P.J. FLECK – Page 43 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Darrell Thompson Believes in U Rushers

Posted on October 12, 2021October 12, 2021 by David Shama

Golden Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck doesn’t expect starting tailback Trey Potts to play again this season, and for Saturday’s home game against Nebraska he plans to use multiple replacements.

Potts had been averaging over 20 carries per game until he had to leave the October 2 game at Purdue with an undisclosed medical problem that led to several days of hospitalization. Asked whether there will be a primary replacement for Potts in the upcoming game, Fleck said the situation is “going to be a little more by committee.”

“Bucky” Irving has been receiving the most carries behind Potts. The true freshman has played in four games for the 3-2 Gophers, rushing 25 times for 117 yards while showing elusiveness.

“I believe in him (Irving) 100 percent,” Fleck said. “You’re going to see a heavy dose of him.”

Fleck, though, wasn’t ruling out significant potential minutes for redshirt freshman Ky Thomas, redshirt sophomore Cam Wiley and redshirt junior Bryce Williams.

Thomas has played in one game, rushing seven times for 65 yards. Wiley has appeared in two games with six attempts and six yards. Williams has also played minimally this year but is by far the most experienced of the running backs, with the 2018 season his most active when he rushed 117 times for 502 yards.

Darrell Thompson is Minnesota’s all-time career rushing leader in yards and touchdowns. He said the Gophers still have “really good running backs” but he isn’t minimizing the blow of not having Potts for the last seven games of the regular season. “It’s a big loss,” Thompson told Sports Headliners. “He’s a tremendous running back.”

Thompson has watched enough of newcomer Irving to see things he likes. “I think No. 1 (is) his balance. He doesn’t go down easy which is the No. 1 thing that I look for in a running back,” Thompson said. “He gets yards after contact. I like to watch him run, I think he has good vision as well.”

What about Thomas? “I think Ky is talented,” Thompson said. “He’s got really good vision. I just haven’t seen enough (to say more).”

Wiley has looked unsure at running back and returning kickoffs during his Minnesota career. “I just think he’s gotta get more confidence, and some opportunity, and maybe just more time,” Thompson said. “He just needs to be decisive. He needs to do it (not over think his runs).”

At 6-2, 210, Wiley’s athleticism and potential has been compared to former Gopher All-American Laurence Maroney, perhaps the best breakaway runner in Minnesota history. “He might have Maroney acceleration,” Thompson said. “Other than that, I don’t know.”

Williams is remembered for scoring two touchdowns in Minnesota’s 2018 win over Wisconsin, the program’s first victory in Madison since 1994. “He’s decisive,” Thompson said. “He’s going to get what the play is blocked for. He’s a very good running back.”

It’s been an unlucky season at the running back position for Minnesota. All-American Mo Ibrahim won’t play again in 2021 after a lower leg injury following the opening game. “He’s a hell of a running back,” Thompson said.

Minnesota defeated Purdue 20-13 with Potts playing most of the game. The conservative Minnesota offense is built around the running game. Can the Gophers have continued success with the running back roster that remains? “I think there’s enough there,” Thompson said.

Fleck has a running back group that he has seen a lot more of in practices than games. “That’s what we’re all going to find out. …I want to see how they perform in the game situation as well.”

Worth Noting

Developing national news: Michael Hsu, the former University of Minnesota regent, is a volunteer and board member of the new College Basketball Players Association. He said paper work for the nonprofit is being filed in California this week. The organization will be similar to the College Football Players Association that launched last summer as a national advocacy entity. Hsu is also a board member of the CFBPA.

Fleck said star wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, who has played minimally this season because of an ankle injury, will be available for Saturday’s game. So, too, will promising redshirt sophomore wide receiver Dylan Wright who missed the Purdue game because of a friend’s death.

Thompson, 53, enjoyed the first tailgate experience of his life last Saturday in Mankato where he watched the home town MSU Mavericks (son True is a wide receiver) play Wayne State in a Division II game. “Very nice,” Thompson texted about the tailgating experience that included his home-made chili. The tailgate opportunity came up because the Gophers had a bye, creating an opportunity for Thompson not to be in the radio booth for Minnesota football broadcasts.

