

 

[Word]

Its the portal, they will bring in someone. Not a top flight guy most likely but they aren't going to roll with just a kid who has at best a few starts under his belt. Those days are gone.

They could have Lindsey, Kollock, Wittke, Shik though if they all stay.

 

[btowngopher]

They could have Lindsey, Kollock, Wittke, Shik though if they all stay.

I could see them rolling with this group if they like what they see in Lindsey and Wittke. Assuming they all stay. I’d like to add a transfer though if Wittke bounces.

 

[60's Guy]

Anybody else think that Lindsey should of played sooner today? Like the whole 4th quarter.
You got Iowa coming up...keep Brosmer healthy and begin his focus on Iowa. Send a message to him this is different...it's Iowa. I know to PJ they are all equal...1 and 0 Championship season...but Iowa and Wisconsin are different...I'd send that message.

And, of course get Lindsey more game experience.