Golden Gophers – Page 233 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers Fleck Eyes Stadium Expansion

Posted on April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 by David Shama

You have to give P.J. Fleck credit for ambition and vision. The new Gophers football coach hasn’t even completed the team’s spring practice schedule, but last Friday night he was talking about expanding the seating capacity of TCF Bank Stadium.

The dynamic 36-year-old arrived in Minneapolis January 6 after four years as head coach at Western Michigan, and he started pointing the program toward eventual Big Ten and (yes) even national championships. On Friday evening he stood in front of a packed room at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park and spoke about creating a lot more ticket buyers at TCF Bank Stadium.

“You see, we have 55,000 seats in our stadium, but my plan already three years down the road is to expand it to 85,000,” Fleck told an audience of high school and youth football coaches.

Fleck wants to grow his program’s budget and referenced a “certain rival” who has $40 million more in budget than the Gophers. How to catch up?

“(Add) 30,000 more seats,” Fleck said. “But to be able to do that we have to connect people who don’t even like football.”

At the Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic Fleck didn’t talk Xs and Os. Instead the message was often about “culture,” or connecting with people inside and outside his program. He hinted at aggressive marketing efforts for Gophers football coming this spring and summer.

Part of the messaging will be to convince the public, even those who don’t care much about football, that the Gophers enrich the quality of life in the state with what they do both on and off the field (think community service)—and are worthy of support including on Saturday afternoons at TCF Bank Stadium. “Our program is about two things. Serving and giving. That’s it,” Fleck told the audience.

When speaking about budgets, Fleck didn’t say who that “certain rival” is but it could likely be Wisconsin. The Badgers draw sellout crowds of more than 80,000 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. There is no doubt behind the scenes Fleck is taking dead aim on the Badgers who turned around their program in both results and support in the 1990s. Wisconsin has won 13 consecutive games against Minnesota.

Fleck, who years ago started a bucket list that included becoming a Big Ten coach, is full of energy and ideas. He concedes his dynamo style and lofty ambitions aren’t for all, but some authorities think Fleck deserves a place among America’s most promising young coaches.

“I’ve got a good feeling about him taking this job,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe told the coaches Friday night at the clinic, which is an annual project of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. Cutcliffe is 62 and old enough to be Fleck’s dad, but he knows the young coach’s story at Western Michigan where in four years he took the Broncos from 1-11 to 13-1, and built a fan base never seen before in Kalamazoo.

Fleck received a standing ovation when he stepped to the podium Friday night and then he reached out to his audience. His talking points included praise for the work of the state’s prep coaches. He acknowledged there are many resources to make Gophers football elite but said, “…If we didn’t have the (quality) high school coaches we have in the state of Minnesota, I would not have taken the job. I recruited this area. I remember it vividly.”

Fleck referred to himself as a young “schmuck” when he was recruiting as a member of the Northern Illinois staff and Minnetonka High School coach Dave Nelson showed him the kindness of inviting him into the Nelson home. That made a lasting impression on Fleck and he acknowledged Nelson, the MFCA Hall of Fame coach who was seated in the audience.

Many coaches in attendance at the DoubleTree are admirers of former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill. “Jerry Kill saved my career,” Fleck said. “I was let go when (Northern Illinois head coach) Joe Novak retired. Jerry Kill retained me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Jerry Kill.”

Worth Noting

MFCA executive director Ron Stolski said there were over 1,700 attendees at the clinic—the ninth consecutive year attendance has increased.

Totino-Grace’s Jeff Ferguson was recognized as the MFCA’s Man of the Year. His Eagles won the 6A state title last year. In 15 seasons as head coach of the Eagles his record is 173-21, with eight state titles in classes 4A, 5A and 6A.

Clinic speakers included North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman and several assistants. Bison defensive coordinator Matt Entz told Sports Headliners that 40 percent of the NDSU players are Minnesotans.

Stolski will speak at the Bison spring football clinic on Friday. The Brainerd coach’s talk is titled “A Coach’s Journey: Lessons Learned in Six Decades on the Field.”

The clinic’s keynote speaker will be Jon Gruden, the former NFL head coach and now an ESPN football analyst.

