Former Gophers Winfield, Johnson, Martin have big NFL weekends
Wide receiver Tyler Johnson #18 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catches a 1-yard touchdown pass in the end zone against cornerback Trayvon Mullen #27 of the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half of their game at Allegiant Stadium on October 25, 2020 i ((Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - On a short week with a Friday night road game ahead and coming off a 49-24 loss to Michigan, Sunday was about watching film and getting ready to play Maryland for University of Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t take some time to watch three of his biggest stars from last year make a splash in the NFL on Sunday. With the help of his Gerrit Chernoff, the football team’s general manager, he keeps track of all his former college stars that are now current NFL players. That goes back to his days as the head coach at Western Michigan.
Sunday, he couldn’t help but smile and celebrate a little as Antoine Winfield Jr., Tyler Johnson and Kamal Martin represented the Gophers on the NFL stage.
Winfield got his first career interception Sunday off Derek Carr as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put up a dominant effort in a 45-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Winfield was also named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month in September after collecting 23 tackles, two sacks, two pass break-ups and forcing a fumble.
In that same game, Tyler Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady for the second straight week. Johnson had two catches for only four yards, but he caught a 1-yard touchdown from Brady with 3:08 in regulation to cement a victory. Johnson got his first start in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears, making four catches for 61 yards. Last week, his only catch went for a 7-yard touchdown, the first of his career, as the Buccaneers beat the Green Bay Packers.
Martin played in the first game of his NFL career Sunday as the Packers beat the Houston Texans 35-30. Martin played 29 defensive snaps and made six tackles, including one for a loss.
“Just so proud of all of our alumni that are in the National Football League. Every Sunday I get a sheet that tells me how everybody did, what their stats were, even kids that we coached at Western Michigan. Just to be able to keep those relationships and let them know we’re thinking about them. They’re always Gophers at heart, and we’re here to support them,” Fleck said. “They’re having a phenomenal year right now, and it’s so fun for our team right now to see those guys that they just played with having a ton of success in the National Football League.”