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When it comes to quarterbacks, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck’s modus operandi has been to identify a high school prospect, have him compete for the starting job early in his career and reap the rewards later.
It’s worked well for Fleck at Western Michigan, where Zach Terrell led the Broncos to a 13-1 record and Cotton Bowl berth in 2016, and at Minnesota, where Tanner Morgan threw 30 touchdown passes as the Gophers went 11-2 with a top-10 national finish in 2019.
In 2023, though, transfer quarterbacks are all the rage as teams look for plug-and-play replacements who can make an immediate impact.
Count Fleck among the converts. A 5-7 record this season and a passing game that ranked among the nation’s least productive will convince a coach to at least alter his approach.
Since the regular season-ending loss to Wisconsin, which employed transfer QB Tanner Mordecai, Fleck has received commitments from two transfers — highly regarded Max Brosmer of FCS level New Hampshire and Logan Fife, a backup at Fresno State who has started a handful of games.
“That’s just the reality of the situation,” said Allen Trieu, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports. “You see so many schools bringing in transfer quarterbacks. They almost have to in order to keep up with every other program.”
The reality for the Gophers in 2023 was that they weren’t getting good enough play at football’s most important position. They rank 126th among the 133 FBS teams in passing yards (153.2 per game) and 118th in points (20.2). While the team’s pass-catchers dropped 25 passes for a drop rate of 13.9% — up from last year’s 6.3% — Athan Kaliakmanis’ completion percentage of 53.1 ranked 104th nationally and was the lowest for a Gophers starter since true freshman Zack Annexstad’s 51.9% in 2018.
“College football is all about response,” Fleck said Monday…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/transfer-please-fleck-adjusts-philosophy-204700681.html
Author : Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Publish date : 2023-12-19 20:47:00
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