P.J. Fleck still has questions about Minnesota's offensive line

Minnesota is looking for the right combination of players to use up front.

Sep 7, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) runs for a touchdown against the Rhode Island Rams during the first half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers' 48-0 win over Rhode Island was a dominant offensive performance, but P.J. Fleck is still learning about his team before Big Ten play. Star running back Darius Taylor showed his explosiveness and new quarterback Max Brosmer showed a drastic improvement from game one, but the offensive line still looks like a question mark.

At his press conference Monday, Fleck was asked about what he wants to learn about this team before Big Ten play gets underway in Week 4 and he was quick to mention the offensive line as an area that has a lot of room to grow.

"I think as we keep going forward, if you ask specifically, our offensive line," Fleck answered. "It kind of reminds me a little bit of the 2019 offensive line where we played a lot of different players and I think you can see that. It's not like it's going to be like, oh, there's some controversy in who's the fifth. We're gonna play probably a lot of guys as the season goes through, and I think that might be what's best for this particular year."

Before kicking off against Rhode Island, the Gophers made a switch up front, moving Quinn Carroll back to right tackle and Martes Lewis back to right guard. Both players started at those positions last season, but they tried changing it up in Week 1.

Redshirt sophomore Ashton Beers replaced Lewis early in the game at right guard and played a team-high 63 snaps. He had played only three snaps in his career before Saturday and he earned a 58.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Redshirt freshman Phillip Daniels mixed in at right tackle for 13 plays and redshirt sophomore Tony Nelson played 13 snaps at left guard. The Gophers played eight offensive linemen before mixing in some other players in cleanup duty once they extended their lead.

"That gives credit and says a lot about the development of a lot of those other guys," Fleck said. "The Ashton Beers, Tony Nelson, Phillip Daniels, and guys like that have come on strong. So I think you're going to see that, where I think it wasn't until after the bye week of '19 that we're actually kind of settled on really six offensive linemen."

With four returning starters, Minnesota's offensive line was expected to be a strength of the team in 2024. After allowing five sacks in the season opener against North Carolina, they only allowed one sack against Rhode Island. Nevada will be an opportunity to refine things up front before things get really real against Iowa on Sept. 28.