Demetrius Douglas Retires; Fleck Dances Around Questions On Other Rumored Opt-Outs

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Photo: Bruce Kluckhohn - Gopher Sports

Just moments before PJ Fleck’s press conference this afternoon, Minnesota Gophers depth wide receiver and punt returner, Demetrius Douglas, retired from football before the start of his redshirt junior season.

Fleck addressed the situation with his opening statement. He said that he and the University of Minnesota respect and support Demetrius Douglas’ decision to retire.

Rumors of Douglas’ departure had been floating around and all but verified at places like the GopherIllustrated.com chat boards. Demetrius made it Twitter official this afternoon. Douglas was, at best, 3rd wide receiver on the depth chart.

What’s Next?

With just three weeks until game 1 vs Michigan, Douglas might not be the last player we see opt-out for the 2020 season. It’s also known around inner-Gopher circles (again, subscribe to GopherIllustrated.com), that Daniel Faalele hasn’t been practicing with the team this fall. Linebacker, Braelyn Oliver, is in the same boat.

When asked specifically about the possibility of more opt-outs, PJ Fleck danced around questions and essentially said there are three weeks left until the season and he doesn’t want to address specific players who are deciding whether to opt-out or in for 2020. He doesn’t want to bring additional pressure to those players

In other words, most don’t know it yet… but we shouldn’t expect Daniel Faalele to be starting for the Minnesota Gophers offensive line vs Michigan in three weeks. Whether Faalele opts back in or not, there’s no chance he is ready for week 1 if he hasn’t been practicing with the team. We’ll see what news breaks for opt-ins and opt-outs in the coming days/weeks.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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