After reaching 9 wins again, P.J. Fleck sees chance for something 'really special' at Minnesota (2024)

MINNEAPOLIS — They’ll inflate bounce houses, construct dunk tanks, unroll a Slip ‘N Slide and ready the Wiffle Ball equipment for kids to enjoy next month at the P.J. Fleck RTB Football Camp.

“Everything a kid would dream they’d want to do,” said Fleck, set to enter his sixth season in command of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers.

RTB? That’s “Row the Boat,” of course, Fleck’s mantra that speaks to his core principles that helped create a foundation for the 41-year-old coach to build a sturdy and winning culture here.

The three-hour morning extravaganza for kids, with about 20 minutes devoted to football, is central to Fleck’s mission. When he arrived in the Twin Cities from the Mid-American Conference in 2017 and met young Minnesotans, they often wore the gear of the Gophers’ league foes.

“Little kids would actually wear the shirts to our camp,” Fleck said. “I was like, ‘Wait a second, this can’t happen.’ I had that problem at Western Michigan. I get it, I was directional Michigan. But I was still upset about it.”

This, Fleck said, was different.

“This is a Big Ten university.”

So one component of his rebuild began with kids under the age of 10. At camp, the kids pose for photos with Fleck and with Goldy, the Gophers’ toothy mascot. The campers leave with loads of Minnesota gear and oars to row their own boats.

And this summer, once again, they’ll get to handle Paul Bunyan’s Axe, on display at Minnesota as the prize obtained from the Gophers’ second win in four seasons against rival Wisconsin after a 15-year drought.

Fleck believes that success starts at home. His first set of young Minnesota campers and their classmates have grown into the players whom he and his staff want to recruit.

The top-rated prospect from Minnesota in each of the past five classes signed with Stanford, Wisconsin (twice), Notre Dame and Nebraska, respectively. Change, according to Fleck, will only come as a result of the work of his coaching staff and the Minnesota administration, chasing the school’s first Big Ten title since 1967.

“Trust comes down to three things — time, consistency and proof,” Fleck said. “I walked in here, and nobody knew who I was. I had no ties to the state. I’ve never lived in Minnesota. But oh, you should come play for me, because we’re in Minnesota? We hadn’t won a championship in (50) years. What is enticing about that?”

Before Fleck, Minnesota went through five head coaches in 10 years.

“We’ve built trust,” he said. “The staff is pretty much intact. The culture is intact. The identity is intact. And people know exactly what they’re going to get when they send their kids here.”

In November, Fleck signed a contract extension through 2028 that pays $5 million annually, comparable to most of his counterparts in the Big Ten West. He’s 35-23, guiding Minnesota to 11 wins in 2019 and a 9-4 finish last year that he labeled as a coaching “failure.”

The Gophers finished 3-3 in one-score games, including losses against Bowling Green and Illinois.

“This team has learned enough to know that when you leave it in other people’s hands, anything can happen,” Fleck said. “That’s no way to live life, on the field or off the field. If you’re gonna allow it to be in somebody else’s hands, then you need to be OK with whatever the consequence or the result is.”

True to his talk, Fleck is taking matters into his own hands, one youth-sized shirt at a time.

Offense

Minnesota won nine games in a season in 2021 for just the fourth time in more than a century. Success came not in spite of the Gophers offense — which scored 25.5 points per game, 83rd nationally and down 34 percent from its 2019 production. Rather, Minnesota won, in part, because of its offensive line.

The Gophers leaned heavily on a senior-laden group that opened holes for a rotating lineup of runners after the Week 1 injury suffered by star back Mohamed Ibrahim. Ibrahim gained 163 yards in less than three quarters against Ohio State. A ruptured Achilles ended his season.

Still, Minnesota rushed 46.2 times per game, more often than any other Power 5 team. It attempted just 257 passes, fewer than every FBS team but Air Force, Army and Navy.

All with a fourth-year starting quarterback in Tanner Morgan. It was not the balance for which Fleck strived.

“I wasn’t as good of a head coach because I was in that (offensive) room more than I’ve ever been in that room in 10 years being a head coach,” Fleck said.

Exit Mike Sanford, fired in November after two seasons as offensive coordinator. Re-enter Kirk Ciarrocca, Fleck’s offensive coordinator at Western Michigan and Minnesota from 2013 to 2019 before one pandemic-altered season in charge of the Penn State offense.

