P.J. Fleck happy with explosiveness from wide receivers headed into Illinois game

Off to a 4-0 start, the Minnesota Golden Gophers received 15 votes in the latest AP Poll.

Their second B1G game of the season, Minnesota has a prime opportunity to move to 5-0 when they host Illinois on Saturday (3:30PM ET, BTN).

Throwing for nearly 400 yards (396) in the team’s victory over Purdue on September 28, redshirt sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan has generated a lot of hype with his impressive start. Head coach P.J. Fleck, however, made sure to commend the team’s wide receiver corps for the job they have done thus far.

Via the program’s official Twitter account:

"I was really happy with the amount of explosive plays we had that we executed… they're showing what kind of team we could be, as wide receivers." Coach Fleck on the success of the wide receivers at Purdue.

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) October 1, 2019

Completing 21-22 passes, Morgan’s favorite target in the Purdue victory was sophomore Rashod Bateman. Catching two touchdowns in the game, Bateman is averaging 22.2 YPC on 21 receptions this season.

Senior Tyler Johnson, the team’s second-leading receiver, caught eight passes vs. the Boilermakers and leads the team with 25 receptions.

Perhaps most encouraging from this unit has been the big plays they have ripped off. Redshirt sophomore Chris Autman-Bell’s touchdown vs. Purdue went for 70-yards and Bateman’s two scores were from 45 and 47-yards.

On the heels of a 7-6 season in 2018, the Gophers have positioned themselves well for an improvement in the win column this season.

The play of Bateman, Johnson and Autman-Bell is a big reason why.