Tag: P.J. Fleck

Where does James Franklin rank among Big Ten coaches according to Big Ten media?

Where did Big Ten media rank Penn State head coach James Franklin among Big Ten coaches in 2021?

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Penn State head coach James Franklin is coming off his first losing season in Happy Valley, but he remains optimistic about what his team will do in 2021. But despite taking his team to 11 win seasons in three of the last five seasons with pair of New Years Six bowl victories and a Big Ten championship to his name, Franklin is not quite viewed as one of the top coaches in the Big Ten.

Voters in a preseason poll organized by Cleveland.com recently cast their votes for the top head coach in the Big Ten, and Franklin barely came in the top half of the final vote. Voters ranked their top three head coaches in the Big Ten. Franklin appeared on eight of 34 ballots.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day narrowly edged Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald for the top spot in the poll, receiving one more vote to be named the top coach in the Big Ten. Fitzgerald actually received one more first-place vote (17) than Day (16), but Day accumulated more second-place votes to edge Fitzgerald by two points in the final voting.

Franklin finished with the sixth-most points in the poll, which put Penn State’s head coach behind Day, Fitzgerald, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Wisconsin‘s Paul Chryst, and Indiana’s Tom Allen. Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano each received one point in the voting.

Notably absent from the poll was Michigan‘s Jim Harbaugh, who failed to appear in the top three of all 34 voters in the poll.

In the interest of full disclosure, I voted in the Cleveland.com poll and did include Franklin on my ballot. Day was my first-place vote and Franklin received my second-place vote. I voted for Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst with my third vote.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

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University of Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck recalls amazing story of Rashod Bateman’s recruitment

The Baltimore Ravens selected Rashod Bateman with the No. 27 pick in the 2021 draft. P.J. Fleck recalled a story of Bateman’s recruitment

The Baltimore Ravens selected University of Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Baltimore will be expecting big things from their new pass catcher, as he brings a skill set that the team needs.

Bateman was a star playing football in college, but was also getting offers from Big Ten schools to play basketball. On 2 for 1 Drafts, Minnesota football head coach P.J. Fleck recalled an amazing story of recruiting Bateman to play for him where it turned into the wide receiver recruiting the coach.

Fleck’s story is almost that out of a movie, where a player tells a coach that he’ll impress so much during a workout that the school will offer a scholarship. That’s what ended up happening, and the Minnesota head coach said that he hasn’t had “maybe anyone have a better individual workout than he did that day.”

Bateman is an extremely smooth route runner, can make contested catches, and has a knack for getting open. He showed Fleck that he deserved a chance at the University of Minnesota, and then showed the Ravens that he deserved a chance with them. If history repeats itself, Bateman will have a long and prosperous career in Baltimore.

 

Giants’ Carter Coughlin calls Minnesota football accusations ‘absurd’

New York Giants LB Carter Coughlin calls the accusations against Minnesota and head coach P.J. Fleck “absurd.”

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The Minnesota Gophers are notorious for running a tough program, but have things gone a bit too far? At least one former university professor certainly thinks so.

Jason Stahl, who graduated from Minnesota with a Ph.D and later went on to teach history at the university, has blown the whistle on head coach P.J. Fleck and what he feels are unacceptable practice conditions.

Stahl, who no longer teaches at Minnesota, began his crusade to shed light on Minnesota’s alleged “abusive culture” a year ago.

On Monday, Stahl gave an interview to CBS Minnesota in which he detailed some of what he had seen during his time at the university, including an overwhelming number of practice injuries.

“Lots of guys coming in casts, braces, out of nowhere,” Stahl said. “Guys who had been under previous coaches, they would say, ‘Yeah, things were hard under previous coaches, but not like this.'”

Stahl said he saw an increasing number of athletes suffering from “physical and mental health degradation,” especially after Fleck’s initial recruitment class of 2018 arrived on the scene.

“There are five individuals from that class who will never play football again. They are medically retired from the game,” Stahl said. “All from practice-related injuries. If that happened to your favorite NFL team would you think that was acceptable? Of course not, is the answer. So why do we consider it acceptable for these young men?”

