In open practice, Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck sets a tone for new season

As the Gophers took to the field at Huntington Bank Stadium for Saturday evening’s F.A.M.I.L.Y. Day practice, the sights and sounds were familiar, though with a few twists. When it was time for the “Axe Tough” portion, “On, Wisconsin” and the sounds of chain saws blared. When coach P.J. Fleck yelled, “Pig Pen!” the Iowa fight song and the sounds of hogs squealing took over, with Fleck punctuating by emphasizing, “Keep Floyd! Keep Floyd!”

Those were just gentle reminders of what awaits in the 2024 season — the game against Iowa for Floyd of Rosedale on Sept. 21 and Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan’s Axe in the Nov. 29 regular-season finale. Saturday marked the public’s first look at the Gophers since they opened training camp Monday. Fleck and his staff moved the practice up an hour from 6:30 p.m., deftly avoiding the thunderstorms that would have struck toward the end of the 2-hour, 45-minute session.

With the Aug. 29 season opener against North Carolina still 3½ weeks away, the Gophers still have much to accomplish in training camp. So far, Fleck has been pleased.

“I like them,” he said. “I haven’t had one day where I’ve come out and the energy is not there, the tempo is not there, the willingness to get better is not there, the competitiveness isn’t there. It’s a very competitive camp, probably the most competitive camp we’ve had in our eight years here.”

With that in mind, here are a few highlights from Saturday’s practice:

The first hour of practice focused on individual drills and stretching before the intensity ramped up after that. The Gophers offense was getting the better of the defense early on, but during a water break, coordinator Corey Hetherman and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III let their troops know that wasn’t acceptable.

Defensive tackle Deven Eastern immediately responded by dropping running back Darius Taylor for a loss, setting off a celebration of those wearing maroon jerseys.

“The good thing is, it was going back and forth,” Fleck said. “Usually in practice, if it’s one-sided, I’m not enjoying it very much. And there were plays made on both sides. I really liked the competition.”

Added Hetherman: “The biggest thing now is the consistency. We’ve had a couple of really good days. We had one day I thought there was a little bit of a lull. And tonight, I thought we came on fire.”

Quarterback Max Brosmer enjoyed a mostly positive evening, highlighted by his touchdown pass of roughly 25 yards to Elijah Spencer, who made a diving catch in the front corner of the end zone.

“We’re pushing him to see what he can handle and then get him to a point where we get him to fail,” Fleck said of Brosmer. “The hard part is getting him to a point where he can fail because he is very good.”

Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. agreed.

“He’s gotten better every day and continues to master the offense,” Harbaugh said.

Defensive back Koi Perich, a true freshman from Esko and the state’s top-ranked recruit in the 2024 class, is known for his versatility, and it appears the Gophers will try to use that. He participated as a second-string safety, on punt coverage and as a punt returner Saturday.

“He wants to be coached,” Fleck said. “… We’re putting in a ton of spots. As a coach, you wish he would have come here in January … but he’s made up so much ground already.”

Perich made a strong open-field tackle on Jordan Nubin and nearly had a pick-six, too. “He’s fun to watch right now,” Hetherman said. “Every day, he’s getting better. … We’re excited about where he’s gonna be in the program once we get to the fall.”