Official box scores have reported attendance of over 66,000 for Vikings games at U.S. Bank Stadium this season but the actual scanned tickets total is thousands under that figure. An indication of fan interest in the team is the secondary ticket market has been soft for Vikings home games.

The struggling Vikings, 2-3 and coming off a last minute win over the lowly Detroit Lions, have attractive opponents remaining on the home schedule. Mike Nowakowski from Ticket King said the Green Bay Packers game is at about $200 minimum to get in the stadium, with the Pittsburgh Steelers ($120), Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams in demand, too.

Wishful thinking? The Vikings started 2-3 in 2008 before going on to a 10-6 final regular season record and NFC North Division championship.

The Vikings have scored a combined total of 26 points in their last two games and kicker Greg Joseph has produced 14 of the points on two extra points and four field goals.

The Minnesota Wild had a team retreat in Duluth early this week and today practices in the city’s hockey facility, Amsoil Arena. The club’s regular season opener is Friday night in Anaheim (Minnesota was 7-1-0 last season against the Ducks).

With a lot of new players, the retreat is a successful bonding experience for the Wild. Activities included sitting around a campfire and talking. The NHL team has used Duluth and Colorado Springs for past preseason retreats.

The Capital Club hears from 1991 Minnesota Twins World Series heroes Tom Kelly and Kent Hrbek Wednesday morning. Gopher women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen, and assistant Kelly Roysland, speak to the group October 21. Both meetings are at Mendakota Country Club, with more information available from Patrick@aglilemarketingco.com.

Congratulations to Minikahda Club pro Jeff Sorenson for winning the Minnesota PGA Player of the Year Award. He now has an invite to the 2022 3M Open.

Comments Welcome

Fleck: NIL Can Be Game-Changer for U

Posted on October 5, 2021October 6, 2021 by David Shama

The NCAA approved a policy last summer allowing current and incoming college athletes the opportunity to benefit from their names, images and likenesses. Already there are scattered reports from around the country of both large and minimal amounts of money being provided to student-athletes.

Research by Sports Headliners doesn’t substantiate a lot of activity benefiting University of Minnesota athletes. The school athletic department can help educate but not arrange potential NIL opportunities for its athletes. There doesn’t appear to be much response so far from the outside community including the 16 Fortune 500 companies based in the state of Minnesota.

There certainly is potential to create a reputation that the U is a desirable NIL destination for student-athletes. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has long been known for its successful businesses of all sizes. Many of those businesses are owned or have staff with passion for Gophers athletics.

NIL is not to be used for “under the table” payments by boosters to reward athletes for performance, or as a recruiting inducement. NIL is also not a pay-for-play tool in the sense that athletes receive a salary from their schools, making them employees. However, word is getting out about schools where athletes are profiting.

For example, at Miami (Florida) a gym owner proposed an NIL deal rewarding everyone on the Hurricanes football team with $500 per month. A University of Michigan retailer reportedly is selling football jerseys with the names of players on the back and more than $10 per shirt goes to the athlete. Paige Bueckers, the former Hopkins superstar who was named 2021 college basketball Player of the Year in her freshman season at Connecticut, is rumored to be lining up more than $500,000 in NIL money. Gable Steveson, the Gopher and gold medal winning Olympic wrestler, is still competing for the U but has (presumably) a lucrative deal with pro wrestling’s WWE.

College athletes are allowed NIL advisors to find deals such as making personal appearances, doing TV commercials or utilizing their social media platforms. Those advisors can’t be coaches from the athletes’ schools, but leaders at the U certainly recognize the potential in this market place given the vitality of the business community.

“…We have a very, very unique location of where we are, and we need to be able to use that, and we need our community to want to use that,” Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck said. “Use our student athletes and really take this program to a different level, and I think we’re very, very capable of doing that.”

Fleck considers NIL to be another major change benefitting athletes, along with things like player safety and the transfer portal. He knows NIL could be a huge catalyst for recruiting, perhaps annually boosting the Gophers into the company of recruiting classes that rank among the top 20 in the nation—a change resulting in rosters with plenty of four-star players, and perhaps a few five-stars.

Fleck is clearly excited about NIL and how it can benefit Gopher football. “I think there is great potential here for what we can become. …We just have to be incredibly creative. We have to be able to use it like everyone else. To be able to use it (as) part of recruiting student athletes to come here.