One former Gopher doesn’t want to hear it, however.

New York Giants linebacker Carter Coughlin, who was selected in the seventh-round of the 2020 NFL draft after four seasons in Minnesota, isn’t buying what Stahl is selling.

“These ‘accusations’ about the Gopher football program being ‘too hard’ are actually laughable. I owe so much of the man I am today to [coach Fleck] and to [Minnesota football]. Straight up, some people just aren’t cut out for college football. That story is absurd,” Coughlin tweeted.

Of the players who have spoken out against Fleck and Minnesota football, including Alex Reigelsperger, all had publicly thanked Fleck and the Gophers when they left the program.

Fleck and Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle declined CBS Minnesota’s request for an interview, but the university did say in a statement that they had investigated Stahl’s complaints and found that no rule violations had occurred.

Danny White details philanthropy in hiring process and building a program

Danny White was hired as Tennessee’s athletics director.

Danny White was hired as Tennessee’s athletics director Friday.

A search is underway in hiring the Vols’ next football head coach.

During White’s introductory press conference, he highlighted how philanthropy is part of building a program.

“I think that what I’ve tried to do is similar to how we market our program, in terms of building a brand,” White said regarding his history of out of the box hires. “Whether it be in a community, building a compelling case for support and philanthropy, I think the same is true for hiring a coach.”

Dec 19, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the second quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State head coach James Franklin has a history of being at the forefront for the public good and philanthropy.

Franklin was named Penn State’s 43rd Annual Renaissance Fund honoree in 2019.

“His legacy at the University is best reflected in the lives of the student-athletes he teaches, mentors and inspires. James leads by example and is a great choice for this year’s award.” –George Henning Jr., president of the Renaissance Fund’s board of directors and a 1963 graduate of Penn State

Franklin previously served as a Southeastern Conference head coach in the Volunteer State.

He guided Vanderbilt to a 24–15 (11–13 SEC) record, two nine-win seasons, three bowl appearances and two bowl victories from 2011-13.

Nov 24, 2018; Madison, WI; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck looks on during the third quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Philantrophy is also a key component for Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck.

During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in April, Fleck discussed how his student-athletes could remain playing a part in philantrophy during a time when spring practices were canceled.

Below is a question and answer with Fleck from The St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Have you been working on any plans to give back to the community?

Our players have been great. The NCAA has been great for some players on certain teams in allowing them to do certain things. A lot of our players have been doing those things on their own. We’ve asked them to keep up with the philanthropy, keep up with the nonprofits and keep up with a way to make your lives bigger than yourselves.

A lot of them, that needs to focus on their families, that meets the need for them. There are others that have reached out to other organizations and non-profits and have done that.

(My wife) Heather and I and our team are still very involved in Ronald McDonald House, dropping off a lot of different supplies. Our players have asked to put their heads together and come up with certain ways to be able to help our community and their communities at home. We are very excited about that. We are very excited to be able to help that, and we will continue to do that.

Fleck could be an ideal candidate to clean up and rebuild Tennessee amid an investigation of wrongdoings within the program.

Fleck has a connection with the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions that could benefit Tennessee when presenting findings of wrongdoings to the jury.

He played for Joe Novak at Northern Illinois. Novak serves on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions.

Novak discussed Tennessee’s internal investigation with Vols Wire last month.

“Schools are NCAA members, so if they find a violation on campus, they are obligated to turn themselves in,” Novak told Vols Wire.“Since this thing is so public, I am sure the NCAA is aware of it. Technically, Tennessee has an obligation, after they review it, if they find that there are violations, they are obligated to turn themselves in.”

Dec 21, 2019; Las Vegas, Nevada; Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen holds the Las Vegas Bowl trophy at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Petersen, former Washington and Boise State head coach, has also been centered around philanthropy.

Petersen departed Washington following the 2019 season.

“It becomes a lot of frustration and anxiety and stress, and some of the excitement and positivity and optimism can be pushed away, and that’s never a way to lead your life,” Petersen said when leaving Washington to take time away from football.

