P.J. Fleck walked into Big Ten Media Day on Wednesday with a message that was bigger than the usual preseason chatter: he believes this year’s Minnesota team belongs near the top of the list of his best groups in a decade with the Gophers.
Minnesota’s coach, now in his 10th season in Minneapolis, said the 2026 team stands out even with 50 newcomers in the mix. That group includes 31 freshmen and 19 transfers, and Fleck said the roster as a whole is one of the strongest he has had since taking the job.
The Gophers also bring a rare level of continuity into the season. Minnesota is the only Big Ten team returning its head coach, both coordinators and its starting quarterback, Drake Lindsey. Fleck is back, Danny Collins and Greg Harbaugh are back, and Lindsey is back after the Gophers finished 8-5 last year and beat New Mexico in the Rate Bowl.
Fleck’s own run at Minnesota now includes a 66-44 record over nine seasons, along with a 39-40 mark in Big Ten play and a perfect 7-0 record in bowl games. At 45, he is the second-longest tenured coach in the league, trailing only Kirk Ferentz.
"I had hair when I took the job, I do not have hair now," Fleck joked.
Minnesota’s delegation in Chicago also included running back Darius Tyalor, linebacker Maverick Baranowski and defensive lineman Anthony Smith.
Fleck spent part of his session explaining the themes he’s using to keep the team locked in. In one meeting, he handed every player a $1 bill and asked them to write down what they plan to prove to themselves this season. Those bills were placed in a jar that now sits at the front of the team meeting room, and the same message was put on the backs of practice shirts.
"You may not see it, but the guy behind you will," Fleck said.
He said the staff also placed hour glasses around the practice facility as another reminder that the season is here. The acronym on them is usually "ETA," but in Minnesota’s building it stands for "Enjoy the Adventure."
Fleck said the point is to keep the experience of college football front and center, and he made that clear again when he described the season as 12 guaranteed games that move quickly. The team also watched the Artemis II shuttle circle the moon in a meeting, another example of Fleck weaving life lessons into the program.
"We will never take fun out of college football and the experience," Fleck said. "Enjoy the adventure."
In Other News...
P.J. Fleck's Big Ten Message Carries Extra Weight For Minnesota
At Big Ten Media Days, P.J. Fleck made clear where he stands on the leagues nine-game conference schedule, backing a format Minnesota has now played through for the 11th straight season. It was a familiar kind of message from a coach who has spent years preaching the value of testing a program early and often, and it fits a Gophers schedule that already asks plenty with a nonconference date against Mississippi State and a run of difficult Big Ten games ahead.
Flecks comments also came against a more personal backdrop, with the coach acknowledging the death of Joe Novak, his college coach at Northern Illinois. Novak was a formative figure in Flecks rise through the profession, and the timing gave Flecks media-day appearance a little more gravity than usual. For Minnesota, the football questions are still about what the schedule will demand, but for Fleck, the day carried a reminder of who helped shape the way he approaches them. [Read more 🡒]
Cade Tyson Fight Could Put Gophers Roster Plans In Limbo
Cade Tyson has become a central figure in a federal class-action lawsuit that could reshape how the NCAA handles eligibility for a wide swath of Division I athletes, and the Minnesota mens basketball program has a direct stake in the outcome. The case challenges the NCAAs decision not to apply its new five-for-five eligibility model retroactively, a move that would affect athletes who were already deep into their college careers under the old rules.
The NCAA has argued that changing course now would create roster disruption and destabilize college sports, while the plaintiffs say the current approach denies athletes a fifth year of eligibility along with the educational and financial opportunities that come with it. For Minnesota, the uncertainty is the bigger issue for now, because Tysons case could influence not just one players path but the broader roster planning landscape for programs across the country. [Read more 🡒]