There's not a lot of head coaches in college football who know wide receivers quite as well as Minnesota's P.J. Fleck.
Fleck starred as a receiver at Northern Illinois, catching 77 passes for 1,098 yards and six touchdowns as a senior in 2003. Now, with Minnesota set to take on Indiana's pair of talented receivers in Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, Fleck was asked what's made them so great through the lens of a former pass catcher.
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"I don't know if I can relate much to them as a receiver," Fleck said with a smile. "They're a lot bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic than I ever was, so I don't know what that's like to be like that."
Fleck called the two dynamic with their ability to use their size downfield to provide bigger targets in the passing game while using more finesse in the short game.
"They can make every catch, they can run every route in the route tree, they threaten you constantly with speed down the field vertically, they're loose-hipped, they've got great body control, great center of gravity, they're tremendous in contested catches, they've all made high pressure situation catches… I mean, what, do you want me to keep going, [asker]?"
"They're two of the best in the country on one team."
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Becker leads Indiana in just about every receiving category with 42 receptions, 726 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Marsh isn't far behind with 34 receptions, 610 yards and seven touchdowns. They're Indiana's top two options, by far, with 76 of the Hoosiers' 121 catches on the season.
They're not only dangerous in the air though. Fleck noted that Indiana makes sure to use that as well with additional emphasis on their ability in the run game as downfield blockers.
"They're the defending national champions for a reason and a top five team in the country for a reason."
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