Iowa football look ahead: Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck can sell, the coaching part is up next

You might've noticed that Minnesota has a new football coach. You might also notice that prolonged exposure to P.J. Fleck might burn off your eye brows.

Fleck comes with antics. I'm going to cut him a wide swath on the 'Row the Boat.' The phrase kept Fleck fueled after his newborn son died of a heart condition while he was an assistant coach at Rutgers. Yes, he did 'buy' the phrase from Western Michigan. He will give WMU at least $50,000 through five payments of $10,000 to endow a scholarship for a football player.

Fleck comes with the manner you can only compare to a hurricane salesman. Is there substance that goes along with the sell? In a recent episode of 'Being P.J. Fleck,' a reality show on ESPNU, Fleck used his personality to pitch the program to Minneapolis corporations and then, with pretty much the same tone, he went into a pitch with his players.

Somewhere in there is a traditional football coach. He didn't go 13-1 at Western Michigan last season with catchphrases and sideline jumping jacks.

It's easy for outsiders — hi, Iowa fan — to look at Fleck and wonder what the hell? But remember, he's the head football coach at Minnesota. The Gophers haven't won a slice of the Big Ten title since 1967. They haven't been to the Rose Bowl since 1962.

Minnesota tried Lou Holtz and it almost kind of worked. Glen Mason got a going for a few years in the early 2000s. The truth is no coach has pushed Minnesota to a championship level for 50-plus years.

So, why not this guy?

You've probably noticed a lot of college football coaches have discovered the word 'culture' in the last few years. That's Fleck's point, at least for now. Games are coming. We're going to find out about Fleck's football-ness very soon.

'We're not shying away from what we haven't necessarily accomplished in terms of championship feel of 50 years without a championship, but we want to be that bridge,' Fleck said. 'We want to be that bridge that connects the past with the present and also the future moving forward.'

For now, you'll have to decide how much Fleck you can watch before you reach for your credit card and buy that Shamwow.

Platooning QBs?: After Aug. 16 practice, Fleck showed some flex in what he hopes to have happen in the QB competition between Demry Croft and Conor Rhoda.

'If we think we are going to have one quarterback or need one quarterback through this entire season, I would be crazy to think that,' Fleck said. 'As we go forward, I have to start looking at some options.'

Rhoda is a fifth-year senior and former walk-on who started one game at Maryland last season for an injured Mitch Leidner. Croft is a sophomore who took a redshirt last season. He appeared in three games in 2015, including the second half at Northwestern after Leidner was benched.

Fleck seems intent on the dual QB thing. He wants to see Rhoda and Croft in games and so he will.

Running backs Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks should help whoever wins the QB job. Smith rushed for 1,158 yards and 16 TDs last season. Brooks had 650 yards and five TDs.

The Gophers' defense: Fleck wants to run a 4-3 defense at Minnesota. Personnel might dictate otherwise in year 1.

The Gophers have a toolbox full of quality linebackers and are thin on the defensive line. This will force first-year defensive coordinator Robb Smith to mix and match fronts, so you will see some 3-4 and probably lots of sub packages.

Smith wants to be able to use safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and linebacker Blake Cashman (led the Gophers with 7.5 sacks in 2016) in smart ways. How Minnesota lines up from game to game in 2017 will vary.

'That has to be an advantage for us,' Smith said. 'I think our guys are really into that.'

The Stove: Defensive tackle Steven Richardson is less than 6-feet tall and 292 pounds. So his nickname is 'Stove.' It'll be interesting to see how Richardson (who led UM with 11.0 tackles for loss in 2016) is used, but he's a premier run stuffer in the B1G West. He's been hard to move in the middle, and led the Gophers with 11 tackles for loss in 2016.

Hawkeyes Look Ahead

Oct. 28 vs. Minnesota (Kinnick Stadium)

Time and TV: TBA

Week before: at Northwestern

Week after: vs. Ohio State (Kinnick Stadium)

On the horizon: at Wisconsin, Nov. 11

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Coach: P.J. Fleck (0-0, first season at Minnesota)

2016 record: 9-4, 5-4 in the Big Ten West Division (T-4th)

Scoring offense: 29.3 points per game (4th in B1G, 63rd nationally)

Total offense: 357.2 yards per game (11th B1G, T-107th nationally)

Scoring defense: 22.1 points allowed per game (5th B1G, T-21st nationally)

Total defense: 348.8 yards allowed per game (4th B1G, 21st nationally)

Series: Minnesota leads, 62-46-2

Last meeting

: Iowa played angry football and it was enough for a 14-7 win at TCF Bank Stadium. Senior tight end George Kittle gave a Minnesota defensive end a shopping cart ride during the game's most important moment.

'I have never heard that. I'm going to need a definition,' the Iowa tight end asked about the term 'shopping cart.'

He pushed defensive end Winston DeLattiboudere into the Boundary Waters. He blocked him into Canadian citizenship. They might've tripped over a walrus on their way to the Arctic Circle (sticking with the north country theme). That's 'shopping cart.'

'He was out of bounds for sure,' Kittle said. 'He was gone.'

The block helped spring running back Akrum Wadley for a 54-yard TD run, then it was Iowa's longest play of the season, with 5:46 left in the game.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com