Urban Meyer loves Drake Lindsey, remembers P.J. Fleck as a 'nut job'

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The Gophers are hosting FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff for the first time in program history on Saturday morning before squaring off with Michigan. The show features some historic college football figures, and none bigger than Urban Meyer.

The three-time national championship-winning head coach spoke to local Minnesota media on Friday afternoon, and he was very complimentary of the Gophers program and its history.

“They’ve never been bad… Jerry Kill did a hell of a job. Tracy Clays, didn’t he win like nine games? And P.J. has done a hell of a job here. Glenn Mason too,” he said.

Meyer coached some of the best quarterbacks of the last 25 years of college football, such as Tim Tebow, Alex Smith and J.T. Barrett, to name a few. He was asked about Minnesota’s rising signal caller, Drake Lindsey, and he sounds impressed.

“I talked to Todd McShay, who’s a draft analyst. I said, ‘How good is this guy?’ Those kinds of quarterbacks, you don’t really see them as much anymore, just a big stationary quarterback. 10 years ago, he might’ve been top 12. [McShay] thinks he could still sneak into the first round. He has got a laser… He was a risk-taker against Washington last week. He threw three balls where I would’ve said, ‘Don’t throw it! Nice throw, Drake.’ Just a big, strong-armed kid; doesn’t make mistakes,” he said.

Lindsey might face his stiffest test of the season this week against a Michigan defense that ranks near the top of the country in numerous categories. Former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Matt Leinart is also part of Big Noon Kickoff, and he appears to be very impressed by Minnesota’s QB1.

Meyer coached against Minnesota just twice during his tenure at Ohio State, but both matchups happened before P.J. Fleck was hired as the program’s head coach in 2017. He recalled that the first time he met Fleck was at Rutgers, when Fleck was the wide receivers coach under Greg Schiano from 2010 to 2011.

“I’ve known P.J. a long, long time. He’s a very consistent coach. He’s an energy guy. First time I met P.J., he was a receivers coach at Rutgers with Greg Schiano, one of my closest friends. I am watching practice, and I’m like, ‘Who’s that nut job?’ I mean nut job… His energy is unbelievable,” Meyer said.

Fleck and the Gophers will look to beat Michigan on Saturday as 5.5-point underdogs. A victory over the Wolverines would be Minnesota’s first time winning the Little Brown Jug since 2014, and it would be a major statement to the nation that Minnesota is a legitimate threat in the Big Ten.

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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