short ornery norwegian
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(shorty's note - 2 to 3" of snow on the ground in Windom, MN at 10:00am...........)
Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio.
Sid: have to be happy with some of the things the team did yesterday.
PJ: no moral victories. we didn't win the FB game. we had opportunities to do it. I keep telling our FB team how good they are. they're young.
we've grown so much from our 1st day here. the results are mine. that's on me. I told the team you just worry about getting better. I'm the one who makes the decisions. you focus on playing as hard as you can. we missed 2 FG. fumbled going in. had plenty of opportunity to win game.
Sid: Johnson's fumble turned game around
PJ: made great catch. trying to secure it, and the ball gets knocked out. the call could have went either way. the refs called it a fumble. Johnson did great job catching it - but the guy knocked it loose. it was a big play. we turned it over - they didn't
Sid: Johnson caught passes for 119 yards
PJ: great game besides the fumble. we're not into individual performances; we're into the team - winning FB games. Mo Ibrahim played tremendous. On defense, we hold them under 100 yards rushing. got to stop the run. we're building and developing the secondary -got to keep doing that. need to find right combination to uplift us in the back end.
Sid: your RB ran for 157 yards against the OSU defense
PJ: our players are getting better. in year 2, I'm not focused on just results focused on getting better. players who thought they were 2nd to 4th string at the start of the year are starting. we've got to win FB games. we're drawing a line in the sand. season 1 was the first 6 games, season 2 is the next 6 games. have to build on success.
Mona: got TE involved. used option pitch
PJ: we need to find ways to move the ball creatively. involve everybody. TE's haven't played a ton of FB. need to find right combinations. we will red-shirt Brevyn Spann-Ford. our TE's do a nice job. had good game. need to find creative ways to move the ball, with the style we have right now. give opponents credit.
Max: is your OL becoming more physical?
PJ: we're getting there. we will always be getting there. we're more physical now than at the beginning of season. we're only going to continue to improve. we've got young players starting, young players backing them up. that's why we have scrimmages with our young players on Sunday nights, so they're ready to play if needed.
Sid: coaches did fantastic job. has to give those kids confidence
PJ: we're getting closer. close is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades. we have to close the gap. it's a race to maturity 50% of team is FR. we have to be mature. some of the things we're doing are youthful mistakes. I know as head coach those are going to happen. we have to manage how they come out on the other side of those things. we're making immature mistakes. those will come down - will be having less of those mistakes. have to build on that.
Sid: Cashman.
PJ: tremendous FB player. learning to be a vocal leader. really developed the last 18-19 months. needed to get him to come out of his shell. great tackler. tremendous person. has his own charitable organization. with him, it's all about giving. doing a great job of seeing our young kids on defense get what they need. we played 2 FR on DL yesterday. he's doing a great job bringing people together.
Mona: been able to avoid off the field problems. Report of Brooks being arrested.
PJ: the process is unfolding. I'm not able to comment about any aspects of that. I'd like to, but I'm not able at this time.
Sid: who did you like yesterday?
PJ: Weyler up front. our front 7 on defense played tremendous stopping the run 2 weeks in a row. got to tie up some things on the back end. keep recruiting on back end. we knew we'd have to build the secondary over the course of several years. focus on developing players. Coney Durr played well before penalty. it was not malicious. But it was, on my opinion - targeting is targeting. he'll learn a lesson from that. he has an opportunity to grow from that. Mo Ibrahim played really well. started out season as 3rd or 4th RB - deserves a lot of credit.
Mona: 4th down situation. OSU made a hard push to get Coughlin.
PJ: Coughlin is one of the best players in the country. not a kid that has to prove anything to people. he gets better every week. may have been our MVP yesterday. love how hard he plays. we're lucky to have him. got to get more guys like Carter in the program. // On the 4th down play - I was told absolutely not. not even close. nobody is stopping it. I wasn't going to waste a time out. I was told that from officials on side. sometimes they say to wait for the buzzer. this time, said no. I've got to use our timeouts at critical situations. want to hold onto those. It would have been foolish to use a timeout in that situation. they marked it where they marked it. doesn't match film. they say what they say.
Sid: stuffed them on 4th and 1
PJ: our kids play so hard. I said you're always going to like how hard we play. got to do things with recruiting, building, rebuilding. develop players inside the program. want them to believe the U of M is greatest place in the world. we need to recruit outside student-athletes to come to the U of M who believe the same thing. how hard they play shows how much they love each other. proud of players. no moral victories. got to get better.
Sid: congratulations. 30 point underdog. Murray's
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.