Petersen doesn’t know entirely what is next for him. He didn’t rule out coaching again — “I’m not falling for that trick question,” — but sounded more interested in philanthropy and leadership than the stress of being a football coach. –KOMO News

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Hiring P.J. Fleck could help Tennessee amid investigation

Hiring P.J. Fleck could help Tennessee amid investigation.

Tennessee parted ways with third-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt on Monday.

Pruitt was fired with cause.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Pruitt was fired for cause Monday. His firing stems from alleged NCAA violations under his watch, according to University of Tennessee sources with knowledge of the situation, meaning the university will not pay his buyout.

Tennessee has since hired its new athletics director in Danny White. White has kicked off a search for Pruitt’s replacement as head coach.

Nov 24, 2018; Madison, WI; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck looks on during the third quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck could be an ideal candidate to clean up and rebuild the Tennessee program.

Fleck also has a connection with the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions that could benefit Tennessee when presenting findings of wrongdoings to the jury.

Joe Novak head coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies looks on during a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 2, 2006 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won the game 35-12. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Fleck played for Joe Novak at Northern Illinois. Novak serves on the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions.

Novak discussed Tennessee’s internal investigation with Vols Wire last month.

“Schools are NCAA members, so if they find a violation on campus, they are obligated to turn themselves in,” Novak told Vols Wire. “Since this thing is so public, I am sure the NCAA is aware of it. Technically, Tennessee has an obligation, after they review it, if they find that there are violations, they are obligated to turn themselves in.”

Fleck was a keynote speaker at the 2020 American Football Coaches Association’s annual convention in Nashville.

The event kicked off with Fleck discussing his career and how he has risen from a wide receiver at Northern Illinois attending the AFCA Convention and knowing he wanted to coach.

He has since climbed the coaching ranks, becoming a first-time head coach at Western Michigan (2013-15). There, his ability to build a program with its culture on display was at the forefront and he has since moved on to rebuild Minnesota’s program in the same capacity.

During White’s introductory press conference Friday, he mentioned his ambition in being a builder also.

Fleck’s full speech highlighting his coaching career can be listened to here or below. Novak previously joined the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days” and can be listened to here or below.

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P.J. Fleck drawing interest as a potential NFL coach

Fleck played in the NFL and has some prior pro coaching experience

Could the P.J. Fleck boat row back to the NFL? It appears at least one NFL team is interested in interviewing the Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Fleck is drawing interest as a head coaching candidate for at least one NFL team. It’s not mentioned which team it might be, but the Detroit Lions are one of a handful of teams (Atlanta, Houston) that currently do not have a permanent head coach.

Fleck is a former NFL wide receiver and has also has some NFL coaching experience with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s best known for being the hyper-kinetic coach of the Western Michigan Broncos and now at Minnesota. His teams reflect his positive energy and “row the boat” mantra of teamwork and brotherhood.

A key storyline from every week two Big Ten matchup

With no Badgers Football this weekend, many may be looking around the Big Ten for games to watch for this upcoming weekend. Even though…

With no Badgers Football this weekend, many may be looking around the Big Ten for games to watch for this upcoming weekend. Even though much of the news surrounding the Big Ten these days is about Wisconsin and its developing situation with COVID-19, there are some very exciting headlines on the field heading into week two.

Related: How to watch: Week two Big Ten matchups

The big matchup this weekend will be on Saturday night where the 18th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions will host the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. James Franklin and Penn State will be looking to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive after getting upset last weekend against the Indiana Hoosiers. While Justin Fields, Ryan Day, and the Buckeyes hope to continue past the Nittany Lions on their way to another College Football Playoff birth and undefeated regular season.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will try to stay competitive in the Big Ten West tonight against the Maryland Terrapins. After being Co-Big Ten West Champions last season, expectations are very high for the Golden Gophers, even after the loss last week to the Michigan Wolverines.

Despite there not being a Wisconsin game on Saturday, there are plenty of storylines for Badger fans to follow this weekend that could impact Wisconsin Big Ten title hopes.

 

 

P.J. Fleck: loss to Michigan ‘100% on me,’ blames Minnesota’s inexperience

After Michigan football’s win, the Golden Gophers coach said the loss was ‘100% on me’ before making it obvious that’s not what he thought.

