P.J. FLECK – Page 77 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

P.J. Fleck Reeling in Hyped Reruits

Posted on December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 by David Shama

It sounds improbable but indefatigable P.J. Fleck will likely have an extra bounce in his step tomorrow when announcing his 26-man 2018 recruiting class. The first-year University of Minnesota head football coach and his staff will land a group on National Signing Day that recruiting evaluators believe is the school’s best this decade and could rank No. 1 in the Big Ten West Division.

Ryan Burns, the college football recruiting authority and publisher of GopherIllustrated.com, has studied Fleck’s recruits all year. “This is a different kind of recruiting class,” he told Sports Headliners during an interview last weekend.

How so?

Burns said the 24 high school and two junior college student-athletes expected to sign their paperwork committing them to the Gophers were pursued by more Power Five Conference schools than the 2013-2017 Minnesota recruiting classes combined. That’s an indication of the quality, he said, of Fleck’s 2018 class, that so many of the players were also recruited by schools from the ACC, Big-12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC conferences.

“That’s a big deal,” Burns said. “For people who say P.J. is all smoke and mirrors, I don’t know how you can say that (now).”

Fleck, 37, came to Minnesota last January from Western Michigan with a reputation for recruiting and being one of college football’s rising stars among coaches. It certainly looks like Fleck, with his energy and ability to woo teenagers in person and via social media, is living up to his brand as a salesman. Fleck also has a staff of assistants who are known for their recruiting prowess, including Matt Simon and Ed Warinner.

Recruiting authorities like Rivals.com use a star system to label prep and junior college prospects. 247Sports analyzes information from other recruiting services and offers composite rankings. As of today, the Gophers have a 247Sports composite ranking of No. 28 in the country. Rivals.com ranks the Minnesota class No. 27.

Ohio State is ranked No. 1 nationally by 247Sports. Five of 14 Big Ten programs, including Ohio State, are ahead of Minnesota but all are from the Big Ten’s East Division. Wisconsin, the 2017 West Division champion, is No. 2 in the division rankings at No. 33.

There have long been skeptics about how much credibility there is in recruiting rankings. It’s obviously not a perfect predictor of a team’s future success but many of college football’s best programs—from Alabama to Washington—often are top-ranked in the recruiting game.

The Gophers need better talent to catch the Badgers, not just in the 2018 class but beyond. From a division perspective, they’re also looking up at a Northwestern team that finished 9-4 overall last season and has won seven consecutive Big Ten games. Iowa is always competitive and sometimes rises up for a breakthrough year like 2015 when the Hawkeyes earned their way to the Rose Bowl.

Minnesota has plenty of work ahead to compete against the Badgers, Wildcats, Hawkeyes and the other teams in the West Division. Upgrading personnel is where it starts for Minnesota and in the Internet era of recruiting rankings, the Gophers’ 2018 class is second only to the school’s 2008 class.

In next year’s class the Gophers have four athletes who have been labeled four-star recruits and they play positions of priority for Fleck. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman, offensive guard Curtis Dunlap, offensive tackle Daniel Faalele and quarterback Victor Viramontes could all become impact players for Minnesota.

Bateman, from Tifton, Georgia, is one of 10 candidates for the American Family All-USA Offensive Player of the Year award reported on this fall in USA Today. “Rashod Bateman is the crown jewel of this (recruiting) class—someone that we have rated as the No. 200 player overall in the country,” said Burns whose website is affiliated with 247Sports. “He is a four-star (out of five) wide receiver, and for him being an out of state recruit to turn down four different SEC schools in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ole Miss, that’s a really big deal. That hasn’t happened for Minnesota recruits in quite some time.”

The Gophers have been struggling to find quality and depth among their pass receivers for awhile now. Burns believes help is on the way, and not just with Bateman who he expects will compete for a starting position as a freshman.

Jornell Manns, from Mansfield, Ohio, caught over 30 touchdown passes as a senior and was a Mr. Football candidate in his state. Burns foresees Manns as a slot receiver “who can make an immediate impact.”

