Ugh, MN seems to be riding the wave.

[STPGopherfan]

Yeah, he benefited greatly from depth on defense too. Are you claiming that only 4 of the multi year o-line returnees(out of the 9 who were in the 2 deeps) were there for spring ball? That doesn't even count any others who were already on the roster yet didn't end up in the 2 deeps by the way. Even IF true, he still inherited a lot of depth that played on that 2017 team.

Yes, that were able to participate. That is what I am claiming. I am a Kill/ Claeys fan that was not real fired up at first about the coaching change. Looking back, I can see what Fleck did and why. That is why basically the whole OL group is returning. Fleck focused on bringing in players for his system. BTW I am not saying that Brohm hasn't/ isn't doing the same thing.

Both coach Brohm and Fleck were faced with similar challenges. While both had "some" talent, it wasn't what they wanted/ needed to make their styles of play work. Fleck basically went all in on his way of doing things. I think that Brohm may have tried swing for the fences right out of the gate and supplemented what he had will JUCO players, etc. If that is correct, the down side to that is that you cycle faster, and have to rebuild in two years.

I like and respect Purdue, so I am not trying to start a pissing match or anything. I just thought I'd mention that at the start, the OL depth wasn't there. Not ones that would fit Fleck's system anyway. The team for the most part was loaded on defense. Not as much on offense, except for running back.

 

[boiler2288]

Both coach Brohm and Fleck were faced with similar challenges. While both had "some" talent, it wasn't what they wanted/ needed to make their styles of play work. Fleck basically went all in on his way of doing things. I think that Brohm may have tried swing for the fences right out of the gate and supplemented what he had will JUCO players, etc. If that is correct, the down side to that is that you cycle faster, and have to rebuild in two years.

I like and respect Purdue, so I am not trying to start a pissing match or anything. .

You should be ecstatic with what PJ has accomplished in such a short time. When that scandal happened 4 yrs ago, (10 players named in a sex assault) and Claeys mostly turning a “ blind eye” I thought UM program would be dead for the next 12 yrs. PJ has changed entire culture

 

[jindy]

Yes, that were able to participate. That is what I am claiming. I am a Kill/ Claeys fan that was not real fired up at first about the coaching change. Looking back, I can see what Fleck did and why. That is why basically the whole OL group is returning. Fleck focused on bringing in players for his system. BTW I am not saying that Brohm hasn't/ isn't doing the same thing.

Both coach Brohm and Fleck were faced with similar challenges. While both had "some" talent, it wasn't what they wanted/ needed to make their styles of play work. Fleck basically went all in on his way of doing things. I think that Brohm may have tried swing for the fences right out of the gate and supplemented what he had will JUCO players, etc. If that is correct, the down side to that is that you cycle faster, and have to rebuild in two years.

I like and respect Purdue, so I am not trying to start a pissing match or anything. I just thought I'd mention that at the start, the OL depth wasn't there. Not ones that would fit Fleck's system anyway. The team for the most part was loaded on defense. Not as much on offense, except for running back.

Okay, won't argue with you about who Minnesota had available in spring practice that year as you obviously are more in tune to that situation. But the depth was obviously there, and the injuries weren't too serious, as they had 9 returnees in the opening day two deeps(per the UM press release). This includes 4 guys who had prior game starts including at least 3 with multiple starts in Greene, Wyler and Wright. I'd call that a lot of depth, and quite a bit more than Brohm had in year 1. And that applies across multiple position groups as well, especially the critical D-line.

I will agree that Fleck did a good job of adding to and building on that O-line depth and it's certainly paying off now. While there still isn't much in the senior and RS junior(5th & 4th year) classes to rely upon I believe that Purdue finally is going to see the guys from the first couple of O-line recruiting classes playing significant roles in 2020. Good luck in 2020 and I appreciate your discussion.

 

[STPGopherfan]

Okay, won't argue with you about who Minnesota had available in spring practice that year as you obviously are more in tune to that situation. But the depth was obviously there, and the injuries weren't too serious, as they had 9 returnees in the opening day two deeps(per the UM press release). This includes 4 guys who had prior game starts including at least 3 with multiple starts in Greene, Wyler and Wright. I'd call that a lot of depth, and quite a bit more than Brohm had in year 1. And that applies across multiple position groups as well, especially the critical D-line.

I will agree that Fleck did a good job of adding to and building on that O-line depth and it's certainly paying off now. While there still isn't much in the senior and RS junior(5th & 4th year) classes to rely upon I believe that Purdue finally is going to see the guys from the first couple of O-line recruiting classes playing significant roles in 2020. Good luck in 2020 and I appreciate your discussion.

Likewise. It is fun to discuss football. Especially with fans of the birthplace of the BigTen conference. Thanks to James Smart we have this conference.

I guess both of our programs have been lacking depth for some time. I was thinking along the lines of our fellow Big Ten schools. Iowa and Wisconsin, Michigan, OSU, PSU, etc probably have twice that or more every single season. Wright was banged up and saw little playing time as a Gopher. Weyler and Greene developed into very good linemen and were a huge help in the 2018 turnaround. In 2019 the depth was better, but most all were underclassmen. The rotation was real tight. The OL was really only six players deep. You could expand that to seven or eight if you count linemen that took advantage of the four game redshirt rule.

What hurt Minnesota in 2017 is that there was not a single QB that had seen any live action/ game time. Fleck had to beg a walk-on (Connor Rhoda) to return to the program to play his senior year. Looking back, I guess both rosters were thinner than I had thought.

Good luck in 2020 to your program as well!

Cheers!