BleedGopher
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per NJ.com:
New Jersey always has been a Big Ten recruiting battleground, and now first-year Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck is throwing his hat into the ring.
Actually, Fleck is able to because of the hat that he and several staff members used to wear. It had a block 'R' on it.
Fleck was a popular Rutgers assistant coach in 2010-11 under Greg Schiano before spending the last four seasons turning Western Michigan from a one-win team into a 13-1 team in 2016. The Broncos lost to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl in Fleck's final game before joining the Big Ten himself.
"I'm very familiar with the area surrounding Rutgers," Fleck said on an annual Big Ten coaches spring football teleconference. "There are a lot of guys on our staff who have spent time in New Jersey and at Rutgers. We definitely have a lot of connections there, a lot of high school coaches we continue to talk to and talk with. There is such incredible football in the state of New Jersey."
But Fleck also offered a soft landing for some of the Rutgers assistants who were out of work last year after being fired as part of a house-cleaning pertaining to scandal-cloaked boss Kyle Flood.
Fleck hired Joe Rossi as a quality coach, Norries Wilson as director of player development and Jeremy Cole as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.
Rossi and Simon are close friends, and Wilson -- who was Rutgers running backs coach and filled in as head coach during Flood's three-game suspension in 2015 -- played for Minnesota in the 1980s.
"I wanted to be able to bring (Norries) back in a development role that he would be in contact with our players all the time," Fleck said. "He knows the Twin Cities area. He knows the University of Minnesota. He played here. I wanted to bring somebody back in that role who was a Gopher.
"He fit that perfectly. I'm very proud of the way he's progressed within that little bit different role in terms of off the field, not on the field as a coach. He's one of the most genuine people you'll ever meet."
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...ot_for_everybody_but_hes_coming_to_recru.html
Go Gophers!!
New Jersey always has been a Big Ten recruiting battleground, and now first-year Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck is throwing his hat into the ring.
Actually, Fleck is able to because of the hat that he and several staff members used to wear. It had a block 'R' on it.
Fleck was a popular Rutgers assistant coach in 2010-11 under Greg Schiano before spending the last four seasons turning Western Michigan from a one-win team into a 13-1 team in 2016. The Broncos lost to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl in Fleck's final game before joining the Big Ten himself.
"I'm very familiar with the area surrounding Rutgers," Fleck said on an annual Big Ten coaches spring football teleconference. "There are a lot of guys on our staff who have spent time in New Jersey and at Rutgers. We definitely have a lot of connections there, a lot of high school coaches we continue to talk to and talk with. There is such incredible football in the state of New Jersey."
But Fleck also offered a soft landing for some of the Rutgers assistants who were out of work last year after being fired as part of a house-cleaning pertaining to scandal-cloaked boss Kyle Flood.
Fleck hired Joe Rossi as a quality coach, Norries Wilson as director of player development and Jeremy Cole as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.
Rossi and Simon are close friends, and Wilson -- who was Rutgers running backs coach and filled in as head coach during Flood's three-game suspension in 2015 -- played for Minnesota in the 1980s.
"I wanted to be able to bring (Norries) back in a development role that he would be in contact with our players all the time," Fleck said. "He knows the Twin Cities area. He knows the University of Minnesota. He played here. I wanted to bring somebody back in that role who was a Gopher.
"He fit that perfectly. I'm very proud of the way he's progressed within that little bit different role in terms of off the field, not on the field as a coach. He's one of the most genuine people you'll ever meet."
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...ot_for_everybody_but_hes_coming_to_recru.html
Go Gophers!!