Among receivers, Burns also highlighted Brevyn Spann-Ford from St. Cloud Tech. Spann-Ford is 6-6, 237 pounds and Burns sees him as a “red zone threat” as either a wide receiver or tight end.

Minnesota’s lack of depth on the offensive line was an ongoing story in 2017. Dunlap and six other offensive linemen in the 2018 recruiting class are expected to help fix the depth problem and also upgrade the talent level. It’s been more than 11 years since a Minnesota offensive lineman has been drafted by the NFL.

Dunlap, 6-4, 368 pounds, is from the IMG Academy in Florida. Burns said Dunlap is Minnesota’s highest ranked offensive lineman commit in memory. Dunlap’s IMG teammate, the 6-8, 400-pound Faalele, was pursued by Alabama and Georgia, but he will play for Minnesota as one of the biggest Gophers in program history.

Burns said Texas prep offensive tackle Jack York was extended scholarship offers in recent weeks by multiple SEC schools but is keeping his commitment to Minnesota. Grant Norton, an offensive tackle commit from Missouri, turned down Nebraska and Wisconsin, according to Burns.

Burns believes junior college transfer Jason Dickson from California could soon be Minnesota’s starting right tackle. Dickson reportedly declined offers from Arizona State and UCLA.

“You just don’t find seven offensive line commits like this—that are all some of the hottest names—for schools trying to come and flip them,” Burns said.

While receivers and offensive linemen have commanded attention in the past, it’s been the quarterback position, more than any other, which has often had Minnesota fans on edge and reaching for Maalox. Next year the Gophers go into spring practice without any significant game experience at the position. There are, however, two quarterbacks in the 2018 recruiting class who are much anticipated and will likely be in a spring battle with redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan.

Already the favorite for the job, at least among fans, is Viramontes who coming out of high school committed to Michigan. He ended up at California and instead of being Jared Goff’s successor as the Golden Bears’ quarterback got caught up in a coaching change. This fall, after playing for Riverside Community College in California, he was rated by 247Sports the best junior college quarterback in the country.

Viramontes, 6-2, 230 pounds, has been compared with former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. He has that kind of athleticism and showed skills running and passing at Riverside.

“You’re going to see the read-option make a triumphant return with Viramontes there (at Minnesota),” Burns predicted. “He is one of the best athletes I think we’ve seen at Minnesota in quite some time. He is going to have the ball in his hands every snap of the game.”

Burns said Viramontes must improve his decision making when passing. “He only did throw eight interceptions this year but I think he is going to be a big boom or bust player in the passing game. He is either going to be hitting big shots or he might be throwing an interception or two, which…is something Minnesota fans are used to.

“But I think you’ll also see a Minnesota passing game—which…stop the presses—completes more than nine passes a game with Viramontes. I think that he has a very high ceiling here at Minnesota and he’s going to have three years to accomplish that.”

It’s uncommon for a preferred walk-on to be a candidate to become the starting quarterback at a Big Ten program but Zack Annexstad might be the exception. The Mankato, Minnesota native was outstanding this fall playing at IMG Academy in Florida. Burns said by mid-season the pro-style quarterback had won the starting job, beating out Artur Sitkowski, a 247Sports four-star commit headed to Rutgers.

Annexstad reportedly had scholarship offers from other programs but chose to walk-on with his home state team. Burns points out how unusual that is and said it’s an indication of both Annexstad’s abilities and Fleck’s persuasiveness.

Like Viaramontes and several others, Annexstad will enroll in school in January and be preparing for the 2018 Gopher season. “Annexstad is going to have every opportunity (to start),” Burns said.

The Gophers have a large class they are hoping to finalize tomorrow and it includes defensive players who Burns raves about. Names include defensive tackle Elijah Teague from Chicago who reportedly had offers from Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Georgia cornerback Terell Smith has exceptional speed and Burns said Smith will remind Gophers fans of a bigger Jalen Myrick.

Then there is Eden Prairie High School cornerback Benny Sapp III who despite missing most of the season with a knee injury received a scholarship offer recently from new Nebraska coach Scott Frost. Sapp is keeping the commitment to Minnesota he made last winter.