Gopher FB Coach PJ Fleck appeared on the Sports Huddle on WCCO Radio.
Sid: have to be happy with some of the things the team did yesterday.
PJ: no moral victories. we didn't win the FB game. we had opportunities to do it. I keep telling our FB team how good they are. they're young.
we've grown so much from our 1st day here. the results are mine. that's on me. I told the team you just worry about getting better. I'm the one who makes the decisions. you focus on playing as hard as you can. we missed 2 FG. fumbled going in. had plenty of opportunity to win game.
Sid: Johnson's fumble turned game around
PJ: made great catch. trying to secure it, and the ball gets knocked out. the call could have went either way. the refs called it a fumble. Johnson did great job catching it - but the guy knocked it loose. it was a big play. we turned it over - they didn't
Sid: Johnson caught passes for 119 yards
PJ: great game besides the fumble. we're not into individual performances; we're into the team - winning FB games. Mo Ibrahim played tremendous. On defense, we hold them under 100 yards rushing. got to stop the run. we're building and developing the secondary -got to keep doing that. need to find right combination to uplift us in the back end.
Sid: your RB ran for 157 yards against the OSU defense
PJ: our players are getting better. in year 2, I'm not focused on just results focused on getting better. players who thought they were 2nd to 4th string at the start of the year are starting. we've got to win FB games. we're drawing a line in the sand. season 1 was the first 6 games, season 2 is the next 6 games. have to build on success.
Mona: got TE involved. used option pitch
PJ: we need to find ways to move the ball creatively. involve everybody. TE's haven't played a ton of FB. need to find right combinations. we will red-shirt Brevyn Spann-Ford. our TE's do a nice job. had good game. need to find creative ways to move the ball, with the style we have right now. give opponents credit.
Max: is your OL becoming more physical?
PJ: we're getting there. we will always be getting there. we're more physical now than at the beginning of season. we're only going to continue to improve. we've got young players starting, young players backing them up. that's why we have scrimmages with our young players on Sunday nights, so they're ready to play if needed.
Sid: coaches did fantastic job. has to give those kids confidence
PJ: we're getting closer. close is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades. we have to close the gap. it's a race to maturity 50% of team is FR. we have to be mature. some of the things we're doing are youthful mistakes. I know as head coach those are going to happen. we have to manage how they come out on the other side of those things. we're making immature mistakes. those will come down - will be having less of those mistakes. have to build on that.
Sid: Cashman.
PJ: tremendous FB player. learning to be a vocal leader. really developed the last 18-19 months. needed to get him to come out of his shell. great tackler. tremendous person. has his own charitable organization. with him, it's all about giving. doing a great job of seeing our young kids on defense get what they need. we played 2 FR on DL yesterday. he's doing a great job bringing people together.
Mona: been able to avoid off the field problems. Report of Brooks being arrested.
PJ: the process is unfolding. I'm not able to comment about any aspects of that. I'd like to, but I'm not able at this time.
Sid: who did you like yesterday?
PJ: Weyler up front. our front 7 on defense played tremendous stopping the run 2 weeks in a row. got to tie up some things on the back end. keep recruiting on back end. we knew we'd have to build the secondary over the course of several years. focus on developing players. Coney Durr played well before penalty. it was not malicious. But it was, on my opinion - targeting is targeting. he'll learn a lesson from that. he has an opportunity to grow from that. Mo Ibrahim played really well. started out season as 3rd or 4th RB - deserves a lot of credit.
Mona: 4th down situation. OSU made a hard push to get Coughlin.
PJ: Coughlin is one of the best players in the country. not a kid that has to prove anything to people. he gets better every week. may have been our MVP yesterday. love how hard he plays. we're lucky to have him. got to get more guys like Carter in the program. // On the 4th down play - I was told absolutely not. not even close. nobody is stopping it. I wasn't going to waste a time out. I was told that from officials on side. sometimes they say to wait for the buzzer. this time, said no. I've got to use our timeouts at critical situations. want to hold onto those. It would have been foolish to use a timeout in that situation. they marked it where they marked it. doesn't match film. they say what they say.
Sid: stuffed them on 4th and 1
PJ: our kids play so hard. I said you're always going to like how hard we play. got to do things with recruiting, building, rebuilding. develop players inside the program. want them to believe the U of M is greatest place in the world. we need to recruit outside student-athletes to come to the U of M who believe the same thing. how hard they play shows how much they love each other. proud of players. no moral victories. got to get better.
Sid: congratulations. 30 point underdog. Murray's
PJ: RTB, Ski-U-Mah, Go Gophers.