P.J. Fleck studies Gophers’ depth, nears decisions on key depth roles

The Gophers football team is in its second week of training camp, and to coach P.J. Fleck, that means the Aug. 29 season opener against North Carolina at Huntington Bank Stadium is approaching in a hurry. While Fleck has a good picture of what the starting portion of his team’s depth chart could look like, the second- and third-string roles still need to be worked out.

With that in mind, Fleck and his staff spent a large portion of Tuesday’s practice at the stadium taking a long look at backups. Roughly 10 players who’ll likely play key roles — including quarterback Max Brosmer, wide receiver Daniel Jackson and running back Darius Taylor — either did not practice or were limited to a few repetitions in 11-on-11 situations.

“People are fighting for jobs in Week 2,” Fleck said. “I need to be able to answer questions by the end of Week 2, in the middle of Week 3, on the depth chart and what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it, and what the answers are if and when something happens to somebody.”

Brosmer spent time Tuesday mentoring early-enrollee true freshman Drake Lindsey from Fayetteville, Ark., who’s impressed since spring with his quick grasp of the offense. On Tuesday, though, Lindsey had trouble escaping heavy pressure from Minnesota’s defensive line.

“I let Drake take a lot with the ones [first team], pulled some other guys out to see how the other guys would respond,” Fleck said. “This is about taking the floor and raising the floor.”

Brosmer, a graduate transfer from New Hampshire who has one year of eligibility with Minnesota, sees a balance between the urgency of the opener and the patience it takes to prepare for it.

“There’s 23 days or something before the first game, and we’re doing a good job not really thinking that far forward,” he said. “We know that we have that many more days to really grow into a team as an offense and a defense.”

Fleck said the players who were limited or missed practice Tuesday, including defensive back Darius Green, should be back to practice Thursday or Friday.

Tuesday’s practice, under sunny skies and 75 degrees, featured an intensity from both the offense and defense that was ramped up from what was on display during Saturday night’s open practice. There were a couple of skirmishes during 11-on-11 drills and some talk going back and forth between the offense and defense.

“It’s just battles, and a lot of tension going on,” defensive end Jah Joyner said. “We’re just trying to do each other better, stuff like that.”

Fleck, frustrated when two offensive players were in motion when the ball was snapped, stopped a drill for a teaching moment. He explained one of the differences between American and Canadian football, which allows two or more backfield players to be in motion toward the line of scrimmage before the snap.

“It’s not Canada,” the coach said. “As much as we want it to be Canada — at times — it is not.”

Saturday, it was running back Marcus Major, a transfer from Oklahoma, making a strong impression with a handful of tough runs during 11-on-11 drills.

Tuesday, wide receiver Cristian Driver, a transfer from Penn State and the son of former Green Bay Packers standout Donald Driver, popped up with a couple of nice catches.

In addition, Jaxon Howard, the former Robbinsdale Cooper standout who transferred from LSU, has shown some early energy. “He’s battling,” Joyner said. “He’s just getting into his groove and just being a more and more vocal guy.”