Ciarrocca, 56, spent last year at West Virginia as an analyst. When Fleck made a change after Minnesota beat Wisconsin in November, he said he did not possess a clear plan about his next move. Ciarrocca was equally unsure, but fate brought them together again.

“I think Kirk makes me a better head coach,” Fleck said. “And I can make Kirk a better coordinator.”

To clinch the deal, Ciarrocca had maintained strong relationships with the core returning offensive pieces at Minnesota. He helped recruit Morgan, Ibrahim, wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell and center John Michael Schmitz to Western Michigan in the Class of 2017. All four players went with Fleck to Minnesota.

They’re sixth-year seniors in 2022, the “Encore Four,” poised with Ciarrocca to fix Minnesota’s imbalance issues from last season.

“Philosophically, we’ve always strived to be balanced,” Ciarrocca said. “It goes back to Western Michigan. We’re always going to be a physical team. That’s something that P.J. and I both believe in.”

Morgan, with Ciarrocca at the controls, threw for 3,253 yards in 2019 and 30 touchdowns while completing 66 percent of his throws, all school records. Autman-Bell accumulated 114 catches for 1,756 yards in his first four seasons. Ibrahim topped 1,000 yards in 2018 and again in just seven games in 2020, earning recognition as the Big Ten’s top running back.

And Schmitz, the plucky center, stands as the lone returnee from that vaunted O-line. Gone are 197 combined starts up front recorded by Conner Olson, Blaise Andries, Sam Schlueter, Daniel Faalele and Curtis Dunlap, who entered the transfer portal in October and landed at Rutgers.

“I came back to be with some special guys,” Autman-Bell said, “to be a better player, to gain more knowledge, grab more detail, to be a better teammate, to take that one last leap before the next step to be a pro.”

Minnesota added grad transfers in Chuck Filiaga from Michigan and Quinn Carroll from Notre Dame. They’re expected to play to Schmitz’s right, with Axel Ruschmeyer, another sixth-year senior, Aireontae Ersery and JJ Guedet on the left.

“This group’s grown a lot, especially this offseason,” Schmitz said. “These aren’t young guys. Some of them have been in the program three, four years, patiently waiting their turn to start. They’re ready to do it. They’re ready for a challenge.”

Fleck refuses to accept that the offensive line will struggle to adjust as it transitions.

“This is an offensive line league,” he said. “And if you can dominate up front, whether you throw it or run it, you can win the league. We’re deeper this year than we were last year. But people don’t think we are. They assume we’re not going to be very good up front.”

The Gophers’ top replacements for Ibrahim last year, Ky Thomas and Mar’Keise Irving, transferred. Trey Potts returns, but all eyes remain on Ibrahim, who’s on track to begin the season healthy after sitting out of spring practice.

Daniel Jackson and Dylan Wright, a Texas A&M transfer who caught 18 passes last year, complement Autman-Bell. Michael Brown-Stephens started nine games last year as a redshirt freshman. Brevyn Spann-Ford, the Gophers’ top receiving tight end in 2021, is ready to take over for Ko Kieft, a sixth-round NFL Draft pick of the Buccaneers.

Ultimately, offensive progress for Minnesota revolves around the ability of Ciarrocca to pick up where he left off.

“His mentorship is really special,” Morgan said. “The way he sees the game is second to none. He’s always teaching. He’s always learning.”

Stat to know: Minnesota’s reliance on the running game last season was something to behold — and a testament to the offensive line. The Gophers called designed rushing plays on 64.2 percent of their snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, the highest figure by a Power 5 team in the past three seasons. The FBS average hovers close to 48 percent.

When the strategy worked, Minnesota controlled the tempo. But when the ground attack stalled, the Gophers had nowhere to turn. Their 4.28-yard average per rushing attempt ranked 64th nationally and seventh in the Big Ten.

Defense

In this age of the transfer portal, when players come and go with regularity, can transfers buy in as deeply as the players whom Fleck and his staff recruited out of high school?

The Gophers on defense this year ought to provide an answer.

Coordinator Joe Rossi has relied on transfers to help in recent seasons, but Minnesota needs help from its newcomers in 2022 at key spots on the defensive line and in the secondary.

In this program, coaches and players talk about the unique ways that they bond over quirky mottos and steadfast beliefs in togetherness and attitude. Even the way Fleck decorates the walls of his office, seeking benefit from motivational messages, trickles down to various rooms within the building.