What Fleck and his assistants know is that the 2018 class will have to be the first of many exceptional recruiting groups for them to build not only a winning season or two, but more importantly to sustain a successful program. “You always want to out recruit the class you just signed,” Burns said.

Burns predicts the 2019 class will be smaller in total number but perhaps have a higher ranking than in 2018. That will have everything to do with signing high profile players like Edina junior offensive tackle Quinn Carroll. Another local player who Burns sees the Gophers targeting is Eden Prairie quarterback Cole Kramer. Burns predicted Kramer, the grandson of former Gopher player and athletic director Tom Moe, could be the first commitment for the class of 2019.

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Here’s Your College Football Finale

Posted on December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 by David Shama

The University of Minnesota season is over but my college football notebook has unfinished business. Here’s an offering of year-end thoughts about not only the U, but also the Big Ten Conference and national scenes.

Many Gophers fans remain open-minded after one season of the P.J. Fleck era—disappointing as it was at 5-7, ending with just two league wins and outscored 70-0 by the final two opponents. That’s the fair approach because it’s too soon to judge Fleck and his staff.

The 37-year-old coach has big ambitions for Minnesota and will mostly either realize them or fail based on the talent of his players. Minnesota’s 2018 recruiting class is No. 31 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings. If that impressive ranking sticks through Signing Day on December 20, the Gophers will have their highest ranked recruiting class since 2008 and head coach Tim Brewster.

A prominent businessman, U alum and big-time Gopher booster thinks Fleck is going to be a coaching star. He told me this fall Minnesota will be on its way as soon as Fleck’s second season. The view from here: with so many inexperienced and new players in 2018, that’s not likely.

Fleck needs to not just eventually breakthrough with a couple of winning seasons, but more importantly develop a program with continued success. Can he do it?

That’s the golden question in Dinkytown. He has only been a head coach for five years. At Western Michigan he had one knockout season, his last one in 2016 when the Broncos were 13-1 and a damn good team. His first season at Western, in 2013, the record was 1-11, then came two 8-5 years.

Fleck’s combined record as a head coach is 35 wins, 29 losses. Certainly circumstances, including resources available, have much to do with a coach’s record but it’s interesting the Broncos program he left behind was just 6-6 overall and 4-4 in Mid-American Conference games this past season. Maybe the Broncos missed Fleck’s leadership that much, or perhaps he left a program still not built for sustained high level success.

The Mid-American has long been an incubator of coaches going on to big-time jobs—from Ara Parseghian to Urban Meyer. The league has also produced its share of Big Ten coaching busts including Darrell Hazell who was a one-season hit at Kent State before piling up the losses at Purdue over four years. Brady Hoke used some brief success at Ball State to move on to San Diego State for two seasons before he failed at Michigan.

Gophers’ athletic director Mark Coyle is all in on Fleck, having hired him for more than $3 million annually last January. This fall Coyle proposed extending Fleck’s original five-year contract through the 2022 season (pending Board of Regents approval next week).

The opinion here is the first attribute an athletic director needs is the skill to identify and hire the best coaches. How is Coyle doing?

It’s too soon to judge Coyle who was hired at Minnesota in 2016. However, it’s interesting that Fleck isn’t the only ex-Mid-American head coach with limited experience and success that Coyle has hired. As Syracuse’s athletic director he hired Dino Babers who coached at Bowling Green where he was 18-9 in two seasons and won the 2015 MAC championship. Babers has coached Syracuse for two seasons with 4-8 overall and 2-6 ACC records both years.

Among the best things that have happened to Gophers football this century is being placed in the Big Ten’s West Division. The power in the conference rests in the East where bullies Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State are usually better than most teams in the West—or is that all except for Wisconsin?

Mike Riley was the wrong coach for Nebraska but his presence in Lincoln was a plus for the Gophers who beat his team 54-21 this season. New hire Scott Frost looks like instant improvement for “Big Red” and leaves the West Division with only one apparent coaching soft spot, at Illinois where Lovie Smith is 5-19 (2-16 Big Ten) in two seasons.

