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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Behind Enemy Lines: Steven Richardson

It was a tumultuous offseason 

for the Minnesota football team. 
After 10 players were suspended 
following 
an 
accusation 
of 

sexual 
assault, 
the 
team 

threatened to sit out the Holiday 
Bowl. Former head coach Tracy 
Claeys supported the boycott, 
which was eventually dropped. 
Claeys lost his job shortly after. 

In his absence stepped P.J. 

Fleck, the charismatic former 
coach of Western Michigan. 
Fleck earned a reputation for his 
off-the-wall behavior — if you’ve 
ever heard ‘Row the boat’ used 
in a motivational fashion, it’s 
thanks to him — but is also an 
accomplished coach. In his final 
year coaching the Broncos, Fleck 
led them to a 13-1 record and an 
appearance in the Cotton Bowl 
after 
an 
undefeated 
regular 

season.

His first year at Minnesota 

has seen the Golden Gophers 
struggle 
through 
conference 

play. 
Yet 
it 
was 
apparent 

after 
a 
conversation 
with 

senior defensive tackle Steven 
Richardson at Big Ten Media 
Days in July that Fleck has 
already made a positive impact 
on the program.

The 
Daily 
spoke 
with 

Richardson 
about 
the 

coaching transition, everyday 
conversations with Fleck and his 
impressions of Jim Harbaugh.

TMD: “Can you take us back 

to the first time you met him, 
when he was recruiting you (at 
Western Michigan)?”

SR: “My first impression was, 

this guy’s good. I was close to 
just saying yes, because, I mean, 
he’s very charismatic. He’s a 
very genuine coach. He says a lot 
of stuff and has a lot of phrases, 
but he backs it up all the time.”

TMD: “The previous coaching 

transition between Coach Kill 
and Coach Claeys seemed like 
it would be more seamless. Has 
it been much different going to 
Coach Fleck this summer?”

SR: “Yes. There’s just a lot 

more energy. He brought in a 
great culture that has helped 
us not just on the field but also 
off the field, too, socially. He’s 
bringing in a lot of other people 
that are helping us. We just 
learned how to cook. We learned 
how to eat dinner the right 
way — eat with the silverware 
outside-in. Just little things like 
that. It’s more than X’s and O’s 
with him.”

TMD: “How long did it take 

you to adjust to this — are you 
still adjusting now?”

SR: “There’s always growth. 

That’s what the culture brings 
in. … You’re changing every day, 
you’re growing every day. That’s 
what the culture is. I’m still 
growing right now. Coach has 

done that to me.”

Q: “Is there anything that he 

said, that you just kinda like, 
‘Did he really say that?’ ”

SR: 
“I 
can’t 
remember 

anything like that.”

Q: “What’s the funniest thing 

he’s said?”

SR: “I’m not sure. He has a 

lot of phrases. It’s like his own 
dictionary. It’s crazy. I wouldn’t 
even say that they’re funny. 
They all make sense and they all 
back up. It’s very motivational.”

TMD: “Do you find those 

phrases 
working 
themselves 

into your daily conversations 
now?”

SR: “Yeah. I will actually say 

the ‘elite’ thing threw me off. 
People ask me, ‘How are you 
doing?’ I’m like, ‘I’m good.’ Just 
a normal answer. But he was like, 
‘But what’s wrong?’ I’m like, 
‘What are you talking about? I 
just said I’m good.’ He’s like, ‘No, 
no, you didn’t say you’re elite.’ 

So it’s like, obviously have to get 
used to those kind of things, but 
there’s definitely a difference, 
and that’s what the culture has 
brought in.”

Q: “Given what transpired at 

the end of last season with the 
controversy and everything like 
that, did it almost feel like you 
guys had to go in a completely 
different 
direction 
with 
a 

different type of personality?”

SR: “Before I say anything, 

I want to say that I respect the 
coaches that I had. But I think 
it was necessary that we had to 
have the change. We’re learning 
things outside of just football. 
We’re learning socially. We’re 
learning how to treat women. 
… Like treat them as if they’re 
a queen. We’re talking about 
changing a narrative and not just 
having a stereotypical student-
athlete picture on how football 
players 
treat 
women. 
We’re 

changing the narrative to just 
becoming better men overall.”

TMD: 
“You 
guys 
played 

Michigan 
in 
2015. 
It 
was 

Harbaugh’s 
first 
year. 
Do 

you have any impression of 
Harbaugh as a coach?”

SR: “I think he’s a good 

coach. He’s a very tough coach 
to play against. That was a very 
emotional week because that’s 
when Coach Kill stepped down. 
Even though that was a really 
tough week and we still lost, 
that was still a really fun game. 
It was all the way down to the 
very last play. Going back to 
your question, he’s a really good 
coach. I respect him.”

TMD: “His antics are in the 

news often. Does that draw any 
similarities to Coach Fleck?”

SR: “I actually never thought 

about that connection, but yeah, 
I can definitely see it. How 
they’re just out there and very 
energetic coaches.”

TMD: “The way the game 

ended in 2015, does that provide 
any extra motivation when you 
guys play them this year?”

SR: “No, that’s just in the past. 

We’re going to play them like 
it’s any other game. We’re going 
to play them hard, like Coach 
talks about, changing our best. 
We’re going to play Buffalo the 
first game and that’s all we’re 
focused on.”

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

The Daily spoke with the Minnesota defensive lineman at Big Ten Media Days in July

FILE PHOTO/Daily

First-year coach P.J. Fleck will face the Wolverines for the first time in his Minnesota career Saturday night, hoping to reclaim the Little Brown Jug for the Golden Gophers.

