Gophers receivers’ weekly version of hot potato deepens bonds, sets the mood

Andy Greder, Pioneer Press
·4 min read
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NEW YORK CITY — The game doesn’t have an official name and only a select few can play it one day a week. The rules are unwritten, and the champion hoists only bragging rights.

The receiving corps on teams coached by P.J. Fleck have been playing this sort of hot-potato game since he was an assistant at Northern Illinois from 2007-09. It was a hit during his one year coaching receivers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has been a staple for the position group at Western Michigan and now with the Gophers.

Minnesota’s receivers played it Tuesday — in its regular slot two days before a game — with the Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse coming up at 1 p.m. CT Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

After the regular walk-through practice that centers on mental preparation for their assignments within the game plan, the receivers come together to form a giant circle. One player will underhand pass the ball to another. If the pass is outside of the receiver’s catch radius, the thrower is eliminated. If the receiver can’t catch the ball or doesn’t make a legitimate attempt to catch it, he is out. The last man standing wins.

“You are always looking for a way to cut some sort of tension, still compete and have fun with it,” Fleck said.

Receivers coach Matt Simon serves as referee, while Fleck will look on. “It’s really not that exciting,” Fleck joked during one round the Pioneer Press watched before the Nebraska game in November.

Eleven receivers played on Nov. 3. Dylan Wright was knocked out for an errant pass over Clay Geary’s head. Quintin Redding was cut after not catching an outside pass from Ike White.

Simon was forced into making some tough calls and his kangaroo court faced complaints.

“Deep down, guys know when they should or shouldn’t be out,” Simon said. “They want to put up a fight and after a minute, it’s, ‘OK, you’re right.’ ”

Once it’s whittled down to a final four, players can start passing to the guy next to him. In that November session, White hit Mike Brown-Stephens with a no-look pass that caught Brown-Stephens off guard and he dropped it. Teammates howled and Brown-Stephens scowled.

Daniel Jackson whipped a ball at White but he caught it and immediately passed it to Le’Meke Brockington, who couldn’t bring it in off his right shoulder and was eliminated.

In the final, White put some English on his first pass to Jackson and the corkscrewing ball was too difficult for Jackson to bring in. White won.

“It’s awesome to be able to watch those guys be able to compete with themselves and some guys act like, ‘Ah shucks’, but you know it burns down inside.”

After a practice this week at Fordham University, Jackson tried to claim he’s the best current player.

“Honestly I want to say myself, but if we have to go off (wins), freshman Ike White has the most dubs,” Jackson said. “He came in and did that.”

Fleck said former Bucs star Vincent Jackson was one of the best to play it during Fleck’s one season in the NFL in 2012.

“Vincent had a streak of six in a row, which is really hard to do,” Fleck said. “That was why he was an all-pro receiver.”

With winning come consequences.

“You start to see who they don’t want to win,” Fleck said. “Usually the person that wins all the time, they hate the most, and they root against. Everybody piles on. It’s like Big Brother, the (reality TV) show. There are these alliances made and you start to see this is getting way bigger than a hot potato game.”

At Western Michigan, future first-round draft pick Corey Davis was among the standouts in this game. At Minnesota, it has been the usual suspects: Rashod Bateman, Tyler Johnson and Chris Autman-Bell.

Like all the great ones, they push boundaries on the rules. Passes are supposed to be above the knees, so Rashod would drop from his feet to his knees to make his catch radius smaller. Passes that would typically hit a player in the chest would instead go over Bateman’s head and he wouldn’t make a serious attempt.

That’s when Simon had to put in the “Rashod Rule.” Players have to stand up, and if the pass is in your area, you have to try to catch it.

With Autman-Bell injured, Simon said this year’s winners have been pretty spread out.

When Jackson arrived at Minnesota three years ago, the Kansas native had to learn the rules. He now says winning this game takes skill, finesse and strategy.

If a player emerges as a consistent winner, others in the game will gang up to knock him out. Trickery in the passes are vital — knuckleballs, fastballs and curves; high, low, right in the stomach. Soft hands are a prerequisite, and nonchalance can be helpful.

“It’s a fun game to play,” Jackson said. “It really connects us, gets us in the mood and calms the nerves.”

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