The coaching scene in the West Division looks like it’s really settling in except for some drama at Minnesota and with the Illini. Frost, the former Nebraska quarterback who turned UCF from a 0-12 team in 2015 to an undefeated one this fall, looks like a perfect fit in Lincoln. Northwestern, with former Wildcat All-American linebacker Pat Fitzgerald heading the program with success since 2006, is already the West Division’s legacy model fit.

As head coach, Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez resurrected Badgers football in the 1990s. As athletic director, he remains the CEO of the program. Now with Madison native and Alvarez disciple Paul Chryst as head coach the Badgers keep winning division titles, and it’s “On Wisconsin” every year.

It’s not easy to win at Iowa but head coach Kirk Ferentz has made an 18-year career as the Hawkeyes boss. Here and there Iowa has known glory including the 2016 Rose Bowl and the day this fall when they embarrassed Ohio State with a 55-24, beat down in Iowa City. Things remain stable at Iowa with Kirk’s son, Brian Ferentz, seemingly a solid bet to one day succeed his dad as head coach.

Jeff Brohm’s first season as Purdue head coach gave long suffering Boilermaker fans some bright moments including a 31-17 win over the Gophers. Purdue, with an overall 6-6 record and 4-5 in the Big Ten, will play in its first bowl games since 2012. A year ago Purdue finished 1-8 and 3-9 under Hazell. With his offensive pedigree, Brohm could be the right guy at a school that years ago was referenced as “Quarterback U.”

The Gophers are the opposite of “Quarterback U.” Minnesota’s last All-American quarterback was Sandy Stephens in 1961. The NFL last drafted a Gophers quarterback in 1972 when Craig Curry was an eighth round pick.

Quarterback Victor Viramontes, the junior college transfer from California expected to sign with Minnesota December 20, is already a social media fave of Gophers fans. He was even interviewed on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” last Sunday before going to church.

Perhaps Viramontes, who has drawn comparisons to former Florida Heisman winner Tim Tebow, can emerge as a starter next year and also a star. The Gophers will need box office appeal not only because of this year’s record. The home schedule is not exactly a who’s who of college football—New Mexico State, Fresno State, Miami (Ohio), Iowa, Indiana, Purdue and Northwestern.

Speaking of college football’s elite, the Big Ten was left out of the four-team playoff to determine the national champion. The selection committee may well have put the best teams in the field—it’s hard to vote for the Big Ten champion Buckeyes after the debacle in Iowa City—but the playoffs do have a provincial look. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma collectively cover a small part of America geographically.

The prediction here is that won’t happen in a few years because the playoff will likely be expanded from four to six teams. Champions from the five Power Conferences, plus a wild-card team would ensure more geographic balance and lessen second-guessing about who gets in the field. The motivation for going to six teams will also be to create more TV viewers and advertising revenues.

In case you didn’t notice, TV is king. The guy who spends $100 per ticket at the stadium isn’t as important as all those folks sitting at home in their recliners watching the endless parade of TV commercials. The ticket buyer is fortunate if he or she is provided more than six-days notice regarding the start time for the next game.

Meanwhile, the viewer at home may be sitting in his pajamas and enjoying all the game action up close on an Ultra HD TV. Commercials? Whoever invented the mute button is a genius.

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Piling on P.J. Fleck Won’t Help Gophers

Posted on November 26, 2017November 26, 2017 by David Shama

It’s too soon to make final judgments about whether first-year coach P.J. Fleck can establish a winning football program at the University of Minnesota. It’s not fair to conclude hiring Fleck last January was a mistake.

Fan and media criticism about Fleck and the Gophers aren’t surprising following a disappointing end to the 2017 season. The Gophers lost four of their last five games to finish with a 5-7 overall record and 2-7 in the Big Ten. Minnesota was outscored 70-0 in its final games against Northwestern and Wisconsin.

