Minnesota football: PJ Fleck’s boat running out of gas in 2018?

P.J. Fleck had a difficult first season with Minnesota football. Can he find a quarterback and ride an experienced defense and win in 2018?

I’m not sure if there’s ever been more hype lost in one year than the hype surrounding P.J. Fleck. The former Western Michigan head coach went from hottest commodity on the market, to Minnesota, to nobody, in one year.

Now, to say that’s he nobody is a bit of hyperbole. Fleck is obviously still a high-profile name, and there’s still a ton of excitement around him. However, his first year at Minnesota tampered expectations quite a bit. Now he needs to show progress in year two.

It’s not too surprising that year one was a struggle. A ton of talent from their nine-win season in 2016 had departed. There was no sure thing at quarterback, on the line, at receiver or anywhere on defense. With so much youth, on a team that doesn’t recruit very well, there will be some struggles.

Fleck’s squad did flash some potential, though. The Golden Gophers were dominant in four of their five wins, and nearly beat Michigan State and Iowa. They also got smacked by Michigan and didn’t score a single point against Northwestern or Wisconsin. With young players, that’ll happen.

With young players come viable excuses, but as a young team ages, excuses go away. Fleck can’t blame inexperience this year. If Minnesota wins games, he won’t need to.