It’s not for everyone. The Gophers say it often. But when the methods of Minnesota football take hold, they’re hard to break.

“The biggest thing is just connectivity,” linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin said, “the stuff that happens outside the building. That’s where the bonds and the connections grow. When you don’t have four years to build that connection, you have to do a little extra. It’s the unrequired that’s what’s going to separate us.”

Sori-Marin finished as the Gophers’ second-leading tackler last year for a unit that ranked third nationally in total defense (278.8 yards per game) and sixth in scoring defense (17.3 points).

Minnesota added defensive linemen Kyler Baugh from Houston Baptist, Darnell Jefferies from Clemson and Lorenza Surgers from Vanderbilt. New defensive line coach Brick Haley will be charged to sort through that group, mixing the newcomers with returning mainstays Trill Carter at tackle and defensive end Thomas Rush. Logan Richter, Jalen Logan-Redding and Jah Joyner return from backup roles.

The Gophers lost playmakers Boye Mafe and Esezi Otomewo up front, both drafted into the NFL, among six of the top eight defenders at the line of scrimmage to depart.

“We’ve got to see some guys develop,” said Rossi, entering his fifth year in this spot. “The one common thread with the transfers we’ve had is that they’re really great people. But when you start going into the portal, there’s potential for that not to be the case.

“You can start taking on other people’s problems.”

In the secondary, Beanie Bishop arrives from Western Kentucky as an All-Conference USA performer. Ryan Stapp comes from Abilene Christian, which sent Minnesota its top tackler in linebacker Jack Gibbens last season.

“Those guys come with more gratitude,” Rossi said of the lower-division transfers. “They have a ‘want to,’ a chip on the shoulder. People would call it a small ego. They appreciate things a little more.”

Sori-Marin is not concerned with the numerous new faces. After all, Minnesota selected these players. He believes in Fleck’s judgment.

“Coach Fleck is the one who drives the culture,” the linebacker said. “We spread it amongst each other. At the end of the day, it’s all built on toughness.”

Justin Walley returns at cornerback after a freshman All-America season. The safety spots appear solid with Tyler Nubin and Jordan Howden. Fifth-year senior Terell Smith adds experience to a group of defensive backs that Fleck considers the deepest in his time at Minnesota.

At linebacker, Sori-Marin, among the smartest defenders in the Big Ten — he turned down invitations from every football program in the Ivy League out of high school — sets the tone.

“He’s the standard in terms of work ethic,” Rossi said. “He’s not afraid to hold people accountable, and he’s not afraid to hurt some feelings here and there. It’s like having another coach on the field.”

Without Gibbens, linebackers Braelen Oliver, Cody Lindenberg and Josh Aune are set for expanded roles.

The Gophers strive to play with the confidence that carried them to an 18-6 win against West Virginia last year in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Rossi’s group surrendered 206 yards.

“We get better throughout the season,” he said. “That’s been one of our trademarks.”

The secret to mesh the old with the new? Nothing has changed, Sori-Marin said. Just limit avoidable errors.

“There will be a time where we miss a tackle, where we get beat in one-on-one coverage, things that happen,” he said. “But there’s no tolerance for mental mistakes. When I’m preparing every week, that’s what I have in mind. That’s what it’s going to take to win games.”

Stat to know: The Gophers’ run defense was historically good in 2021. Minnesota held Colorado to minus-19 yards in September, 245 yards below the Buffaloes’ average at the time of the game. Ten of 12 Minnesota foes gained fewer yards than their rushing averages to enter the game.

The Gophers finished eighth nationally in rush defense, allowing 97.5 yards per game, the best mark by a Minnesota team since 1962. Seven of 13 Minnesota opponents gained fewer than 80 yards.

Special teams

It’s primarily status quo for the Gophers in the kicking game.

They stymied opponent returns in 2021, ranking fifth nationally in punt coverage, thanks to the accurate leg of Mark Crawford. Minnesota’s own return game rated as nothing spectacular. Perhaps the defensive newcomer Bishop can add a spark.

Kicker Matthew Trickett, a Kent State transfer, is back after connecting on 17 of 25 field goal attempts, including a career-long 50-yarder. Crawford, the Australian punter, averaged 41.7 yards as a second-year freshman, placing 24 punts inside the 20-yard line with just one touchback on 47 kicks.

Opposing scouting report

Two Big Ten assistant coaches were quick to praise the Gophers’ offensive execution.

