Gopher Football Coach PJ Fleck Speaks Highly Of Spann-Ford

University of Minnesota football coach PJ Fleck was full of praise for former Tech Tiger football standout on his weekly radio show Tuesday afternoon. "Gopher Football Weekly" airs every Tuesday from 12-1 on AM 1390 Granite City Sports.

Co-host Mark Rosen fed Fleck a question he received on Twitter regarding the freshman tight end. Fleck quickly perked up and offered his thoughts on Spann-Ford and explained why he hasn't seen much playing time so far this season.

"I would play him right now, but I don't think he's ready yet," Fleck said. "I don't want to sacrifice anything right now where he gets an injury, possibly, or he has to break his redshirt year, so I am being very cautious with him."

Fleck said that Spann-Ford is "a big kid," but also said that he will have to add strength before he can see regular playing time.

"He's getting better and he works so hard at his game," Fleck said. "Physically, he's big, but just because you're big doesn't mean you are strong, he's got to keep developing that strength."

Fleck added that the younger players on the team hold a regular scrimmage on Sunday night, and that Spann-Ford has been one of the standouts at those events.

"We have a Sunday night scrimmage with the guys who are maybe not playing a lot, and Brevyn Spann-Ford tore it up," Fleck said. "This young man is going to be a very special player for us into the future, and he's a tremendous human being."

"This guy is unbelievable," Fleck said. "You need to be getting your Brevyn Spann-Ford jerseys now."