The Gophers were mostly a bad offensive team during the Big Ten season. Minnesota finished 11th among conference teams in scoring at 18.4 points per game. League leader Ohio State averaged 46.3. While the Gophers were fourth in conference rushing, they placed 13th in passing yards averaging just 110.4 yards per game and producing seven touchdowns.

Fleck inherited a lack of talent and experience at the quarterback position. He’s not to blame for that, nor is it on him that the offensive unit lacked skills and depth in other places. The offense had its moments, including impressive production against Oregon State and Nebraska, but right now that unit has a long way to go.

Minnesota’s defense carried too much of the burden in trying to win games. The unit had its playmakers led by linebackers Jonathan Celestin and Thomas Barber but often lacked consistency in the biggest of games. The combination of defensive backs that left the program after the 2016 season and injuries this fall wrecked a promising secondary.

Before the season a reasonable expectation seemed like a final record of 7-5, 6-6 or 5-7. The Gophers were 9-4 overall and 5-4 in conference games in 2016. Minnesota returned seven starters on offense and six on defense, but significant roster losses included quarterback Mitch Leidner who graduated, and two offensive linemen and two defensive backs with remaining eligibility who left school. The college football world isn’t static and to expect another 9-4 season wasn’t realistic.

But the opinion here is the coaching of Fleck and his assistants didn’t get the most out of the team. Minnesota lost close and winnable games to Iowa, Maryland and Purdue. The Gophers often lacked focus and sometimes even effort. Too many times there was obvious lack of execution including players in the wrong defensive gap, taking poor angles while tackling, or throwing foolish passes.

Neither the coaches nor players can blame their schedule for a disappointing record. Minnesota had a soft nonconference schedule, and faced more mediocre than quality opposition in the Big Ten. Minnesota also played five of its nine league games at home.

Fleck and his assistants—as with any new coaching staff—deserve to be judged mostly on their work over a period of time. The judgment day on Fleck is probably two years away. By then three seasons will be history and it will be more evident what the trend line is for a program that wasn’t broken when he came to town.

Fleck is trying to produce a conference champion at Minnesota for the first time since 1967. His progress toward that goal is obviously tied to improving the talent level, and 247Sports ranks the Gophers 2018 class No. 36 in the nation. That’s better than all but one other rival program in the Big Ten West Division, Wisconsin.

Fleck’s reputation as a superior recruiter will be tested at Minnesota where his resources include a new indoor practice palace. There are also challenges including the program’s losing reputation (no titles, mostly below .500 seasons in conference games for decades) and a fan base that can be characterized as both apathetic and cynical.

Those who rip Fleck yet want to see the Gophers become champions might want to think twice. Rival recruiters use any negatives they deem useful to influence high school prospects. This can be a very toxic town when it comes to U football.

Fleck told Sports Headliners last summer negativity won’t dampen his resolve. “I came here to bring the positivity,” he said. “I am one of the most optimistic people you’ll ever meet. I don’t care what people say about me negatively, that will never affect me as a person. …”

If Fleck signs a top 40 recruiting class next month that’s noteworthy. Nearly all of the program’s classes in the past haven’t been as highly ranked. Minnesota could even end up with the highest rated class in its division.

That would be a good start for Fleck and his assistants who probably will need to produce even more highly regarded classes in 2019 and 2020. Gophers fans can judge those classes not only by where they are ranked but also as they begin to see the skill sets of players on the field.

Fans should wait for more results before piling on Fleck. About 18 months ago another young Gophers coach was under heavy criticism including from University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler. Richard Pitino had produced a 2-16 Big Ten season in 2015-2016 and his players had embarrassed the program with off-court issues. This followed Pitino’s third season at Minnesota and three years of mostly struggles.

Then came a turnaround in 2017 when the Gophers went 11-7 in the Big Ten, finished fourth in the standings and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Pitino’s team is showing even more promise this fall with a 7-0 start and top 15 national ranking.

Pitino, like Fleck, was hired as much or more for his recruiting acumen than anything else. It will be interesting to see if the 36-year-old Fleck can follow the path of Minnesota’s 35-year-old basketball coach.

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