Category: P.J. FLECK

What’s the ceiling now for University of Minnesota football?

P.J. Fleck has established a winning program since taking over in 2017.  The latest triumph was last night’s 24-10 Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over Virginia Tech in Charlotte.

The Gophers entered the game about a 10-point betting favorite.  With superior talent, a savvy college football authority told Sports Headliners he thought Minnesota might “play not to lose.”

But rather than take a conservative approach, the Gophers were aggressive on both sides of the ball.  The authority, a former Big Ten and NFL player who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the offensive play-calling was “creative and fun,” while speculating the Gophers used more trick plays last night than in Fleck’s previous eight years leading the program. Defensively, the Gophers were aggressive with blitzes and sacked Tech quarterbacks five times.

“This was a really good football team,” the source said about a program he follows closely.

The victory made Fleck’s bowl record at Minnesota 6-0 and was Minnesota’s eighth straight post season win. Since Fleck arrived at Minnesota his teams are 24-3 against nonconference opponents including bowl teams.  That’s one of the best marks in college football.

The Gophers finished 2024-2025 at 8-5.  During the last four seasons Minnesota has averaged eight wins per season. This season and in three of the last four the Gophers had winning records in Big Ten games, with a cumulative mark of 19-17.

Fleck’s eight-year record is 58-39. He is fourth in program history in Big Ten wins (34) and is fifth in overall wins. His 597 winning percentage is third best among Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games leading the program.

Being the head coach at Minnesota is far from a cushy assignment. With limited Big Ten prospects among the high school ranks, and no adjacency to states with hotbeds of talent to recruit from, attracting elite personnel has long been a challenge for Gopher head coaches. In reality, his assignment probably is more difficult than any other coach at the U or professional coach in this town.

Fleck has established success despite the challenge, too, of more limited Name, Image and Likeness money than much of his competition.  Not so long ago, Fleck could only wish a transferring player from his program good luck as he capitalized on NIL.

But through the efforts of Minnesota’s official collective, Dinkytown Athletes, that situation is improving.  It’s believed the football program now has a few million dollars in NIL money with which to compete.

Revenue sharing with college athletes is expected to begin this year, and the Gophers will have similar money to their rivals with which to pay players.  Power Four athletic departments are expected to devote about $20.5 million to revenue sharing with athletes in several sports.  Minnesota will divide its money among football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s hockey and women’s volleyball. Speculation is athletic departments, including Minnesota’s, could allocate $12 million or more annually to football players.

The revenue share model is a very positive development for programs like Minnesota. Fleck acknowledged as much recently when he expressed gratitude to the U administration and indicated the money will be a difference maker when recruiting against non-Power Four programs who don’t have the money to share revenue like the big boys.

“The SEC and the Big Ten have major TV contracts that allow that money to be real, allow that money to be there,” Fleck said. “Our NIL and collective with Dinkytown Athletes, that money is there. It’s real. I can’t say that for everybody around the country, you know?”

The marquee football schools will still have a money advantage over the Gophers because of NIL resources.  As Fleck says, it’s the thing “that separates” parity for all.

“But I think that you’re starting to see us being able to get a high-quality athlete, retain a high-quality athlete, and a student-athlete that we can (get),” Fleck said.

The Gophers have 14 transfer players coming in and the group is ranked No. 14 in the country by 247Sports.  Fleck credits his current players for the job they do as hosts in selling recruits on the Gophers program.

The thousands of players in the transfer portal each year has been a positive development for the Gophers. Minnesota has had few key losses in recent history, while adding talent such as they did a year ago with quarterback Max Brosmer and cornerback Ethan Robinson.

Truth is the portal can help the “have nots” of college football dramatically.  While the Gophers had 13 transfers come in last year, Indiana had 30 under new coach Curt Cignetti.  The formula worked with Indiana improving from a 3-9 team to 11-2 and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Along with revenue sharing and the transfer portal, the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams is another development that raises the ceiling for Gopher football success.  A Big Ten team can now finish fourth, or even fifth in the standings, and potentially receive a playoff invitation.

Participation in the playoffs would be a huge lift for Minnesota’s program.  The fanbase would be energized and grow in numbers.  NIL dollars would flow like never before (not to mention athletic department donations and general giving to the U).

More revenue would be welcome in so many ways including football staff salaries.  The Gophers are known to rank near the bottom in money paid to assistant coaches.

Despite that situation, Fleck has one of his better staffs during his eight years at Minnesota headed by offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.

Give Fleck credit for those hires and the many other things he has helped to accomplish with his leadership, IQ and non-stop energy.

Even brighter days could be ahead for Golden Gophers football.

Head coach P.J. Fleck went to the transfer portal about a year ago to find his 2024 quarterback.  The move paid off with New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer performing superbly in both team leadership and passing with production that included a best ever at Minnesota single season completion percentage of .668.

Brosmer engaged his teammates from the beginning, building relationships and trust.  He was also an insatiable learner whose knowledge and maturity gave the Gophers an in-game advantage in problem solving and creating opportunities.

“I’ve never been around a young man who processes information like he processes information,” said Fleck who predicts Brosmer will be an NFL player and later a successful coach if he chooses that career path.

The downside with Brosmer, who figures to be in training camp with an NFL team next year, is that he has used his one season of eligibility.  The Minnesota quarterback job is up for grabs in 2025 and Fleck surprised some observers today by saying “we’re absolutely going to bring in a transfer quarterback to compete.”