The Twins announced this afternoon they have placed left-handed pitcher Glen Perkins on the 60-day disabled list with a left posterior shoulder strain. They have also selected the contract of catcher Chris Gimenez and optioned first baseman Kennys Vargas to Triple-A Rochester. Minnesota’s roster is now set at 25 with 13 pitchers, two catchers, five infielders and five outfielders.

Rick Stelmaszek, the longest tenured coach in Twins history with 32 seasons through 2002, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at tomorrow’s Twins regular season opener at Target Field. Minneapolis rapper Dessa will sing the National Anthem, accompanied by a brass quintet from the Minnesota Orchestra.

World War II vet Henry “Hank” Langevin, 94, will raise the American Flag. He was born in St. Paul in 1922 and enlisted in the Army in 1941. He trained for two years to be a paratrooper and later as a glider. He fought in the Battle of Sicily and the Battle of the Bulge.

An online story in last Thursday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that per the Westgate and Station Casino sports books, the Twins’ odds of winning the World Series are 100-1, with only four other MLB clubs facing longer odds. The Twins’ predicted win total is 74.

A week ago today the Gophers basketball team held its season-ending banquet on the floor of Williams Arena for the first time ever. “It was absolutely fabulous,” said former Gopher Al Nuness who attended. “I can’t figure out why we never had it there before. Everybody was just mesmerized.”

Minnesota native and Kings coach Dave Joerger talking about the Timberwolves who haven’t made the playoffs since 2004: “I think the future is very, very bright. This is a team that will be in the playoffs next year. …Nothing but the best is in front of them.”

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Fleck, Gophers on New Recruiting Track

Posted on March 29, 2017March 29, 2017 by David Shama

It’s early in the 2018 recruiting process but coach P.J. Fleck has Gophers’ football recruiting headed in a new direction. High school players from the class of 2018 can’t sign National Letters of Intent with Minnesota or other schools until next February, but they can make verbal commitments. An early look at Minnesota’s commitments list offers a contrast with what fans saw during the Jerry Kill–Tracy Claeys era from 2011-2016.

Fleck, who left Western Michigan in early January to become head coach of the Gophers, has verbal commitments from seven high school players so far—a total that exceeds what many Power Five conference programs have. A year ago on this date the Gophers didn’t have a single commitment, an indication of the aggressive recruiting by Fleck and his assistants.

In past years Minnesota pursued and often signed players who were two and three star players. Frequently the Gophers’ competition for recruits in past years came from the “have-nots” of college football—schools like Ball State, Colorado State or Louisiana Tech.

Contrast that with players Fleck has commitments from so far. Collectively they have impressed various football recruiting authorities, and Minnesota’s 2018 class has a No. 15 national composite ranking by 247Sports. If by Signing Day next February Fleck can hold anything near that No. 15 spot, it will be a big difference from Minnesota’s No. 56 composite ranking of its 2017 class.

“The expectation from his staff is to have a top 25 recruiting class in 2018 and that’s something that hasn’t happened here in a long time,” said Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated.com.

Fleck and his assistants are chasing and in some instances gaining commitments from players who have offers from prominent football schools like Michigan State and Oklahoma. Among those who have verbally committed is Chicago defensive tackle Elijah Teague who earlier this year said he wanted to be a Gopher.

“He (Fleck) has arguably the best defensive tackle in Illinois coming here,” Burns said. “He had quite the offer list from Oklahoma, South Carolina—anywhere and everywhere he wanted to go—and it wasn’t even March yet.”

Burns said a recruiting expert who covers Ohio preps believes Gophers commit Brennan Armstrong is the best class of 2018 quarterback in the Buckeye state. The Gophers made Armstrong a recruiting priority and got to him early, according to Burns. “They got him to campus and they were able to seal the deal,” he added.

Jaylen Mayfield, a prize offensive tackle from Grand Rapids, Michigan, initially made a verbal commitment to Minnesota, but now has backed off after recently being pursued by the Michigan Wolverines. “That’s going to be an interesting battle for P.J.,” Burns said before Mayfield de-committed. “A Michigan kid, a Grand Rapids kid, (who) gets an Ann Arbor offer. Someone I don’t know that he (Fleck) is going to be able to hang on to. But he’s a very athletic kid that they need on the offensive line.”

