Category: P.J. FLECK

 

The University of Minnesota football program has produced similar results in recent seasons and hasn’t duplicated the excellence of 2019 when the Golden Gophers went 11-2, including a prestigious Outback Bowl win over SEC power Auburn.

After the Outback victory, the Gophers finished No. 10 in the Associated Press top 25 poll. In head coach P.J. Fleck’s third season at Minnesota his team emerged as a Big Ten title contender, going 7-2 in league games including a for the ages home upset of then No. 5 ranked Penn State.

That team’s roster had major contributors recruited by Fleck such as wide receiver Rashod Bateman, quarterback Tanner Morgan and tailback Mo Ibrahim.  Significant playmakers on that team included many individuals recruited by the previous coaching staff regimes such as safety Antoine Winfield Jr., defensive end Carter Coughlin, linebackers Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin, and wide receiver Tyler Johnson.

The Gophers haven’t finished a season (including bowl games) with a top 25 ranking since the magic of 2019.  Disregarding the COVID shortened 2020 campaign, the program has usually produced similar win and loss totals.

In both 2024 and 2025 the Gophers were 8-5 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten.  The 2021 and 2022 teams were both 9-4, with the former finishing 6-3 in conference games and the latter 5-4.  The outlier season was 2023 when Minnesota was 6-7 and 3-6.

The last five seasons Minnesota has qualified for and won its bowl games including the 20-17 victory Friday over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl.  Fleck is undefeated in bowl games with the Gophers, winning seven consecutive outings.  Minnesota’s total win streak of nine is the best in the nation and in Big Ten history.

Doesn’t it seem like there’s a Groundhog Day movie feel here?

Fleck, his staff and players are doing all kinds of things right and doing them consistently.  They rally to win in come from behind games including against four foes in 2025, showing they can make coaching adjustments and perform in the clutch.  They often beat the teams they’re expected to handle, including non-conference softies and league opponents.  They have stoked home state pride by defeating Wisconsin in four of the last five years and getting Paul Bunyan’s Axe comfortable with a Dinkytown residence.  And in the transfer madness of the 2020s, Fleck and his staff have been very successful in retention of players.

Off the field, players consistently attend class and produce GPA’s that make mom and dad happy.  Fleck insists on more than academics off the field, though.  His serving and giving community commitment has staff and players engaged in efforts and appearances to help those in need in the community.  And unlike the distant past, scandal caused by miscreant behavior hasn’t embarrassed the University.

Less appealing in the sameness mode is how the Gophers fare on the field against the “big boys” of the Big Ten. In 2025 Minnesota was outscored by 84-16 in games against conference titans Oregon and Ohio State.  Fleck is also 0-4 in the Little Brown Jug rivalry with Michigan and two years ago in Minneapolis lost 52-10.

Iowa sometimes flirts with Big Ten “big boy” status and pretty much owns the Gophers.  Fleck is 1-8 against the Hawkeyes and this year his team was pounded 41-3 in Iowa City. The last two seasons Minnesota has been outscored 72-17 in the Floyd of Rosedale series.

Both Iowa and Minnesota are self-described developmental programs, meaning four and five high school recruits don’t flock to Iowa City and Minneapolis.  Iowa is clearly better at the developmental stuff than the Gophers.  Iowa’s defenses and special teams are usually among the elite in the nation.  The best players on those units regularly include players from the state of Iowa, sometimes coming from small town high schools.

Annual season results for Gopher fans typically include frustration with a more than winnable game or two that turns into a L.  In 2024 the Gophers blew a prime opportunity to open the season with public favor, losing a big nonconference game at home to North Carolina, 19-17 (two missed field goals).  In 2023 and 2025 they had aggravating 37-34 and 38-35 road losses to a Northwestern program that specializes in mediocrity.  After this fall’s loss fans were writing about a “pitiful defensive performance” and questioning the coaching.

Even home attendance patterns are similar in this era of Gopher football.  Average home attendance for the last five seasons is in the 45,000 to 48,500 range at 50,805 seats capacity Huntington Bank Stadium.  Public season ticket sales for the last three years have been in the 23,000 to 25,400 range.

More numbers?  The Gopher football program’s salary pool to pay assistant coaches is consistently among the lowest in the Big Ten.  And money to pay players for Name, Image and Likeness at Minnesota is believed to be average at best among Big Ten peers and perhaps lagging behind a lot of programs.

