PJ Fleck on Facebook Live with JG - When you are born here, you want to play here

GopherLady

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Here are the notes, not verbatim, but you get the jist...

• You're so dedicated and energized, there's so much to do, there's really not much time for rest. For us, that's what we do best, when you work under pressure or expectations.
• When you come here, you don't have that background knowledge? We were going on the official visits together, by word of mouth, trusting your people to show recruits and Elite time.
• MN kids - This is our state, period. It truly is, we're the only D1 football program in MN. Those kids mean the world to me, a lot of them, we recruited to WMU. When we got here, they still wanted to be Gophers, that just shows the power of the University of Minnesota. When you are born here, you want to play here. It means a lot.
• You're not able to fill every need with your 1st recruiting class
• It's amazing, it comes full circle. They're pretty naive to the recruiting process, then they get weathered, and see how they come full circle. They've had to fail to get to where they're at - battles against other teams, teams they didn't really like, that's the fun thing, they all have this specific journey.
• Getting to know upperclassman - I don't care how much you know, it's how much you care. I've met with 1/2 of them already. We've had team meetings, winter workouts. There's a lot of leaders on this football team on this football team already.
• QB position - Everyone wants to know about, and it's the most important position on the field. We haven't had a chance to throw the football around or watch and evaluate them, that's for spring ball. I like how they work, and how the QB room works.
• 1st - you're always prepared as a FB coach, I have a 5 deep chart in case anything happens. Even if you're not hiring, you're getting to know people. Your agent helps you with that as well.
• Stars are overrated at some times, it doesn't measure the will - the "how" - the mind, the spirit, stars don't capture that. We look heavily at that. The word "just" doesn't exist at the University of MN because we're THE University of Minnesota.
• We want to build a big PWO program, they're the glue that keeps everyone together. I was one day away from being a walk-on. Everyone gets treated very fairly, you won't know who's a walk on.
• If you can't dance better than I can dance, we probably won't recruit you, because they're athletes! We want to see those moves on the field.
• I think it's energy, the ability to teach lifetime lessons in a cultural way - you can't use Bird and Jordan anymore, they think Jordan is the guy that makes the sneakers. You've got to talk Kayne and Drake. You have to teach based on things they'll understand. They don't need you for just the information, they need for you to explain the information.
• The timeframe - the assistants will take a breather, start 2018 and 19 evaluations, investing into our players, everyone deserves the utmost attention. We're going to get with our players, conditioning, getting ready for spring ball.
 

Here's the video:

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The best players from Minnesota did not used to attend the University of Minnesota

It wasn't all that long ago that many of the best players in the State's recruiting class would leave year after year. Even as recent as the coach Mason years some of the best players would not even give the University of Minnesota the time of day.
The first coach to try and put a wall around the state of Minnesota was coach Brewster. He didn't get a lot of the top ranked guys but he did try hard at it. Then under coach Kill with the Brick by Brick thing and last years Empire class(Unusual year for highly ranked talent and number of division 1 athletes) things really started to get going.

It is refreshing to watch the media coverage even in the local media, of the players who are signing with the U, and those that choose to stay rather than focusing on those that leave all of the time. If this Elite thing works out we should have many more years of guys wanting to be Gophers, and the best staying home. Kudos to those in the past that laid the groundwork for this, and kudos to the new staff for building a wall around the State as a philosophy going forward.
 

I noticed a few comments on the facebook live regarding the uniforms. Has there been any mention of Fleck wanting to change the uniforms? Obviously, it wouldn't happen until 2018 at the earliest. It's not uncommon for new coaches to change the uniforms. Mason, Brewster and Kill all had new uniforms within their first couple of years. I really like the current uniform set introduced in 2012 that is traditional and simple. My hope is that Fleck keeps the current uniforms beyond 2017 or at least makes minimal changes to them. I just thought I might have missed some uniform news as several comments on facebook live were referring to the uniforms.
 

I hear ya. These are the best uniforms we've had. Traditional and simple! Solid. They look solid!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


I hear ya. These are the best uniforms we've had. Traditional and simple! Solid. They look solid!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What does a Gopher "traditional" uni look like? There have been so many changes over the years. My hope would be the Rose Bowl uni's but they are probably way too old fashioned but not probably not "traditional".
 