Fleck said he’s been “transparent” in meetings with quarterbacks on the existing roster, including assumed Brosmer successor Drake Lindsey, and also Jackson Kollock who was one of 20 high school players the Gophers signed today on National Signing Day.  Fleck  said competition is intended to make everybody better.

A transfer quarterback is likely to have more experience than Lindsey and Kollock who potentially could spend four or more years in the program.  But that’s not necessarily a given, and Fleck is certain to prioritize the ability to play at a high level right away is more important than the number of eligible seasons.

Lindsey, an Arkansas native who was the high school Gatorade Player of the Year in that state, is considered a gem from the 2024 recruiting class.  The former three-star recruit had the benefit of learning from the cerebral Brosmer this fall.  Fleck said the redshirt freshman “has attached himself to Max’s hip.”

Lindsey enrolled early at Minnesota and participated in spring practice where he was impressive. The true freshman played in two games during the 2024 season with the highlight being against Rhode Island when he completed three of four passes and threw a touchdown pass.  He has four seasons of eligibility ahead at Minnesota.

Kollock is a high three-star in the 247Sports composite recruiting rankings. The Gophers may have pulled off a coup in getting the Laguna Beach, California quarterback who can not only pass but is more athletic than Lindsey and Brosmer, setting up the possibility of more run-pass options in the Minnesota offense.

Kollock was committed to Washington until after last season’s college football playoffs when head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb left the Huskies.  DeBoer is now head coach at Alabama and Grubb is the NFL Seahawks offensive coordinator.  It’s a tribute to Kollock’s talent and potential that those offensive gurus pursued him.

As Lindsey did, Kollock will enroll early to learn about the offense and participate in spring practice.

So, with a transfer likely coming and Lindsey and Kollock available going into next season and beyond, the Gophers look positioned at quarterback—the most important position on the field—to start a talented player who they believe in and with a backup or two that has their confidence.

Gophers Football Notes

The one four-star recruit, per 247Sports composite rankings, is linebacker Emmanuel Karmo from Robbinsdale Cooper.  He had an impressive senior season and moved up from three-star to four-star status.

The Gophers signed three of the 247 top five rated high school seniors in Minnesota.  The group includes No. 2 ranked Caledonia linebacker Ethan Stendel (comparisons to Gopher Cody Lindenberg) and No. 5 defensive lineman Abu Tarawallie from Heritage Christian Academy.

The expansion of the Big Ten to include four west coast schools, including UCLA and USC, may start a trend of Gopher recruiting out that way. California, with three signees, was second among states in the Gophers’ 20-recuits class. There are six players from the state of Minnesota.

In addition to Kollock, Minnesota signed Daniel Shipp, a three-star offensive lineman from Eastvale, California and three-star wide receiver Legend Lyons from Covina, California.

Shipp injured his knee and missed much of his junior season.  The Gophers need tackles and are hoping he can bolster the roster.  There is also a void on the wide receiver roster where Lyons can make an impact.  Fleck likened his physical skills to former Minnesota All-Big Ten wide receiver Tyler Johnson.

Fleck, who just completed his eighth regular season with the Gophers, keeps preaching he is in charge of a developmental program.  Generally, that means Minnesota (like many schools in the Power 4 conferences) will not be able to attract large numbers of four and five-star players.

That is reflected in the annual 247Sports composite national recruiting rankings.  Minnesota ranks No. 51 in the 2025 listings.  Dating back to 2021, the Gophers have been No. 38, 49 and 46 last year.

Today’s National Signing Day precedes the opening of the transfer portal next Monday.  The portal means losing players on the existing roster and adding transfers from other schools, potentially at other levels than Division I including FCS which has been a productive source for Power Four programs including Minnesota (FCS alums Brosmer, Jack Henderson and, Ethan Robinson from the 2024 team).

Despite the transfer portal opportunity after last season, the Gophers retained an impressive 16 starters from the 2023 team.  Name, Image and Likeness money for football through Dinkytown Athletes, the Golden Gophers official collective handling NIL, has increased since a year ago.  DA, like other collectives, keeps its balance sheet private but it’s believed there is a significant increase from a year ago partially because of a recent “million-dollar match campaign” with Mark Pearson’s Twin Cities-based financial services company, Nepsis, and donations, memberships and upgrades of memberships from the public and businesses.

The estimate here is DA will have between $2 million and $3 million for football NIL. It’s believed Koi Perich, named All-Big Ten safety this week by both the media and coaches, and a candidate for national Freshman of the Year, might receive an NIL amount of over $500,000 next year.  Running back Darius Taylor is believed to be another six-figure NIL Gopher.

No doubt players transferring in, as well as those already on the roster, will benefit from earnings doing NIL work.  And the Gophers will have a significant number of transfers with obvious needs at receiver, offensive line and cornerback.  There could be 10 to 15 incoming players.

Fleck’s name has been linked with the North Carolina head coach opening but he likely isn’t leaving Minnesota.  There is more TV money for a Big Ten program than in the ACC where North Carolina competes.  Fleck and his wife like living here and have established roots after eight seasons with both the program and community, and they recently moved into their newly built suburban Minneapolis home.

Fleck also has considerable contract security here, similar to many other college football head coaches now.  If he is fired without cause his buyout is over $23 million ($23,302,502), per a USA story on coaches October 16.  Kirby Smart at Georgia tops the buyout list at $118,083,333.  Ohio State fans are grumbling about yet another loss to Michigan but neither the school nor another entity likely wants to pay the $37,276,042 to fire head coach Ryan Day and say, “Goodbye Columbus!”