BleedGopher
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per Jess:
With birds chirping, the trees budding and a bright spring sun shining down on TCF Bank Stadium, it is the kind of day that college football recruiters dream about. But with the coronavirus pandemic gripping the world, Minnesota Gophers coach P.J. Fleck is heeding the call of the governor, and staying home.
On a Thursday morning Zoom call with reporters conducted from his house, Fleck threw out some of his standard mantras about loyalty, trust, growth and of course, rowing the boat. It is clear that in the past month he has gotten very adept at the art of virtual recruiting for the state’s lone Division I football program. And according to the experts, it is working.
With a few more commitments from three- and four-star prospects this week, the Gophers 2021 class of incoming student athletes was ranked ninth in the nation by Rivals.com, while 24/7 Sports ranked the crop of future Gophers fifth nationally — up there with the likes of perennial powerhouses like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson and Florida. Like all college coaching staffs these days, the Gophers are recruiting over the phone and video while campuses are shut down, but Fleck doesn’t see it as much different than what was working for them before the pandemic.
“I think if you ask any college coach, there are no secrets. You are who you are. You provide services for student athletes to be able to buy and to pick you, and we haven’t changed,” Fleck said, throwing the credit to his staff of assistant coaches, some of whom have been with him since he first became a head coach at Western Michigan in 2013. “It’s all about our culture. Our coaches are doing a great job creatively right now in the virtual market and finding a way to be just a little bit different, find a way to be able to do more, and do it better for longer. They’re working really hard right now.”
www.brainerddispatch.com
Go Gophers!!
With birds chirping, the trees budding and a bright spring sun shining down on TCF Bank Stadium, it is the kind of day that college football recruiters dream about. But with the coronavirus pandemic gripping the world, Minnesota Gophers coach P.J. Fleck is heeding the call of the governor, and staying home.
On a Thursday morning Zoom call with reporters conducted from his house, Fleck threw out some of his standard mantras about loyalty, trust, growth and of course, rowing the boat. It is clear that in the past month he has gotten very adept at the art of virtual recruiting for the state’s lone Division I football program. And according to the experts, it is working.
With a few more commitments from three- and four-star prospects this week, the Gophers 2021 class of incoming student athletes was ranked ninth in the nation by Rivals.com, while 24/7 Sports ranked the crop of future Gophers fifth nationally — up there with the likes of perennial powerhouses like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson and Florida. Like all college coaching staffs these days, the Gophers are recruiting over the phone and video while campuses are shut down, but Fleck doesn’t see it as much different than what was working for them before the pandemic.
“I think if you ask any college coach, there are no secrets. You are who you are. You provide services for student athletes to be able to buy and to pick you, and we haven’t changed,” Fleck said, throwing the credit to his staff of assistant coaches, some of whom have been with him since he first became a head coach at Western Michigan in 2013. “It’s all about our culture. Our coaches are doing a great job creatively right now in the virtual market and finding a way to be just a little bit different, find a way to be able to do more, and do it better for longer. They’re working really hard right now.”
Fleck and staff mastering virtual recruiting as Gophers football prospects rank high nationally
Unable to bring prospects to campus due to the pandemic, head coach P.J. Fleck and his Minnesota Gophers football recruiting staff are having great success using the phone and video, as the program comes off its best season in more than a century.
www.brainerddispatch.com
Go Gophers!!