The early recruiting success by Fleck and his assistants didn’t sneak up on Burns. “I am not surprised at all,” Burns said. “I knew that when P.J. took over at Minnesota that there was going to be a bump in the recruiting rankings. It’s what his M.O. had been at Western Michigan.

“He had the top rated recruiting class, according to Scout.com, all four years he was in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), and it showed. His first year he went 1-11. His final year he ends up going 13-1, so it’s a correlation between if you’re higher in the recruiting rankings. …”

The 36-year-old Fleck and his extroverted personality received a lot of attention at Western Michigan. National media, including Sports Illustrated, wrote about his energy and passion as he rebuilt the Broncos. Western Michigan was 13-0 last season before losing in the Cotton Bowl to Wisconsin, 24-16.

At Minnesota, Fleck and his staff have many more resources than at their former home in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The “sales kit” includes the Big Ten brand, a unique college town in Minneapolis, varied academic offerings at the University of Minnesota, post-graduate job opportunities in the metro area including with Fortune 500 companies, new playing and training facilities, and the chance to sign on with a program that Fleck claims is going places.

“As long as P.J. Fleck is going to be here, people are going to be interested because he is so unique in the college football scene,” Burns said. “He’s so young. He’s got a lot of things to sell with his energy, including playing time with the number of positions they’re going to have to replace here at Minnesota in the near future. …”

Fleck inherits a roster that both now and next season has depth issues. The depth problem is partially caused by missed recruiting opportunities in the past. But it is further impacted by players leaving under Fleck whose style can cause attrition.

Fleck’s intense ways and warp-speed culture, including frenzied practices, aren’t for everyone. He said the other day that in his second year at Western Michigan “close to 21 players” left his program and during spring football he had only about 40 players participating in drills. Yet, Fleck insisted that eventually he will build two-deep quality at various positions with the Gophers.

“There’s always going to be people that leave the program,” Fleck said. “There’s (also) always going to be people that love it and stay. It’s just so different (his football environment) and so new. …We gotta get our numbers up (at Minnesota) over the next few years.”

Fleck had about 150 high school juniors watching practice last Saturday. Burns said there is so much interest in the Gophers that high school players from faraway states like Georgia are paying their own expenses to check out the Minnesota football program. Burns added it’s all part of an intense recruiting plan where Fleck will target having all his 2018 recruits verbally committed prior to the opening game on August 31 against Buffalo.

Burns estimated about 75 percent of high school players who originally make a verbal commitment to a school actually keep their pledge and sign National Letters of Intent. He thinks Fleck’s percentage at Minnesota could turn out to be 90 percent. “He does a very good job of keeping his verbals,” Burns said. “Once you buy into P.J. Fleck, he is going to make sure he does everything in his power to keep you there.”

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Number of State Hoopsters Surprises

Posted on March 24, 2017March 24, 2017 by David Shama

A Creative Charters fan bus had taken Gene Lindahl and others to Milwaukee for the Gophers opening NCAA Tournament game against Middle Tennessee State earlier this month. On the ride home a passenger near Lindahl wondered out loud what states all the basketball players from the NCAA Tournament teams come from.

“…Nobody took him seriously that anybody would actually be dumb enough to sit and do that (calculate the answer),” Lindahl said with amusement. “I got home and started thinking about it.”

“Hell, I can do that,” Lindahl told himself. “You just go to all the teams’ websites, and copy and paste (names and hometowns).”

Lindahl lives near Faribault and is a retired high school basketball coach. It required eight to 10 hours to come up with the origins of players from not only the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament, but also the 32 NIT teams. He researched 1,319 players.

Any surprises? “I was surprised that (the state of) Minnesota had as many (players) as they did,” Lindahl said.

There were 31 Minnesotans on various teams, and Minnesota’s total ranked behind only 12 other states. Minnesota finished ahead of neighboring Wisconsin (No. 29 with 14 players) and Iowa (No. 30, 13 players). Minnesota also had more players than more populous states like No. 15 New Jersey (30 players), No. 16 Pennsylvania (29 players) and No. 27 Washington (16 players). At No. 13, Minnesota trailed these states and their totals of players:

1. California, 119

2. Texas, 111

3. Illinois, 86

4. Florida, 75

5. North Carolina, 70

6. Ohio, 69

7. Georgia, 68

8. Indiana, 60

9. New York, 53

10. Virginia, 52

11. Maryland, 46

12. Michigan, 38

The Gophers’ roster has six Minnesotans, including starters Amir Coffey and Reggie Lynch. Jarvis Johnson is a scholarship player from the state who didn’t play last season, but could be counted as a seventh Minnesotan.