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MINNEAPOLIS — Sometimes, when your team gets blown out, as Minnesota did by Michigan in the 2020 season opener, the head coach credits the other team.

That’s not what P.J. Fleck did.

While he did take responsibility for the 49-24 loss, Fleck put more of the onus on his defense’s inexperience than he did what his team what incapable of doing against a hungry Michigan team that also had a lot of inexperience on both sides of the ball.

“It started early. We weren’t in some of our gaps. Some of our young guys are getting experience for the first time and making them grow up really quick,” Fleck said. “With Braelen Oliver out, there are a lot of young guys getting in there. Somebody out of a gap, somebody not in the right place and it comes spitting out. Same defense, same calls. Doing everything we can to protect our players. It’s that inexperience at times that can come back and
bite you.”

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While he may have seen some of the inexperience come into play early, it was still a hotly-contested game until midway through the second quarter. The Gophers had taken an 11-point deficit, but cut it to just four before going down 11 again, and eventually 18 before the half.

What really broke Minnesota’s back was the decision late in the first-half to attempt a fake punt deep in their own territory. Michigan sniffed and snuffed it out before using it to stretch the lead to 17 and essentially put the game way.

The way Fleck sees it, his coaching staff was unprepared for the looks they saw. Of course, with it being a new season, with new personnel and it being a big game environment, Michigan wasn’t going to just line up and do everything that had been previously scouted before.

But this is P.J. Fleck’s world — we’re just living in it.

Regardless, he took the lion’s share of responsibility, but again, blamed it on inexperience.

“Michigan did a lot more two-back than they ever have,”  Remember when I said there was going to be 60% of what we maybe saw and 40% of what we didn’t see? That was a little reversed. About 40% of what we saw and 60% of what we didn’t see. So, you’ve got these new guys in there, there’s no excuses, but I’m just telling you how it is. You’ve got the new guys in there, you got young guys up there, whether it’s in the secondary at the safety position, or the linebacker position, and it’s difficult.

“But, they learned valuable lessons tonight. They grew up. They’re going to have to fail to grow. But, I told them in there that this could be the best thing that’s ever happened to this football team this year in 2020. There’s a lot to pull from it that’s positive. Everybody’s disappointed we didn’t win, starting with me. But, why we didn’t 100% falls on me.”

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To put things in perspective, while Minnesota did have to replace a large chunk of its defense and was without two starting offensive linemen, Michigan had a new starting quarterback, four new starters on the offensive line, a new starting tight end, two new starting receivers, a new starting defensive tackle, a new starting VIPER, a new starting safety — who was out with injury for the second-half — a true freshman who replaced him, and two new starting cornerbacks.

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What Minnesota is saying about Michigan football this week

Michigan football takes on Minnesota this Saturday, and we’ve heard from Michigan players and staff, but what is the opposing team saying?

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Another day closer to the return of Michigan football. We’ve heard from a vast number of players and coaches in Ann Arbor so far, but we haven’t focused on what its opponents in Minnesota are saying about them. We heard Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck give Michigan quarterback Joe Milton praise on Monday, calling him a “once in a decade” type of talent. Outside of the Monday press conference, we’ve yet to look into what other Minnesota staff members or players have said about the game on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Minnesota starting quarterback Tanner Morgan and running back, Mohamed Ibrahim spoke with the media and got into the rivalry talk. In case you forgot, this series is a rivalry game for the Little Brown Jug. Michigan leads the series 75-25-3, with the last result being a 33-10 win for the Wolverines.

“Obviously the Little Brown Jug is important, with the history that it has, the incredible history tied into the trophy and tied into the game,” Morgan said. “Any time you have an opportunity to play for something like that, we cherish it. And that’s something that’s so great about playing in the Big Ten, with the traditional classic trophy games that have so much history.”

With both players being on offense, they spoke about Michigan’s defense and its defensive coordinator Don Brown.

“They’re very aggressive and very well-coached,” Morgan said. “They do a lot of things very well.”

“They switch up their looks, so you have to take every play for what it is,” Ibrahim said. “You can’t just think that if they start off the series one way, that they won’t finish it a different way.”

