Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

P.J. Fleck praises David Blough, reminisces on Purdue QB’s 2017 Kickoff Luncheon speech

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck has a lot of respect for Purdue quarterback David Blough. Not just for what the senior can do on the field, but for how he handles himself as a person.

During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Fleck previewed the Gophers’ matchup with the Boilermakers this weekend. And the Minnesota head coach gushed over Blough, reminiscing on his speech at the B1G Kickoff Luncheon prior to the 2017 season.

There’s no question that Fleck has a tremendous amount of respect for the Purdue gunslinger.

“He has failed a lot to be successful,” Fleck said Tuesday. “He talked two years ago at B1G Media Day. It was one of the most impressive speeches I’ve ever heard a young person ever talk. I actually went in the hallway, met him afterwards and said ‘I have never heard that come from a student-athlete’s mouth, in my entire life.'”

Blough gave the keynote speech at the B1G Kickoff Luncheon last summer, and was met with incredible applause. He even received a standing ovation for his words.

On Saturday, the quarterback that Fleck admires so much will be the enemy, and a tough one to rattle. This season, Blough has thrown for 2,683 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing passes at a 66 percent clip.

It’s a tough task for a Minnesota defense that has allowed over 600 yards of production in two of the last three weeks. The Gophers may look a little different on that side of the ball though, as Fleck fired defensive coordinator Robb Smith earlier this week.

Purdue is still in the mix for the B1G West crown while Minnesota is fighting for bowl eligibility.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB