MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Quinn Carroll will be one of many Gophers seniors playing their final game at Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday.
But he still remembers one of P.J. Fleck’s final recruiting pitches when he was a standout offensive lineman at Edina High School. The No. 1-ranked recruit in 2019 was warming up for a game with the Hornets when a helicopter landed on a nearby practice field. Out came Fleck, who was wearing Carroll’s No. 75 high school jersey. Assistant coach Matt Simon was wearing No. 83, which was his dad Jay’s number at Minnesota.
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P.J. Fleck Show: Gophers host Penn State for Senior Day
This week on the FOX 9 P.J. Fleck Show, Pierre Noujaim, Justin Gaard, Ron Johnson and Coach Fleck look back on the loss at Rutgers, what the team did during its second bye week and look ahead to Senior Day against No. 4 Penn State. Quinn Carroll also joins the show.
"I remember my high school coach knowing about it and not telling me," Carroll said with a laugh on Tuesday’s P.J. Fleck Show.
"I mean that’s pretty good, and we still didn’t get him!" Fleck said.
Why it matters
Carroll was one of two recruits Fleck visited for a game that night via helicopter. Neither of them stayed home out of high school. Carroll spent three seasons at Notre Dame before transferring home to play for the Gophers.
"I was 0-for-2 that night. That’s the last time I fly in a helicopter," Fleck joked.
"You know I’m not into the gimmicks though," Carroll said.
"I know you’re not, but that was pretty good," Fleck responded.
Senior Day
Fleck and the Gophers will honor their seniors on Saturday ahead of hosting No. 4-ranked Penn State. Minnesota is bowl eligible at 6-4, but can improve its positioning in the final two games against the Nittany Lions and at Wisconsin.
The last time the two teams met in Minnesota, the Gophers pulled off a 31-26 upset to become one of the top-10 teams in the country in 2019.