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Gophers safeties coach Danny Collins ‘poised’ in calling defense in bowl win

andy greder, pioneer press
·2 min read

DETROIT — With defensive coordinator Joe Rossi gone to Michigan State, the Gophers turned to safeties coach Danny Collins to call the U defense in Tuesday’s 30-24 win over Bowling Green in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Collins’ unit gave up a 75-yard touchdown drive on the opening series, but on the next seven Falcons drives, the U allowed a total of 76 yards. Bowling Green had success in the fourth quarter, producing 152 yards and two touchdowns, but head coach Fleck liked what he saw from his acting defensive coordinator.

“I knew he could do it,” Fleck said. “It was definitely a different person on the other side (of the headset). He was really poised. He was really confident. He believes in all of his guys.”

The Gophers played without their top three safeties and two of their top three linebackers, forcing the U to play a lot of inexperienced players. Freshman safety Kerry Brown made his first start and redshirt freshman Tyler Stolsky his second.

Defensive end Jah Joyner, who tied a U bowl record with two sacks on Tuesday, said he liked that Collins was aggressive in his calls.

Tuesday’s game was a full-circle moment for Collins, who was a ball boy for Western Michigan in the Little Caesars Bowl in this stadium in 2011. Then, when the U played in the Quick Lane Bowl in 2018, Collins was a gradate assistant at Minnesota for the Gophers’ win over Georgia Tech.

Collins pre-dated Fleck’s arrival as head coach at Western Michigan in 2014. Collins began working for the Broncos football department in 2012 and was a graduate assistant under Fleck in 2015-17.

Collins, of Oak Lawn, Ill., followed Fleck to Minnesota and was a defensive graduate assistant in 2015-16, then quality control and senior defensive analyst before moving into his current role in 2022.

Collins got the nod to call the defense over cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere. Monroe made the defensive calls in the U’s 28-20 win over Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City last year; then the Mahtomedi native joined the U staff.

Fleck has put together a list of candidates for the Gophers’ next DC and said he will work to hire a new defensive coordinator after the bowl game, with a possible announcement coming in early to mid-January. Fleck has a track record of hiring from outside and from within, with Rossi and current offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh being internal promotions.

With the new coordinator, Fleck plans to stick with the base 4-3 defensive front he has used throughout his coaching career.

Fleck’s teams have had quality defenses before Rossi’s tenure, including in 2016 when Western Michigan was tied for 15th in the nation in scoring defense (19.8 points per game) and 26th in total defense (353 yards allowed per game).

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