“Again, not setting those things up, but when you look at where you are and where you’re located, what resources we have around here, this can be game-changing for the University of Minnesota. It can be game-changing for where we are going in the future.”

Notes: Vikes Miss on Second Half Points

The Minnesota Vikings’ offense has no second half touchdowns in the last three games (two losses). After Sunday’s home loss to the Seattle Seahawks, head coach Mike Zimmer surprisingly said on KFAN radio he hadn’t thought about the scoring drought in the last two periods. “I’ll have to look at what we’re doing offensively at halftime,” he said.

The offense produced a crisp opening game touchdown drive in the 14-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns Sunday. Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber, also talking on the KFAN post game show, said the early game plans of rookie offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak impress but production stalls out.

“But as the game goes on, and you have to start calling plays based on game situations, and it seems like we’re just not as creative,” Leber said. “We’re not ahead of it where we should be, where we are in the early parts of the game. …”

Leber believes blitzes and line twists by the Browns frustrated Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and his linemen. “We’ve seen Kirk where he gets in these games and he feels the pressure before it’s really there, and I think that really had an effect on him late in the game,” Leber said.

The one-win Vikings have lost three games by a total of 11 points. That’s part of why Zimmer keeps insisting he has a “good team” despite the record, while anticipating results will turn around as the season progresses.

Viking wide receiver Justin Jefferson had six receptions for 84 yards and the team’s lone touchdown Sunday. He has 114 receptions for 1,738 yards and 10 touchdowns in 20 career games. He and Odell Beckham Jr. and A.J. Green are the only NFL players in league history with at least 100 receptions, 1,500 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches in their first 20 games.

Vikings veteran linebacker Anthony Barr (knee injury) has yet to play in the first four games but Zimmer is optimistic about a return to the field Sunday against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. “I think he’ll play this week,” Zimmer said at his news conference yesterday.

The experience of the 29-year-old allows the Vikings to do things a younger player can’t, the coach said.

Zimmer also said the coaches are talking about how to keep 33-year-old defensive end Everson Griffen fresh for the balance of the season. He’s been effective in rushing the opposing quarterback, with two sacks in three games this season.

Single game tickets remain for the Minnesota Wild home opener against the Winnipeg Jets October 19. A promotional email Monday used this subject line: “Don’t Miss (Kirill) Kaprizov Opening Night.”

Starters for the Minnesota Timberwolves in their opening preseason game last night: center Karl-Anthony Towns, forward Jaden McDaniels, guards Josh Okogie, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell. Impressions: a skilled group capable of explosive offense and more than average defense, but not an adequate rebounding unit. Note to head coach Chris Finch: start Jarred Vanderbilt in place of McDaniels to improve the offensive and defensive rebounding.

Towns needs to be an alpha defender and rebounder all season. He also must cruise through a season without being sidelined with injuries (briefly missed time during the game last night).

The 20-year-old Edwards looks taller and stronger than during his rookie season last winter. Everyone knows about his offense but he’s going to be elite defensively. He had two blocks and two steals in his team’s 117-114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Comments Welcome

Wolves Owners Envision New Arena

Posted on September 28, 2021September 28, 2021 by David Shama

Target Center opened in 1990 and although it has since been remodeled, the downtown Minneapolis facility is the oldest home to an NBA team except for iconic Madison Square Garden in New York where the Knicks play. Although nothing is imminent, Minnesota Timberwolves owners Glen Taylor and Marc Lore foresee a new arena eventually being built in Minnesota.

Taylor spoke to the media yesterday at a news conference introducing limited partners Lore and Alex Rodriguez, the baseball great turned businessman. Lore is a visionary in business endeavors, even talking about building a utopian city using what is termed reformed capitalism. He and Rodriguez will have controlling interest in the Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx franchises in a couple of years.

The two new owners talked extensively yesterday about creating a vision for the franchises with strategies that will create an exemplary organizational culture and lead to success on the court. With ultra sophisticated and technology friendly arenas becoming an NBA trademark, it wasn’t surprising to hear the e-commerce savvy Lore talking about one day replacing city-owned Target Center with a state-of-the-art facility that would be a much better business model for him and his partner.

