Recapping everything P.J Fleck said during his Monday press conference.
Tanner Morgan:
Sixth-year starting quarterback Tanner Morgan left Saturday’s game against Illinois being carted to the room but felt better on Sunday when he woke up according to PJ Fleck. That being said, Morgan’s availability for the Gophers’ matchup against Penn State is still up in the air and will be in the hand’s of the Gophers’ medical staff. It’s unclear if Morgan will be taking part in practice early this week or at all, with P.J Fleck’s practice philosophy, Morgan would likely need to at least practice at least Thursday to be able to go against Penn State.
On the Wide Receivers:
“We got to be able to create separation and we need to be able to make the plays that present themselves,” Fleck said about his wide receivers when asked about what needs to be better going forward for the Gophers. “You better be able to catch the ball when it’s thrown to move efficiently down the field,” he would add.
What needs to improve defensively:
Following the game, PJ Fleck and Joe Rossi both hoped that the improvements that had to be made for the Gophers were mental than anything but that wasn’t the case for the Gophers. “It was a miss tackle here and there, it was too tight of a fit here, just eyes in the wrong spot, here. But when you play a great team like that and they’ve got a really good tailback, that’s what again we usually do to people … It wasn’t a schematic thing, it wasn’t people out of position.”
On the backup quarterbacks:
“I like them both. Cole has a lot more experience but when you look at Athan, he’s really talented. It’s just, will he be able to process, bring all in, go out there and execute. Those are the decisions we’ll make keep going forward.”
On running backs Trey Potts and Zach Evans:
Fleck says junior running back Trey Potts will be ready to go this weekend after being held out of this past weekend’s matchup against Illinois. Additionally, freshman running back Zach Evans is now fully healthy after a surgery earlier this year and ready to go.
On evaluating Penn State:
When asked about how he evaluates the Gophers’ upcoming opponent in the Penn State Nittany Lions, PJ Fleck was highly praising of the nation’s No. 16 team.
“They’re Penn State, they’re really really talented at every position. They’ve got a lot of experience, a lot of guys were on that team in 19 that we played that are a lot older now. They’ve got a really long, aggressive secondary. We’ve recruited some of those guys so we know them personally. You know they got a lot of young tailbacks that are really talented. I mean they’re Penn State, you know. They’re well coached. James does such a great job. I have such respect for him and what he’s been able to accomplish. I mean, you read what James has actually done there, it’s amazing.”
On the right tackle spot:
“I think Quinn Carroll has solidified himself as the right tackle,” Fleck told the media when asked about how he sees the right tackle spot right now. “That right tackle position, I feel really good where Quinn is and how much better he’s getting.”
On preparing for the environment of Happy Valley:
Going into Beaver Stadium can be daunting on it’s own but with Minnesota headed into Penn State’s annual White Out, Fleck was asked about how the Gophers will prepare for such an environment.
“We’re going to create an environment in practice, which you all have been there. It’s chaotic to begin with. We’re going to turn it up a whole notch. I mean there’s 109,000 people. It’s a White Out, it’s at night, national tv. That’s all part of college football but you know we’ll get ourselves ready for that the best we possibly can so I promise you, we’ll create that environment you know inside there … We’ll make sure it’s deafening because that’s what it’ll be on Saturday night.”
On the hit that caused Tanner Morgan’s injury:
To close out his press conference, Fleck was asked about the hit/punch that caused Tanner Morgan to leave Saturday’s game with a head injury and if he was surprised that no penalty was called on the play.
“I think that’s got a lot of traction, no I’m not. Here’s the deal, I got a ton of respect for Coach Bielema. He called me right after the game and he saw the hit. I said, that’s football. I mean the guy is going for the ball. We all teach players to punch the ball out, we all teach players to punch the ball out. He was going in there to punch the ball out, there was no intent. Tanner didn’t take it that, I didn’t take it that way. I told Coach Bielema the same thing, you can’t worry about it, that’s football.”
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