Bamboo plants are found in tropical climates. Over the course of three years, wood textured bamboo slowly develops underground. Each day, sunlight, soil and fertilizer help the plant mature. By its fourth growing season, bamboo often stretches more than 100 feet into the air. The parallels of this process can be applied to the Gophers’ football team.
In 2017, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck and his staff planted their own form of ‘bamboo.’ Since then, the ‘tree’ has slowly grown and developed. During his first three seasons, Fleck watched the program ‘grow higher’ every year. Now, after winning 11 games in 2019, the Gophers are set to enter their fourth official growing season.
Like the end of a bamboo plant’s cycle, the program is reaching its next highest point in 2020. Before each season, Fleck and his staff develop ‘season themes.’ This year, the team’s mantra is “Grow Higher,” which stresses the importance of taking another step forward.
“When you talk about bamboo, it takes three years to build underground by the time bamboo actually shoots up to the top,” head coach P.J. Fleck said Monday. “In year four, that’s when you see it shoot 90 to 110 feet in the air. We have the ability to do whatever we want to be able to do and whatever we’re going to pay the price for.”
Around every corner of the facility, spectators will see bamboo trees. These grooved plants signify the next developmental step for Minnesota’s program. While the bamboo plants continue to reach new heights, there is another project still under construction. Fleck and the Gophers have also compared the program’s development to building a house.
During the first season, Minnesota was digging the home’s foundation. A year later, the team set a concrete base. In 2019, the frame and drywall were completed. Now, as the Gophers enter their fourth year of construction, window installation is the next step.
“The wonderful thing about a window is you can look out and see whatever you want to see. You can notice the birds, the sun, the clouds, the sky, but you can see whatever you decide to see,” Fleck said.
When the windows are installed, other people will also begin looking through the glass to see what is inside. After completing an 11-2 season with a 31-24 Outback Bowl win over Auburn, everyone will have their eyes on Minnesota’s ‘house.’
“Now we have windows that the outside world wants to peak in and see and study and know what we’re doing inside our house,” Fleck said. “So we’ve got people looking inside our house now and we’ve got to be ready for all of that and we’ve got to be two steps ahead.”
The coaches and players know they can prepare for every possible circumstance by thinking ahead. For example, Minnesota’s 2019 bye week doesn’t occur until Week 11. The Gophers packed their spring schedule together to simulate the demands of a long season.
“Last year [our team mentality] was ‘smarter, not harder.’ Now, it’s we’re still ‘smarter, not harder,’ but now we’re going to do it ‘better for longer.’ We don’t have a bye week until Week 11 and our spring practice got smushed down into about a four-and-a-half week period for a reason,” Fleck said. “We wanted to make sure that we can simulate our season the best we possibly can.”
As Minnesota starts spring practices this week, players and coaches will begin the process of ‘growing higher’ each day. By the end of 2020, the program wants to see the grooved ‘bamboo plant’ stretching more than 100 feet into the air.
Other Notes:
Mafe is “twitched up”
When Fleck was asked about players he’s excited to watch this spring, he directly mentioned redshirt junior defensive end Boye Mafe. Despite playing a low snap count, Mafe thrived and was ultra-productive in 2019. He posted three sacks and flashed within Minnesota’s NASCAR pass-rushing package.
“I’m really excited for Boye Mafe,” Fleck said. “[He] just vertical jumped 40 inches. We’re talking about a defensive end doing that. He’s one of the faster guys on our football team in general. He’s twitched up, and sometimes, you need a guy to graduate to really see the potential of somebody else.”
During a recent appearance, I discussed Mafe as a potential ‘Big Ten breakout’ candidate in 2020. With his rare athletic skills and improved technique, he will make noise at the rush end position.
Fleck is excited new additions to his staff
During my recent conversations with football professionals, Minnesota defensive line coach Chad Wilt became a talking point. These people were telling me about his ability to recruit and develop talent at a high level. As I noted before, his experience in diverse defensive schemes is a huge asset.
The Gophers managed to hire Wilt away from Cincinnati in February. His past experience will be key as he develops a young position group. Fleck echoed these thoughts and opinions during Monday’s press conference. He and defensive coordinator Joe Rossi were immediately impressed during Wilt’s interview.
“I’ve interviewed a lot of people in my career as a head football coach and I haven’t had an interview like that before,” Fleck said. “Everything he did stimulated us in terms of whatever he was talking about. He had a systematic approach of talking about it, teaching it and teaching it step-by-step. I got everything he said over the hours he was in there. I could recite it all back to you and I think that’s the sign of a really good teacher and a really good coach. I know Coach Fickell didn’t want to lose him, but those are one of the hard calls you have to make.”
In addition to Wilt, the Gophers hired co-offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. (Utah State) and cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes (Michigan State). Fleck worked for Haynes when he was a Ohio State graduate assistant in 2006. The Gophers’ new cornerbacks coach was also a head coach for five seasons at Kent State. This experience will be a valuable asset as Fleck navigates the demands of leading his team.
Overall, Minnesota’s head coach is pleased with his new coaching staff additions and dished out high praise for the group.
“I think this is the best staff I’ve had and I’ve told them that. I’ve told them that to all of their faces in our staff meetings – this is the best I’ve had.” Fleck said. “As a head football coach, in terms of our group together as a team, for each other, I haven’t seen a room better than this and I’m really excited to get working with them.”