During the Gophers’ pinpoint search for its next men’s basketball coach, Athletics Director Mark Coyle called on football coach P.J. Fleck to chip in.
Fleck chatted with top candidate Niko Medved in the week leading up to his hiring, which became official Monday. Then Fleck attended Medved’s news conference Tuesday, and Medved briefly popped into the U’s football practice later that afternoon.
Neither coach shared too much about their chat during the hiring process, but there were some indications.
“We just talked about how great it is to be a Gopher, my experience here, why I’m here in Year 9, why I love being here,” Fleck said.
It would be wise for Medved to implement what insights Fleck actually had to share. Since Fleck came the U in 2017, football has had sustained success, while men’s basketball is on its third coach, including Richard Pitino and Ben Johnson, in that timeframe.
Medved, a Roseville native, has seen where Gophers football was for decades before Fleck brought the level up in his tenure. Excluding the pandemic year, Fleck has taken the U to six straight bowl games.
Medved said he wanted to hear from Fleck about how “he navigated the new landscape in college athletics.” That means how Fleck has kept going to bowl games despite less robust name, image and likeness (NIL) funding at Minnesota.
The pair of coaches also tossed bouquets of compliments to each other.
“I’m a huge admirer of (Fleck’s) from a distance,” the former Colorado State coach told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday. “He’s so genuine to who he is. I just admire that, the energy and the passion, I can tell he really cares about people and his players. That’s something that I really believe in. And I just think he does that at such an elite level. He has really kind of transformed this program to a place that we haven’t seen.”
Added Fleck: “You watch the way his teams play. They … play incredibly hard, and what a game that was (against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament’s second round). … I think probably one of the best coached and one of the best played throughout that entire tournament. So I think Mark Coyle hit a grand slam right there.”
Initial transfer impact
Gophers football brought in 15 transfers over the winter, and Oklahoma State linebacker Jeff Roberson made his presence felt with multiple run stops in the first open-to-media practice Tuesday.
Roberson wrapped up starting tailback Darius Taylor during one inside-run rep and took him to the ground. While that aggressiveness is frowned upon in most practice drills — especially against a star such as Taylor — it will be welcomed on Saturdays.
As the U moves on from projected NFL draft pick Cody Lindenberg, Maverick Baranowski and Devon Williams are slotted to start at LB, but Roberson’s 670 defensive snaps with the Cowboys last season will come in handy.
“We are able to talk to guys like Jeff Roberson, who has played a lot of football,” linebacker Derik LeCaptain said Tuesday. “You are able to share things. ‘You guys did this when you were there. That is similar to this.’ And you are able to bounce ideas of what you have seen on the field and what you haven’t seen.”
Redshirt junior Joey Gerlach of Woodbury appears ready to provide depth at inside linebacker.
Big plays
One of the most-explosive offensive plays Tuesday came in a long touchdown pass from quarterback Drake Lindsey to wideout Kenric Lanier. The ball was a bit behind Lanier, but he adjusted and it still went for six.
Lindsey is the clear No. 1 QB at the start of spring ball. Backup QB Zach Pyron connected on his own TD toss, with wideout Cristian Driver, but the U’s defense had a massive coverage bust on that play.
One of the most impactful defensive plays came from linebacker Mason Carrier forcing a fumble.
Position switch
The Gophers must replace four starters along the offensive line from last season — three seniors and Phillip Daniels, who transferred to Ohio State. And Minnesota’s one returning starter is going back to an old position.
After moving from guard to center last season, junior Greg Johnson was back at guard during Tuesday’s practice. Ashton Beers was at center.
Beers played 671 snaps at guard and 16 at center in 2024. Johnson played 818 snaps at center last season, following 395 at guard as a true freshman in 2023.
The U had issues with the center-quarterback exchange on Tuesday, their third practice of the spring and first in pads.
Briefly
Injured players included safety Darius Green, wide receiver Tyler Williams, Washington transfer offensive tackle Kahlee Tafai and defensive tackle Riley Sunram … Star defensive lineman Anthony Smith didn’t participate much in practice, but that appears to be a precaution. He was coaching up Illinois State transfer Steven Curtis at one point. … Former U wideout Tyler Johnson, a Minneapolis native who signed as a free agent with the New York Jets, watched practice. … Koi Perich made a brief cameo on offense, catching a pass and getting upfield in a hurry. The all-Big Ten safety might become a more regular sighting on offense in 2025. … Syracuse transfer Brady Denaburg was the No. 1 placekicker on Tuesday, with David Kemp No. 2 … Transfer WRs Javon Tracy (Miami of Ohio) and Logan Loya (UCLA) are ahead of Malachi Coleman (Nebraska). Tracy, in particular, was a popular target for the QBs.
Minnesota’s head coach Niko Medved gestures while arriving for an NCAA college basketball news conference, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers is interviewed after the Golden Gophers defeated the Bowling Green Falcons, 30-24, in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field on Dec. 26, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
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