Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck not yet ready to name starting kicker

With the Gophers opening their football season against South Dakota State in a week, one important starting spot remains unresolved.

Not quarterback. That became Tanner Morgan's job only a couple of days into camp after Zack Annexstad's foot injury. But who is going to kick those extra points after Morgan throws for a score is a mystery.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck has been deliberating between freshman Michael Lantz and redshirt freshman Brock Walker. On Thursday, Fleck still didn't have much clarity.

"You might see both of them out there," Fleck said. "I'm not going to say that you won't. And it's not because hey, he didn't do well, and I pulled him. Or he made it, and I want to see if this guy makes it. I just want to see them both have experience in the game. And they both deserve that at some point."

Receiver Demetrius Douglas said Fleck reminded the players before arriving at the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday: "Whatever you put in your bodies today, you're going to feel it tomorrow at practice."

Whether eating giant cinnamon rolls topped with gooey frosting to winning teddy bears almost as big as offensive linemen, the Gophers enjoyed some time off before returning to preparations for the Jackrabbits.

And in between various TV and radio appearances, Fleck indulged in his own guilty pleasures: Cheese curds, deep-fried olives, egg rolls and gyros, his favorite food. The Gophers then bused back to campus in the afternoon and went right back to work.

"Enjoy the State Fair, everybody," Fleck joked. "Then we've got meetings."

Besides the fair, the Gophers have embarked on several team outings during training camp. They went to a Twins game, a Loons game, a lake day at Fleck's house, Topgolf, WhirlyBall and laser tag, even a private movie screening of the newest "The Fast and the Furious" installment.

"We run a very unique training camp," Fleck said. "We do a lot of things with our players. Instead of that three-hour window [where] they can nap, at times we take them somewhere. We go do some team activity, and we connect them, and we force them to get around each other and get to talk to each other, get to know each other. And the amount of thank yous we get this year for that is unlike any other year."