INDIANAPOLIS – P.J. Fleck had the leadoff role among coaches during Thursday's opening session of Big Ten football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Gophers coach came out fired up.
"This is just so great to be back,'' said Fleck said, referring to last year's absence of the conference gathering because of the coronavirus pandemic. "… Everybody's really excited for the 2021 season, and I know our coaches and our players are as well.''
Fleck is representing the Gophers in Indianapolis along with running back Mohamed Ibrahim, quarterback Tanner Morgan and defensive end Boye Mafe.
"We've got three unbelievable young men we brought here from the University of Minnesota,'' he said. "We always talk about, 'Make sure you're a better person than you are a football player,' and all three of these guys are definitely that."
Fleck called Ibrahim, the reigning Big Ten running back of the year, "a bowling ball going downhill with razor blades on it. He's not the biggest guy, the strongest guy or the fastest guy, but he is one of the toughest guys in the country, and I'm glad he's on our team.''
Fleck said he's looking for a breakout year from Mafe, an athletic 6-4, 265-pounder who had 4 ½ sacks last year. "He's an absolute freak when you talk about vertical jump, size, weight, speed,'' Fleck said. "He's going to come to this stadium one day, probably after this season, and just blow the [NFL] combine out of the water.''
Morgan, whose father, Ted, died July 12 after battling a brain tumor, received credit from Fleck for his leadership.
"Tanner Morgan is the heartbeat of our football team,'' Fleck said. "… To watch him go through that in the last year and a half as his dad battled brain cancer was incredibly inspiring to our team, inspiring to our city and our state.''
