short ornery norwegian
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2011
- Messages
- 21,374
- Reaction score
- 15,201
- Points
- 113
Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio with Dave Mona and Sid Hartman. (Mike Max was at the Vikings' game in New Orleans.)
Sid: when you look at the mess you inherited, did you think you'd be in this position now?
PJ: absolutely. from day 1, we knew what we could do. We did talk about first year being year 0, second year being year 1, and this year was year 2. had to bring in different types of recruits. establish the culture. have guys who truly wanted to be here. our 11 seniors did a great job. they want to make the vision work. I kept saying, we don't want to sacrifice what's down the road for what you want right now.
Sid: Johnson future in NFL
PJ: really talented. bright future. any team would be excited to get him. he will keep getting better. that's a lot of the secrets for longevity in the NFL, working to get better.
Mona: play at line of scrimmage. Auburn's strength at DL
PJ: Our DL did not get enough credit. I thought on defense, we were able to spot them 10 points. offense and special teams were not up to par early. I thought we really dominated LOS. put players in right position. play with hearts. play with how. heart, spirit, will. our guys did that. offense, had to find a way to get their DL moving. screens, nakeds, move the pocket. get them chasing the ball. mix up runs - inside, outside zone. we probably moved pocket in that game more than we did the entire year.
Sid: did you look at how other teams played Auburn for your game plan?
PJ: study all of them. look at how different people handled them. wasn't easy - Auburn had only 3 losses, all to top-10 teams. LSU, Florida. we knew it was going to be a difficult game for us. had to come up with a game plan to fit our players. the players did a great job executing.
Mona: got new OC. promoted Simon. // Bryce Witham. one-handed catch
PJ: Mike Sanford Jr. has a wealth of knowledge. 37 years old. Matt Simon did a great job calling game. Offensive staff had more input. Matt called good game. He's being elevated to co-coordinator. that will help his development. help him evolve into play-caller. Mike Sanford - with those two working together. It will be more of a group effort going forward. Mike will call the plays. He will help us take it to the next level. brings energy, positive spirit, knowledge. //Witham - TD was a risky call, high reward. we knew they would stack the box. had to throw pop pass. 4th and 1 play there was a lot of discussion a big-time play for us. we didn't come down there to be close - we came to win. did a good job executing. Bryce made great catch. That can propel him to do more things. He's had some injuries that have held him back.
Sid: future of team
PJ: that future is what you see. want this to be a championship program. We ended the season with a championship. tied in B1G West. Won a Bowl Championship. Had over 100 "nevers" this season. things that have never happened in this program. over 100 of them. huge accomplishments. Won Bowl game. Other things that have not happened in 100 years. won 11 games. that shows where this program is headed. we were able to do it in three years. look at where we were as a program, as a culture. now we have to find a way to keep changing our best. move forward.
Mona: In all fairness, last time they won 11 games, 2 or 3 were against HS teams. // Talk about your recruiting class. some are coming in early
PJ: that's one thing people ask. Will this season, the Bowl game help in recruiting? We will get the caliber of player we want. wins never dictate that. We signed one of the best classes in MN history and we won 5 games that year. need to be a certain culture, certain type of athlete. where it helps in 2021 is to solidify who you're recruiting. We didn't have anyone commit because of this game. We signed 24. maybe have room for one more - a transfer, a HS kid, someone who makes his grades later. keep that open. excited. As we go around the country, everyone knows our brand. Our brand is bigger than ever.
Sid: Will we see any of the recruits play right away?
PJ: Defensively - lost 7 players. have to have some young players play on defense. We have talented players coming in. some coming early. On offense - lose Rodney and Shannon. Bring back Cam Wiley, bring in Ky Thomas. Williamson coming back from injury. only lose 11 seniors and we will bring in a huge recruiting class. maybe not red-shirt all of them next year - some will play on special teams. We will rely on young people. Want to get the best people on the field. have guys coming in who are incredibly talented.
Mona: felt like a MN crowd. Row the Boat chant.
PJ: I heard it. really special., one thing I wanted to do today is thank our fans. We appreciate them as a program. See how many people came to game. That helps us in future - Used to hear "MN doesn't travel." we blew that out of the water. MN does travel. traveled bigger and heavier than Auburn. we trumped that. felt like a home game. can't thank fans enough. heard RTB chant. so excited. that helped our 9 minute drive on offense to close the game. we were able to control that. so many good things happening with Gopher Athletics. Mark Coyle deserves all that credit. See you in the Spring.
Sid: Did you see this coming?
PJ: yeah. I can see it. People asked me before season, what do you consider a success? change your best. fulfill your potential. With this team, I think they exceeded their potential. they thought they could. have special people doing special things together. that's the type of team and culture we're building. have a lot of work to do. grow higher into 2020. optimistic for future.
