BleedGopher
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per Mitch:
John Michael Schmitz in the first week of 2017 learned that Tanner Morgan, the high school quarterback from Kentucky with whom he’d been for months committed to Western Michigan, flipped to follow coach P.J. Fleck to a Big Ten destination.
“John Michael texted me, and he was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’” Morgan said. “You’ve never been there.”
The next day, Schmitz made the same move. Neither Morgan, nor Schmitz or his parents, John and Debbie Schmitz, had seen the campus at Minnesota. Yet they felt a pull, a connection.
“It was something about Fleck,” Debbie Schmitz said. “That was it. That was the end of it.”
Six years after Fleck first sold Schmitz, he stands as one of the coach’s most notable success stories with the Gophers. Schmitz, recently engaged and recommitted to a final year at Minnesota, has grown into a Rimington Trophy contender and valuable leader to enter this fall. The anchor of Minnesota’s rebuilt offensive line, he owes the climb to an unwavering worth ethic that embodies the spirit of his family.
Their South Side of Chicago oozes toughness. From its streets came the principles that have guided Schmitz.
“I’m proud of where I came from,” said Schmitz, a passionate White Sox fan who threw out a first pitch on the South Side in May. “Nothing was ever given to me. I had to work. My parents were blue collar. They still are. They installed that mentality in me. Whatever you want, you’ve got to go earn it.”
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
John Michael Schmitz in the first week of 2017 learned that Tanner Morgan, the high school quarterback from Kentucky with whom he’d been for months committed to Western Michigan, flipped to follow coach P.J. Fleck to a Big Ten destination.
“John Michael texted me, and he was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’” Morgan said. “You’ve never been there.”
The next day, Schmitz made the same move. Neither Morgan, nor Schmitz or his parents, John and Debbie Schmitz, had seen the campus at Minnesota. Yet they felt a pull, a connection.
“It was something about Fleck,” Debbie Schmitz said. “That was it. That was the end of it.”
Six years after Fleck first sold Schmitz, he stands as one of the coach’s most notable success stories with the Gophers. Schmitz, recently engaged and recommitted to a final year at Minnesota, has grown into a Rimington Trophy contender and valuable leader to enter this fall. The anchor of Minnesota’s rebuilt offensive line, he owes the climb to an unwavering worth ethic that embodies the spirit of his family.
Their South Side of Chicago oozes toughness. From its streets came the principles that have guided Schmitz.
“I’m proud of where I came from,” said Schmitz, a passionate White Sox fan who threw out a first pitch on the South Side in May. “Nothing was ever given to me. I had to work. My parents were blue collar. They still are. They installed that mentality in me. Whatever you want, you’ve got to go earn it.”
Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz embodies family's work ethic
John Michael Schmitz made a leap of faith to follow P.J. Fleck to Minnesota. Six years later, he's grown into a Rimington Trophy contender.
Go Gophers!!