“Minnesota does a great job of taking what you give them,” the first coach said. “If they see holes in a spot, they’re going to attack.”

Every defense, even in man-to-man coverage, presents opportunities in the passing game. Traditionally under Fleck, Minnesota keeps its strategies simple.

“They’re not trying to trick you,” the coach said. “And in the run game, they’re stronger than what you think. They’ve got a little bit of Iowa and Wisconsin in them. You’ve got to stay disciplined.”

The Gophers execute at a high level in running the ball, according to the second coach.

“It’s a very simplistic way of doing things,” the coach said. “Where Wisconsin can get creative with their tight end pulling and use of the tight end and fullbacks, Minnesota is just going to find a way to get six or seven guys that look like offensive linemen, even if they’re tight ends, and they’re going to cram it down your throat. Or they’re going to run the ball to the outside. It’s going to be one of the two.”

The same coach, as Fleck envisioned, questioned if the Gophers can adequately replace their experience lost up front.

“They had some big freaking dudes,” the coach said, “like really big dudes. How are they going to find answers for the offensive line? It doesn’t seem like they’re stockpiling offensive linemen like Wisconsin. Just traditionally, they haven’t.

“They’ve had some stability in that position for three years. Now, what do they do when they have to replace it?”

How the Gophers have recruited from 2019 to 2022

Minnesota under Fleck has outperformed its results in recruiting. Its four-year average of 42.5 nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite, ranks 10th in the Big Ten, ahead of only Indiana, Northwestern, Rutgers and Illinois. On the field, the years after the collection of those classes included 11 wins in 2019 and nine in 2021, sandwiched around something of a lost season because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Though Fleck has succeeded in raising the profile of the Gophers, his past four classes look similar on paper. In fact, Minnesota’s 18-member class in 2022, without a four-star prospect, ranked 49th nationally and last in the Big Ten.

It’s not stopped momentum from building in Minneapolis, Fleck said. He believes the Gophers’ success has changed perceptions about the program.

“We’ve done it in 5 1/2 years,” he said. “That’s why we stayed and signed another contract, because I feel like this can be really special.”

In the transfer portal

The Gophers succeeded in filling important needs through the portal. Notably, Filiaga and Carroll, both 6-6 and former four-star prospects, are penciled as immediate starters on the offensive line.

Bishop and Stapp, with two years of remaining eligibility and solid track records at their previous schools, turn the secondary from a concern into a potential strength. The most significant questions remain up front on defense, but the 6-3, 295-pound Baugh, a late addition to the transfer class, Jefferies and Surgers give the Gophers a shot to find a strong combination.

The most notable departures are the freshman running backs Thomas, headed to Kansas, and Irving, off to Oregon. Together, they rushed for 1,523 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. But if Ibrahim returns to pre-injury form and freshman Zack Evans develops behind the senior, the transfers grow less difficult to manage.

Impact of coaching changes

What happens when other programs around the Big Ten see the kind of improvement that Minnesota showed on defense in 2021? They go in and raid the staff. Gone this season in the Twin Cities are defensive line coach Chad Wilt, now the first-year defensive coordinator at Indiana, and safeties coach Joe Harasymiak, running the defense at Rutgers.

Fleck promoted Danny Collins from senior defensive analyst to safeties coach and hired Haley, most recently at Missouri, to direct the D-line.

Offensively, Sanford landed at Colorado after his departure, making room for Ciarrocca. His hire, among the most significant coordinator moves in the Big Ten this offseason, provides hope for an offensive resurgence.

Clay Patterson, tight ends coach of the past four seasons, followed Sanford to Colorado. Fleck hired Greg Harbaugh Jr. from Western Michigan. Harbaugh spent the 2017 and 2019 seasons at Minnesota in a quality control position.

Schedule

Final assessment

Until the offensive and defensive lines jell in a way that Fleck believes possible, talk of improving on the nine wins of last year is premature. The Gophers’ experience and talent at key spots on offense offer a recipe for explosive production, a la 2019.

Ibrahim is the wild card. Look out if he’s all the way back, because he’s a difference-maker — and highly motivated.

The Gophers must play at Michigan State and Penn State, a tough crossover draw. They’re not the deepest team in the West. But the pieces are there. If they come together, Minnesota is a dark horse to win the division.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series previewing Power 5 and top Group of 5 teams for the 2022 college football season.

(Top photo of Mohamed Ibrahim: Harrison Barden / USA Today)