Minnesota also had its offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. talk to the media this week as he spoke about Brown and what it’s like going up against his type of defense.

“They’re just an incredibly well-coached football team but in addition to being so well-coached, their scheme is very unique and very diverse,” Sanford Jr. said. “They play so hard and that’s the characteristic you’re always looking for. When you put on the opposing defense’s film, I’m always looking at what type of effort do they play with? And they play hard, and that’s culture. That’s Coach Harbaugh and Coach Brown’s system.”

“The challenge is that we have to match their will each and every snap. They have a tremendous will. Certainly they’ve lost players, but let’s be honest, who hasn’t lost players across college football? Especially when you look at the elite football programs, and you look at the top of the top,” Sanford Jr. said.

“There’s football players on every single program that are no longer on the team for a multitude of reasons. Whether it be from graduation to the NFL Draft, to opting out to injuries. There’s so many key pieces that are missing around when you watch college football. But one thing that’s not going to be missing, and I know this firsthand from 2015 Notre Dame when we played Don Brown’s Boston College defense, they’re going to have incredible ‘how.'”

Sanford Jr. then called out a few defensive players for Michigan to be a problem for Minnesota’ss offense. His focus seemed to be three players in the front seven that has an intensity that can fuel a defense.

“The guys that really start that are the returners. Aiden Hutchinson is a first-round talent and certainly top five in terms of the way he plays the game,” Sanford Jr. said. “Kwity Paye is in this in the same conversation. Certainly a top 10 talent and plays extremely hard. Cam McGrone the linebacker too. These are guys that have the talent, and they play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. That’s a cultural piece of it.”

Michigan takes on No. 21 Minnesota at 7: 30 pm EST on ABC as they play in the TCF Stadium in Minneapolis, MN.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck: Joe Milton ‘once in a decade’ QB talent for Michigan

Calling him ‘a once in a decade talent,’ the Golden Gophers head coach shares the struggle of trying to prepare for a new starter at QB.

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We’ve heard from a veritable chorus of voices out there — whether it be in Ann Arbor or in the national media — who have sung the praises of Michigan quarterback Joe Milton.

Milton has only taken 47 snaps at the college level, yet his first opponent as the Wolverines presumed starting QB, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, are already on high alert for what the third-year signal caller brings to the table.

With it finally being game week, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck was more than effusive in his praise of Milton, and shared his evaluation of what the Wolverines quarterback brings to the table.

Essentially — the Gophers need to watch out.

“Basically, you know they have the same coordinator, right?” Fleck said. “I’m sure things have changed for them, but the personnel’s changed. Anybody who looks at Milton knows what kind of talent he is. He’s ‘once in a decade’ type talent when you talk about his skill set.

“He can throw the ball far, he can run, he’s big, he’s strong. Again, there’s not a ton of data on him based on what we’ve been able to watch, but he’s played in some games, we’ve watched some of his high school recruiting film, we’ve done a lot of those things. And pulled from basically wherever we can to be able to evaluate him as a skillful player. And he’s very talented.”

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As Fleck alluded to, there’s something of a difficulty in preparing for an enigmatic talent as the Milton hype suggests, and especially so when you have little to go on, film-wise.

But it’s not just Milton that has the capability of hurting you in the new-look Michigan offense.

Fleck acknowledges that the Wolverines have lost their share of talented players at wideout, but like the saying goes, ‘next man up.’ Therefore, the Gophers will likely have their hands quite full defensively on Saturday.

“We know that Milton presents a huge challenge,” Fleck said. “One — because there’s not a lot of film on him. We know what type of player he is and it’s a very, very skillful player. And the weapons around him can really run. They’ve lost some wideouts, but it’s Michigan — they’ve got 44 four-stars and two five-stars on their team. So they’ve got plenty of talent and skill that could fill a lot of the positions that they’ve lost. But again, that’s part of game one. That’s the challenge ahead of all of us, the sideline and game-time adjustments during the game are gonna be critical for us. And we’ve got a lot of question marks on our team as well that need to be answered.”

Watch Fleck’s comments on Milton below:

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