For the most passionate Gopher football fans who burn to win, it’s impossible not to envy the stunning success of Indiana football the last two seasons.  Historically, the Big Ten’s worst football program has transformed itself to one of the nation’s best.  In 2025 the Hoosiers are 13-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.  And this comes off an 11-2 season a year ago.

The Hoosiers needed a miracle man to transform their deplorable program, and they got one in head coach Curt Cignetti.  A master program organizer, talent evaluator, game and practice coach, and motivator, Cignetti, 64, received a major college coaching opportunity late in life.  He had won at previous lower tier spots (Google him) and has shocked the sports world with his success at IU.

No doubt the Hoosiers have more money to pay players than in the past but the resounding success in Bloomington is about much more than that.  It’s about coaching genius led by a man who is so good at everything he does, it’s impossible to believe he couldn’t win championships at most any school: From the Azusa Pacific Cougars to the Hamline Pipers to the Youngstown State Penguins.

There are renaissances going on at other programs, too.  Included are places like Minnesota, where hometown college football teams fight the burden of a neighborhood NFL team that constantly grabs attention and resources.  In Nashville, long time loser Vanderbilt has emerged as a national success story with the help of a prominent assistant coach named Jerry Kill. He brought his fiery New Mexico State quarterback, Diego Pavia, with him to help lead head coach’s Clark Lea’s Commodores.

In the last two seasons, Arizona State and its young head coach Kenny Dillingham, have become a better story than the local NFL Cardinals, winning the Big 12 title a year ago and making plans to develop a national footprint of success.  Dillingham is a Sun Devil alum, just like Brent Key is an alum at Georgia Tech.  He has revived the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta with winning seasons, including 9-4 in 2025.

Fleck and the Gophers, of course, want the success of the best teams, too.  He encouraged his players to be “delusional” in their thinking before the 2025 season, encouraging them to have College Football playoff ambitions.

That’s the right kind of mindset for his program. To achieve that, the Gophers will need a more talented roster and one that includes many of the more gifted players having extensive playing experience.  That’s what happened in 2019.

In attempting a 2019-like comeback, don’t expect the Gophers to break any rules in recruiting or other areas.  At Minnesota (true for a long time), the mantra is “dot every ‘I,’ cross every ‘T.’ “

There we go again, talking about things that have been in place for years in Dinkytown.

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National Signing Day for high school and junior college football players is tomorrow, Wednesday, December 3.  Unveiling the 2026 Golden Gophers class will provide a glimpse into potential key contributors to the program next fall and beyond.

Sports Headliners interviewed local recruiting guru Ryan Burns from GopherIllustrated and 247Sports. When asked what’s interesting regarding the class, he replied it’s the emphasis to improve team speed and athleticism.

That emphasis is particularly true on offense, Burns said, singling out three players who are expected to sign their National Letters of Intent with Minnesota soon as part of a 31-man recruiting class ranked by 247Sports.  He believes those players could accomplish what head coach P.J. Fleck and staff want to do on offense which is attack defenses vertically and sideline-to-sideline.

At about 6-foot-4 and 225-pounds Roman Voss is targeted to play tight end for the Gophers and was a legendary performer for Jackson County Central in southwestern Minnesota.  The Gophers had to fight off blue-blood Alabama to keep the offensive and defensive star home.

Voss finished his prep career with a school record of 5,661 passing yards and 58 touchdown passes, per MaxPreps.  He set the career rushing record with 4,686 yards and 65 touchdowns. A linebacker and safety on defense, he not only played quarterback on offense but also had 17 receptions for 383 yards as a receiver.

With that resume, Voss might even get an opportunity to be a wildcat quarterback, running and passing in a key game situation.  His big frame could be an asset as a “tush push” guy similar to how Penn State used All-American tight end Tyler Warren in 2024.

A second player Burns highlighted is running back Ryan Estrada from El Paso.  He said Estrada, listed at about 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds by 247, has averaged 12 to 13 yards per carry for three seasons playing against teams with large school enrollments.  “He is very, very quick, very, very fast and that’s a skillset that Minnesota doesn’t have,” Burns said.

At running back in 2026 the Gophers figure to return versatile runner-receiver Darius Taylor and power runner Fame Ijeboi.  Taylor is shifty and adept at changing direction but neither he nor Ijeboi have catch me if you can speed.

Burns referred to Braiden Stevens from Platte County, Missouri as “Minnesota’s version of Kaden Wetjen.”  Big Ten fans know Iowa Hawkeye game breaker Wetjen as a speedster who can deliver a big play in any game as a return man and receiver.

