Gophers coach P.J. Fleck takes helicopter to watch top recruit's game

If you have a helicopter at your disposal you might as well use it, right?

That's just what Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck did Friday night, when a helicopter arrived at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex, picked up Fleck and wide receivers coach Matt Simon and whisked them away to Eastview High School in Apple Valley. That's where Edina's Quinn Carroll, a prized offensive tackle recruit was playing.

But Fleck wasn't done for the night. He then took the helicopter to Lakeville, where Lakeville North's Bryce Benhart, a junior offensive tackle and Gophers recruit, was playing against visiting Lakeville South.

The helicopter ride was just the start of Fleck's plan to impress Carroll. Fleck wore a gold Gophers jersey with Carroll's No. 75, while Simon sported a gold jersey with No. 83, which Jay Carroll, Quinn's father, wore as a Gophers tight end from 1980 to '83.

Quinn Carroll, a 6-6 and 290-pound junior, has scholarship offers from most major powers, including Alabama, Notre Dame and USC.

Benhart, 6-7, 285 pounds, also has offers from Wisconsin, UCLA, Northwestern and Iowa State. While in Lakeville, Fleck also had a chance to watch one of his 2018 commitments, Lakeville North center Nathan Boe.

With the Gophers on their bye week, Fleck and his assistants spent a lot of their time recruiting this week.