Taylor said he is on board for a new arena some day and understands the necessity. “That won’t be easy,” he told Sports Headliners. “I hope it can happen. It better happen.”

Taylor said he is absolutely sure the Timberwolves will remain in Minnesota long-term, indicating the league is committed to the marketplace. And Rodriguez said he and his partner are “bullish” on Minnesota, with no plans to relocate the franchises.

Asked when he sees himself talking to city officials about Target Center, Lore said, “We’re a long ways off before we start thinking about something like that.”

Taylor, the Mankato-based billionaire, has controlled the Timberwolves since 1994. During much of that period the team has been known more for missing the playoffs than being a force in the NBA. That needs to change to make the likelihood of support for a new building more realistic.

“We have to win,” Taylor said. “That builds the arena. It’s pretty simple.”

Lore and Rodriguez reportedly will pay $1.5 billion to own the franchises. Taylor said others would have paid more but he was attracted to the two men. As Taylor reviewed potential owners, he stressed the fit had to be right because he has seen takeovers of other NBA franchises fail with the wrong people in charge.

Taylor shared that instead of being so focused on money, Lore and Rodriguez showed a lot of interest in the people and culture with the Timberwolves and Lynx. “They’re smart. They’re really nice people and I think they care about the employees,” Taylor said.

Taylor believes his new partners are also committed to the product fans will see at Target Center. “What I found out is they want to win, and I love that,” he said.

Worth Noting

More from Taylor on Lore and Rodriguez: “I can tell you these two guys aren’t bashful.”

Rodriguez on interaction with Wolves players: “If we have to rely on my pep talks, we’re not going to win a lot of games.”

Rookie Joe Ryan, 2-1 with a 2:45 ERA, is scheduled to start the Minnesota Twins’ final home regular season game Thursday night against the Detroit Tigers. With the starting staff in flux, he could be the team’s opening day pitcher in 2022.

Viking owners Zygi and Mark Wilf were in the Vikings’ locker room following Sunday’s timely win over the Seattle Seahawks and heard coach Mike Zimmer say if the players do the important things they can “win a lot of games.”

At Zimmer’s post-game news conference he was irritated with a session ending question from Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, who asked how it felt to “finally get a win over Seattle and (quarterback) Russell Wilson.” Here is how Zimmer replied about ending the seven-game losing streak:

“It’s a win. You always bring up those kind of things, don’t you? And you always ask questions like, well, you haven’t beat these guys in 17 years so what do you think about this time? I mean, just ask the question.”

The often maligned Viking offensive line is receiving praise for its performance in the win over the Seahawks, although Seattle was missing its top pass rushers.

The Golden Gophers’ stunning loss to Bowling Green last Saturday is now a major impediment to a winning season. The Falcons, about a 31 point underdog going into the game at Huntington Bank Stadium, were expected to be the worst team on Minnesota’s 12-game schedule. The nonconference loss left the Gophers at 2-2 for the season, instead of 3-1 if they had won. With eight Big Ten games remaining, Minnesota will have to win five times just to finish with a 7-5 overall record. In the prior 10 years, the Gophers have only three times finished with a winning Big Ten record.

The Gophers’ Tanner Morgan has now been outplayed by two quarterbacks from the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green’s Mike McDonald made better throws in Saturday’s 14-10 win. Two weeks prior Miami (Ohio) quarterback Brett Gabbert threw for 201 yards, while Morgan had 112 in Minnesota’s 31-26 win.

It will be a surprise if Morgan, a four-season starter, doesn’t keep his job for Saturday’s upcoming game at Purdue. However, if the offense is sluggish he might get replaced during the game by Zach Annexstad.

It’s not an excuse for Minnesota’s lack of offensive preparation and execution against the Falcons, but it’s a pattern of Gopher coach P.J. Fleck to use a “vanilla offense” early in the season against nonconference teams. This time it backfired and a successful season is in jeopardy and perhaps the future of offensive coordinator Mike Sanford.

Congratulations to Ed Cohen, a member of the gameday Gophers football statistics crew for 66 seasons, who will celebrate his 90th birthday October 20.

Eric Nelson, Wally Langfellow and former Gophers football player Lee Hutton have a new show airing from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursdays on AM-1440 KYCR. The “Gopher Gold Rush” program includes guests talking about University of Minnesota football.

Comments Welcome