P.J. Fleck says delay of season should improve Gophers' depth

In a recent team meeting, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck instructed his freshmen players to stand up while his upperclassmen took a look.

They saw looming 6-4 defensive ends Jalen Logan-Redding and Jah Joyner. Nearly 300-pound tackle Aireontae Ersery was similarly imposing.

Wide receivers Daniel Jackson and Douglas Emilien had already showed their raw talent on the practice field.

Fleck said the reaction of his team to all that young potential was a succinct but passionate, "Woohoo!"

"It's not make-believe," Fleck said. "You can't sell something [not true] to a kid ... Not in 2020. It's got to be real. They've got to see it. They've got to touch it. They've got to feel it. They've got to experience it. And they have."

But no one outside of the Gophers will see that proof anytime soon.

After the Big Ten postponed the fall season last week, the earliest those new players could make an appearance would be for a spring season in 2021.

The Gophers, though, aren't viewing that as a letdown. Fleck actually considers it a boon.

"The more time we have with them without playing only helps the depth of this team," Fleck said last week in a video news conference. "And I'm excited about that."

The Gophers finished the 2019 season at 11-2, a history-making year with big wins and big crowds.

But the coronavirus pandemic seemed to detour that upward trajectory, first with Big Ten Receiver of the Year Rashod Bateman opting out to focus on the NFL draft and then with the canceled season.

But with Jackson and Emilien as potential successors for Bateman and new NFLer Tyler Johnson, with Logan-Redding and Joyner new prospects on a nearly completely turned-over defensive line, the Gophers feel like they can easily find the main road again.

Fleck said he thinks even in just a year from now, his deep team can accomplish another 11-win season or better.

That's a bold assertion, considering the unknowns of the upcoming season(s). The Gophers could end up playing in the spring — clashing with the NFL draft — and the fall, posing physical risks of playing two seasons in one calendar year.

But not every eligible player is anticipating skipping a spring season for the draft, including senior quarterback Seth Green and Morgan himself.

"Personally, that's not something I'm thinking about," Morgan said. " … I can't really think that far down the line with all the different other stuff because I'm fully 100 percent committed to being the best person, player and quarterback for the University of Minnesota that I can be. And if I worry about that stuff, then I can't fully commit to that."

Fleck said players on his team probably have agents approaching them or potentially teams from other conferences that haven't canceled the fall season yet. But he is confident his players will "make the best decisions for not only themselves but [the] football team."

And for right now, the focus remains on nurturing that depth with at least five months or so of extra practice. That's more time for new offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr., to work with Morgan and the other quarterbacks and finesse the offense.

"If your pinkie toe step was out of line or you stepped 7 inches instead of 6, we're going to address it and find a way to fix it," Morgan said of Sanford's attention to detail. "And that's what I really appreciate about Coach."

Fleck said the Gophers feel like they are in a small-scale NFL OTA or minicamp, with coaches and players spending just a few hours together, mostly trying out new COVID-19 protective equipment and safety practices, working on fundamentals and team building and participating in walkthroughs and meetings.

"There will be another season," Fleck said. "At some point, they're going to open those gates, and we're going to run through, and whatever comes through those gates, we've got to be ready for.

"So we've got to start preparing now. So if there is a winter season or spring season, fall season, we're ready for it."