P.J. Fleck: Darius Taylor is ‘one of the best players in the country’
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football team is 1-1 on the season after a 48-0 win over Rhode Island on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.
The win marked the return of Gophers’ star running back Darius Taylor, who had 14 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown. He also had four catches for 48 yards, channeling his high school days as a receiver. Coach P.J. Fleck said Saturday the goal was to get him 15-20 touches, and he finished with 18.
Monday, Fleck said they missed not having their best player in the loss to North Carolina.
"I think he’s one of the best players on this football team, maybe in the country," Fleck said. "We’ve missed him, you can’t sit there and say you don’t miss your best players when they’re not in there. You could just feel his presence."
‘Everybody has to be reliable’
One of the telling offensive stats from Saturday’s win was Max Brosmer’s ability to spread the ball around in the passing game. Brosmer completed 24 passes, and 12 different Gophers’ receivers made catches. Elijah Spencer had four catches for 55 yards, Taylor had four for 48 and Daniel Jackson had four for 40 yards.
Brosmer also hit Le’Meke Brockington for a 29-yard touchdown after he dropped a long pass earlier in the game.
"I think that just answers the question. We’re going to need other people to be involved. For this to work the best it can work, everybody has to be reliable," Fleck said.
‘He was in complete command’
After going 13-of-21 for 166 yards against the Tar Heels, Brosmer bounced back against Rhode Island. He was 24-of-30 for 271 yards and touchdowns to Christian Driver and Brockington. Three of his incompletions were dropped. The Gophers had 27 first downs.
He looked like the quarterback Fleck knew he was getting from New Hampshire.
"I thought he was really poised right from the jump. I thought he was in complete command. Overall just better, I think he just felt more comfortable," Fleck said. "You have to be razor sharp in everything you do, and that’s what he did. Kind of a little surgical."
Getting Koi Perich involved
Koi Perich came to the Gophers in the summer and had some catching up to do with the freshman that had been on campus since January. The top rated player out of Minnesota stayed home, and hasn’t taken long to make an impact.
Perich played primarily special teams against North Carolina. Saturday, he played defensive snaps in the second half, got an interception off a Cody Lindenberg tipped pass and returned a punt 28 yards. He wanted to run it back for a touchdown. His potential is obvious just two games into his career.
"We saw what he did in training camp and in the summer, you’re like alright, we’ve got to find ways to get him on the field. It’s not like he’s a freshman, we can only spoon feed him, we can give it to him by the shovels if he can handle it. As of right now, he can handle it by the shovels," Fleck said. "We’ll get to the bulldozer part."