Sid: you deserve Coach of the Year. Unbelievable. Gophers lucky to have you as coach. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers. Happy New Year.
Sid: when you look at the mess you inherited, did you think you'd be in this position now?
PJ: absolutely. from day 1, we knew what we could do. We did talk about first year being year 0, second year being year 1, and this year was year 2. had to bring in different types of recruits. establish the culture. have guys who truly wanted to be here. our 11 seniors did a great job. they want to make the vision work. I kept saying, we don't want to sacrifice what's down the road for what you want right now.
Sid: Johnson future in NFL
PJ: really talented. bright future. any team would be excited to get him. he will keep getting better. that's a lot of the secrets for longevity in the NFL, working to get better.
Mona: play at line of scrimmage. Auburn's strength at DL
PJ: Our DL did not get enough credit. I thought on defense, we were able to spot them 10 points. offense and special teams were not up to par early. I thought we really dominated LOS. put players in right position. play with hearts. play with how. heart, spirit, will. our guys did that. offense, had to find a way to get their DL moving. screens, nakeds, move the pocket. get them chasing the ball. mix up runs - inside, outside zone. we probably moved pocket in that game more than we did the entire year.
Sid: did you look at how other teams played Auburn for your game plan?
PJ: study all of them. look at how different people handled them. wasn't easy - Auburn had only 3 losses, all to top-10 teams. LSU, Florida. we knew it was going to be a difficult game for us. had to come up with a game plan to fit our players. the players did a great job executing.
Mona: got new OC. promoted Simon. // Bryce Witham. one-handed catch
PJ: Mike Sanford Jr. has a wealth of knowledge. 37 years old. Matt Simon did a great job calling game. Offensive staff had more input. Matt called good game. He's being elevated to co-coordinator. that will help his development. help him evolve into play-caller. Mike Sanford - with those two working together. It will be more of a group effort going forward. Mike will call the plays. He will help us take it to the next level. brings energy, positive spirit, knowledge. //Witham - TD was a risky call, high reward. we knew they would stack the box. had to throw pop pass. 4th and 1 play there was a lot of discussion a big-time play for us. we didn't come down there to be close - we came to win. did a good job executing. Bryce made great catch. That can propel him to do more things. He's had some injuries that have held him back.
Sid: future of team
PJ: that future is what you see. want this to be a championship program. We ended the season with a championship. tied in B1G West. Won a Bowl Championship. Had over 100 "nevers" this season. things that have never happened in this program. over 100 of them. huge accomplishments. Won Bowl game. Other things that have not happened in 100 years. won 11 games. that shows where this program is headed. we were able to do it in three years. look at where we were as a program, as a culture. now we have to find a way to keep changing our best. move forward.
Mona: In all fairness, last time they won 11 games, 2 or 3 were against HS teams. // Talk about your recruiting class. some are coming in early
PJ: that's one thing people ask. Will this season, the Bowl game help in recruiting? We will get the caliber of player we want. wins never dictate that. We signed one of the best classes in MN history and we won 5 games that year. need to be a certain culture, certain type of athlete. where it helps in 2021 is to solidify who you're recruiting. We didn't have anyone commit because of this game. We signed 24. maybe have room for one more - a transfer, a HS kid, someone who makes his grades later. keep that open. excited. As we go around the country, everyone knows our brand. Our brand is bigger than ever.
Sid: Will we see any of the recruits play right away?
PJ: Defensively - lost 7 players. have to have some young players play on defense. We have talented players coming in. some coming early. On offense - lose Rodney and Shannon. Bring back Cam Wiley, bring in Ky Thomas. Williamson coming back from injury. only lose 11 seniors and we will bring in a huge recruiting class. maybe not red-shirt all of them next year - some will play on special teams. We will rely on young people. Want to get the best people on the field. have guys coming in who are incredibly talented.
Mona: felt like a MN crowd. Row the Boat chant.
PJ: I heard it. really special., one thing I wanted to do today is thank our fans. We appreciate them as a program. See how many people came to game. That helps us in future - Used to hear "MN doesn't travel." we blew that out of the water. MN does travel. traveled bigger and heavier than Auburn. we trumped that. felt like a home game. can't thank fans enough. heard RTB chant. so excited. that helped our 9 minute drive on offense to close the game. we were able to control that. so many good things happening with Gopher Athletics. Mark Coyle deserves all that credit. See you in the Spring.
Sid: Did you see this coming?
PJ: yeah. I can see it. People asked me before season, what do you consider a success? change your best. fulfill your potential. With this team, I think they exceeded their potential. they thought they could. have special people doing special things together. that's the type of team and culture we're building. have a lot of work to do. grow higher into 2020. optimistic for future.
Sid: you deserve Coach of the Year. Unbelievable. Gophers lucky to have you as coach. Murray's.
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers. Happy New Year.
