Fleck has experienced team in 6th season at Minnesota

When P.J. Fleck took over the Gopher football program, he had one of the younger teams in the Big Ten but that is no longer the case as he enters his sixth season as the Gophers head coach.

Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan has already made 40 starts at Minnesota and Minnesota has 23 players who have spent at least five years in a Division I football program.

“He consistently wants to get better,” Fleck said about Morgan on Friday. “He’s hanging on every word coach Ciarocca says. He’s rallying his teammates. He’s got that mindset of earning it. That’s what I really respect about him most.”

The Gophers will be heavy favorites when they open the season against New Mexico State but they were also 30+ point favorites against Bowling Green last year and lost that game 14-10.

“On any given Saturday in college football you can and will be beat if you’re not at your best,” Morgan said. “That’s something I definitely learned and our team learned.”

The Gophers open the season against New Mexico State on Thursday, September 1 at Huntington Bank Stadium.