P.J. Fleck on Gophers QB situation: 'I wish I had the answer'

CHICAGO – The No. 1 topic entering Gophers practice next week will be the open quarterback competition. P.J. Fleck said Tuesday at Big Ten media days that senior Conor Rhoda and sophomore Demry Croft separated themselves slightly in spring practice but that redshirt freshman Seth Green and true freshman Tanner Morgan are "not far behind those guys."

Fleck said he doesn't know who ultimately will win that competition, nor will he give a timetable for when he'll announce his starter.

"I wish I had an answer," he said. "I wish I had somebody in the spring that just took it, ran with it and just said, 'It's my job.' I want somebody to take this and say, 'This is going to be my football team.' "

Could Rhoda and Croft play in a platoon system?

"I can't answer that question yes or no," he said. "I'm not a big two-quarterback-system guy. I believe in [picking] a guy and let's go. But if we have to and we feel that's the best formula, that nobody has taken the job, then we will. But I would like to stay away from that for leadership purposes."

So many Gophers needed surgeries this offseason that the evaluation process has been delayed for the new coaching staff, which makes fall camp even more important.

"We're getting guys cleared, but the problem with just getting them cleared is: You're cleared to do what now?" Fleck said. "Start lifting, start running, start conditioning, start practice, start hitting — there's all these different starts. … I haven't seen 22 of these guys actually practice at all. I haven't seen them in our system."

Cashman led the Gophers in sacks last season with 7 ½ and was the Holiday Bowl defensive MVP as a pass-rushing specialist at linebacker.

The Gophers are so thin along the defensive line that coordinator Robb Smith will use some 3-4 scheme principles in his 4-3 base defense. That includes moving linebackers such as Coughlin and Cashman up on the line because linebacker is the team's deepest position.

"Our rush end is kind of a glorified outside 3-4 linebacker," Fleck said. "We're a 4-3, but that's what he kind of is. He's on the line of scrimmage all the time. So we put Carter down there. That gives us a chance to put a Kamal Martin on the field [who] is long and can run and has a ton of athleticism.

"You might see Blake Chashman at the defensive line on one side and Carter on the other side. You might see him at linebacker, at rush end. We have to be very creative this year because of our lack of depth [along the line]."

Linebacker Jonathan Celestin said he is dedicating his senior season to his father, Frederick, who died in a car accident in Georgia three days after the spring game.