Fleck needs to do away with the white pants thing with the uniforms.
 





The first coach to try and put a wall around the state of Minnesota was coach Brewster. He didn't get a lot of the top ranked guys but he did try hard at it. Then under coach Kill with the Brick by Brick thing and last years Empire class(Unusual year for highly ranked talent and number of division 1 athletes) things really started to get going.

I agree. People ripped on Brewster for not being able to land Seantrel Henderson or Michael Floyd. Guys of that caliber do not count as in-state recruits. Most of the time the top recruits are recruited nationwide. I just looked on the ESPN top 100 and only 7 of the top 20 guys signed with a school in state. There should be an * because a couple of them were from Florida and they have 5-6 schools in Florida to choose from.

My personal thoughts are you need to hit on the Persigs, Andries, Tommy Olsons, Coughlins, Ragnows, Hassenhauers and then get lucky and try to get the Hendersons, Floyds, and Jashon Cornells.
 

What does a Gopher "traditional" uni look like? There have been so many changes over the years. My hope would be the Rose Bowl uni's but they are probably way too old fashioned but not probably not "traditional".

I honestly have never seen those..since I think my dad was a tween when they last won the Rose Bowl.
 

I think PJ will continue to keep most of the top talent in the state.

Also, let's not change this into a uniform thread. KTHANKSBYE
 




I agree. People ripped on Brewster for not being able to land Seantrel Henderson or Michael Floyd. Guys of that caliber do not count as in-state recruits. Most of the time the top recruits are recruited nationwide. I just looked on the ESPN top 100 and only 7 of the top 20 guys signed with a school in state. There should be an * because a couple of them were from Florida and they have 5-6 schools in Florida to choose from.

My personal thoughts are you need to hit on the Persigs, Andries, Tommy Olsons, Coughlins, Ragnows, Hassenhauers and then get lucky and try to get the Hendersons, Floyds, and Jashon Cornells.

Andries wasn't a national recruit? He had over 20 Power 5 offers I believe.
 

Of course they do. Why wouldn't they?

Percentages say that top recruits in the country are not any more likely to sign with a school in their home state vs. a school outside of their home state. In fact, they are less likely.
 

Geez, Fleck sticks to his talking points. I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've heard the Bird/Jordan thing (while the rivalry was really more Bird & Magic, with Jordan coming later). And Kanye/Drake! Really had to mix the metaphor that badly? Weren't enough hoops rivals anymore, PJ? Steph & Lebron too tough to come up with?
 

I agree. People ripped on Brewster for not being able to land Seantrel Henderson or Michael Floyd. Guys of that caliber do not count as in-state recruits. Most of the time the top recruits are recruited nationwide. I just looked on the ESPN top 100 and only 7 of the top 20 guys signed with a school in state. There should be an * because a couple of them were from Florida and they have 5-6 schools in Florida to choose from.

My personal thoughts are you need to hit on the Persigs, Andries, Tommy Olsons, Coughlins, Ragnows, Hassenhauers and then get lucky and try to get the Hendersons, Floyds, and Jashon Cornells.

An ELITE coach keeps all the instate kids that he offers. Otherwise, he's not ELITE.
 

An ELITE coach keeps all the instate kids that he offers. Otherwise, he's not ELITE.

Then Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are not ELITE. Saban missed out on the two top linebackers in Alabama to Auburn and Tennessee, Meyer was beat out by Notre Dame for the number 1 and 4 player in Ohio.
 

Percentages say that top recruits in the country are not any more likely to sign with a school in their home state vs. a school outside of their home state. In fact, they are less likely.

Cool. They're still in-state recruits.
 

Geez, Fleck sticks to his talking points. I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've heard the Bird/Jordan thing (while the rivalry was really more Bird & Magic, with Jordan coming later). And Kanye/Drake! Really had to mix the metaphor that badly? Weren't enough hoops rivals anymore, PJ? Steph & Lebron too tough to come up with?

Yeh, I get that. He says the same thing a few times, but many leaders in business are the same way.

He's pretty exciting to listen to never the less. I'm encouraged to see him now saying those things while "talking" instead of his initial press conference where it was game-day speech style.
He seems a lot more "real" now having him seen it scaled back a notch, yet still exuding confidence and optimism without us feeling shouted at.
 




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