P.J. Fleck admiring Drake Lindsey’s growth from times of adversity

CHICAGO — The quarterback is putting past mistakes in the rearview mirror, and focusing on being the focal point of Minnesota’s offense this fall, which his head coach finds encouraging.

It’s not uncommon for an underage college student to have possession of fake identification, and alcohol when it comes to the nightlife. However, when you’re a starting signal-caller for a Power Four program, and receive detainment after committing those infractions, it could potentially be a setback.

There was disappointment when Coach P.J. Fleck found out about Lindsey’s incident back in May, but he watched the gunslinger mature over the past three months. Lindsey took accountability for his actions in Arkansas, apologized to his teammates and coaches, and worked harder at being a responsible person on and off the field.

“He (Lindsey) has grown tremendously, he is the best leader that he’s ever been, and if you look at his body he’s completely changing it, and his leadership has gone through the roof,” Fleck said. “I just think he learned a lot from that, and when you can learn from it, then you can look at it as part of your life like that was worth it.”

Now the entire team is rallying behind Lindsey in fall camp, and he’s continuing to make strides as a passer. Lindsey understands his role as the face of the program, and will no longer take anything for granted. Gaining back the trust of his teammates didn’t happen overnight, but Lindsey didn’t hesitate to make the necessary sacrifices for the betterment of the Golden Gophers.

“I think as a leader of a team, you definitely can’t put yourself in those situations,” Lindsey said. “I’m definitely learning a lot, growing as a leader, growing as a player, so I’m definitely learning for sure.”

Lindsey’s future looks bright with the program, after starting all 13 games last season, and winning eight of them. The Arkansas native had some bright moments too. He threw for a season-high, 324 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Rutgers. Not to mention Lindsey passed for four touchdowns at Northwestern.

Still, Lindsey understands there’s room for improvement, after finishing 66th nationally in completion percentage, and 92nd in passing efficiency. Which is why he’s going full throttle preparing for every aspect of the game, and realizing that great quarterbacks make others around them better.

“I think you have to attack it everyday with a 1-0 mentality, whether that’s practice, film meetings, or whatever it might be,” he said. “Taking that super serious, and ultimately doing it for something bigger than yourself.”

Moving forward Lindsey knows when it comes to making decisions, that he’s not only doing it for himself, but also for his teammates. Selfish moves will no longer be tolerated. Most importantly, Lindsey realizes with great power, comes great responsibility, and his goal is for the Golden Gophers to remain a brotherhood.

“Just continuing to trust in my teammates, putting in a lot of time with them on and off the field, making sure they know how much I care about them as an individual person, and not even the football things.”