Listed at just 5-8 and 165-pounds, Stevens can run a 10.4 100-meter dash, per Burns.  That could translate into explosiveness at slot receiver including catching bubble screens.  He might also be a gamebreaker on jet sweeps and in the return game.

“I think maybe all three of them (Voss, Estrada, Stevens) can potentially play as true freshmen,” Burns said.

Howie Johnson, from Forest Lake, is 247’s highest rated future Gopher. “He’s the most relentless defensive tackle who’s strong like a bull,” Burns said.  “ … He’s very quick, he’s got a relentless motor.  I think he’s someone that hopefully early in his career can be a really good pass rusher for Minnesota.  That’s where I think he thrives.”

Johnson, followed by Voss, Rico Blassingame, the wide receiver from Arizona and Aaden Aytch, edge rusher from Indiana, are all 247 four-stars, although Blassingame is a three-star in the 247 composite rankings that include other recruiting sources.  The next highest rated is Rocori offensive lineman Andrew Trout, who although he gets a three-star ranking from 247, also earns a four-star in the composite rankings.

“I mean he’s like you draw them up in a lab,” Burns said. “I mean he’s…to me the best offensive line prospect from the state since Greg Johnson (Gopher junior guard) a few years ago…

“I’ve seen Andrew Trout for a very long time and he’s legitimately 6-foot-7, 300 pounds and he looks like he’s 250 pounds.  He’s exactly like it looks.  If he can stay healthy and add strength, that’s a guy you can pencil in at tackle for three years, and then good things will  happen.”

Who among the 2026 class might have the most impactful career?  And possibly even start next fall as a true freshman?

Burns first mentioned Voss, noting the Gophers lose three tight ends after this season and he could see the Minnesota prep playing right away.  “Roman Voss gives them a skillset they don’t have.  He’s great with the ball in his hands. You can use him in a lot of different ways.”

Trout is part of Burns’ response, too, noting it’s believed he has set the state record for tackles for loss.”  And there are Stevens and Estrada with their speed and potential big play ability.

Among the most recent verbal commits now expected to sign with the Gophers is three-star quarterback Brady Palmer from San Diego. Palmer had been committed to Cal before the head coaching change.  Burns said Palmer, who counted college offers from the likes of former Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, was recruited by Minnesota offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. going back 18 months.

By state the class as comprised now (there could be Wednesday dropouts and additions) consists of four players each from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, per 247.  After that are Minnesota and Arizona with three each.

Often the Gophers have a few more state natives, but Minnesota is not considered rich recruiting territory by major college teams.  “I don’ think the state of Minnesota is great at producing talent,” Burns said.  “I think it’s kind of an anomaly they’re taking more Wisconsin kids than they are Minnesota kids, especially cause a lot of those Wisconsin kids are more project types that they’re just trying to take (a)…shot on.”

Of course, the Gophers won’t make perfect decisions on every player in the state.  They and other programs will misjudge players they give scholarships to and blow the opportunity to take someone else—sometimes available right under their I-Pads.

It looks like the Gophers are passing on Minnetonka running back Caleb Francois.  Despite being a touchdown machine and named Strib Varsity All-Minnesota Player of the Year, Burns said the Gophers “really didn’t recruit him very heavily.”  He added that Iowa State, where Francois is headed, was the only Power Four school to offer the playmaker.

Gopher fans will be fingers crossed there’s not a repeat of the Emmett Johnson gaffe.  The Minneapolis native was the state’s 2021 Mr. Football and this year the Nebraska running back is leading the Big Ten with 1,451  yards rushing.  He’s a top candidate for post season Big Ten and national awards.

Burns said Johnson wanted to be a Gopher, but Fleck was only going to take one running back in the class of 2022 and that was Zach Evans from Texas.   Burns also said recruiters hesitated about Johnson’s speed and ability to make tacklers miss, and that for much of the recruiting cycle he had no Power Five offers. That was true even after he made an official visit to Nebraska.

“Then the offer came just before Signing Day and he took it, and he’s obviously done really, really well with it,” Burns said. “Minnesota did not offer him.  Nebraska was the only Power Five school to do so and they certainly look like a genius.”

The Gophers 2026 class is ranked No. 24 in the 247 rankings and its composite rankings.  As more schools fill in their classes in the closing hours, including blue-bloods, Minnesota’s rank is expected to fall.

“They’ll probably end up in the 30’s would be my guess,” Burns said.

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