North Dakota’s roster has five Minnesotans including starting guards Geno Crandall and Quinton Hooker. They played prominent roles for their team as did some other Minnesotans including guard/forward Sanjay Lumpkin at Northwestern and guard J.P. Macura with Xavier.

After searching over 150 team websites, Lindahl also compiled a breakdown of countries. In addition to the United States, 56 other nations were represented by 178 players on the 100 teams. Only four of those countries had double-digit totals of players—Canada, 29; Australia, 23; Nigeria, 13; and Senegal, 10.

Lindahl shared his findings with Creative Charters who distributed the information via email to those who made the trip to watch the Gophers. The research and email came as a surprise but was appreciated.

“Nobody would expect somebody to be as stupid as I am,” Lindahl repeated.

Worth Noting

Collegead.com reported on Monday the current “NCAA Tournament is the most-watched in 24 years through the first Sunday (March 19), with an average of 9,325,000 million viewers, up 10% from 2016 (8,513,000).”

Horse racing enthusiast Steve Erban emailed that Malagacy, a top 10 contender for this year’s Kentucky Derby, has a sister who is a Minnesota bred racehorse. Classy Shackles sold for $26,500 in a Minnesota thoroughbred yearling sale last year, Erban wrote.

Erban’s Creative Charters, based in Stillwater, annually offers a trip to the Kentucky Derby. He said this year’s trip to the May 6 Derby in Louisville is sold out.

The Star Tribune named its All-Metro boys basketball teams this week and the first team included Maple Grove guard Brad Davison and Lakeville North forward Nathan Reuvers. Both will play for Wisconsin next season and are high potential college players. The Gophers could be second-guessed about their recruiting if the next few seasons are successful for Davison, Reuvers and the Badgers. Wisconsin, a program that hasn’t finished below fourth in the Big Ten standings since 2001, has a history of using Minnesota-raised talent in its starting lineup.

Jerry Krause, the legendary general manager who shaped the rosters of the Chicago Bulls NBA title teams in the 1990s, died this week at age 77. I met Krause at Met Center when he brought the Bulls to Minnesota for an exhibition game I helped arrange. He was all business and demanded the Bulls’ fee before tipoff—or the team wasn’t taking the court.

Jacob Isaia, a highly regarded offensive lineman from Bishop Gorman High School in Nevada, has offers from the Gophers and many other colleges including Michigan State, UCLA and Utah, according to a Tuesday online story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Isaia is originally from Hawaii and is the grandson of Bob Apisa, the starting fullback on the 1966 national champion Michigan State team. A senior in high school next fall, Isaia has 13 college offers and is being nationally recruited, according to the Review-Journal story.

Cordarrelle Patterson (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

With Cordarrelle Patterson leaving the Vikings via free agency to the Raiders, Laquon Treadwell has more opportunity to figure in Minnesota’s plans for its wide receivers. Treadwell, the team’s first round draft choice in 2016, wasn’t ready to play last season and caught only one pass for 15 yards. Former Vikings wide receivers coach George Stewart told Sports Headliners this week that Treadwell can become a “fine player.” Treadwell doesn’t turn 22 until June 14.

The Gopher hockey team will try to win the Northeast Regional this weekend, and advance to the Frozen Four and compete for the NCAA title. Minnesota has a NCAA-best 37 national tournament appearances, but what frustrates many fans is the Gophers have won just two national championships since 1980. The Gophers were NCAA champions in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003.

Jason Shaver, the Apple Valley High School alum and son of Gophers radio play-by-play man Wally Shaver, is the TV voice of the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves. Jason’s grandfather is the legendary radio voice of the North Stars, 89-year-old Al Shaver who is retired and living on Vancouver Island.

White Bear Lake’s Phil Bonin, a well-known hockey name, passed away from cancer on Monday. Phil was a youth hockey supporter and father of Brian Bonin, the former Gopher hockey player and 1996 Hobey Baker Award winner. Condolences to family and friends.

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