Gophers Pregame Show: Dragan Kesich 1-on-1

WELCOME BACK TO THE GOPHER PREGAME SHOW. WELCOME BACK INTO THE GOPHER. PREGAME SHOW. WE HEAR IT SO OFTEN FROM P.J. FLECK THAT THE GOPHERS SEEM TO BE GREAT IN OFFENSE, DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS AND WHO BETTER TO REPRESENT THE SPECIAL TEAMS UNIT THAN THE PLACEKICKER HIMSELF? DRAGAN KESIC DRAGAN, WELCOME TO THE SHOW. THANKS FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE. FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE GOT TO START WITH THE PANTS. THE PANTS ARE AWESOME. THANK YOU. WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PANTS? WELL, IT'S A WHOLE TRACKSUIT OUTFIT. I TOOK THE TOP OFF, BUT I BOUGHT IT OFF A WEBSITE. IT LOOKED COOL. AND NOW I'M KIND OF KNOWN FOR WEARING MY TRACKSUITS ON SUNDAYS. REALLY? YEAH TRACKSUIT. SUNDAYS, WHAT I CALL IT. HOW MANY TRACKSUITS DO YOU HAVE? OH, TOO MANY. WHICH ONE IS YOUR FAVORITE ONE? WHAT? THIS ONE RIGHT HERE. RIGHT HERE. JUST FOR THE SHOW. YOUR FAVORITE TRACKSUIT. I LOVE IT. FANTASTIC. WE LOVE HEAR THAT? WELL LET'S FOCUS ON FOOTBALL JUST FOR THE TIME BEING. WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF LATER. BUT FOOTBALL, FOR THE TIME BEING , IT'S BEEN AN UP AND DOWN SEASON FOR YOU GUYS. OVERALL, IT'S BEEN UP AND THEN IT'S BEEN DOWN AND NOW YOU GUYS ARE IN A LITTLE BIT OF A FUNK AGAIN. BUT WHAT IS BEING SAID RIGHT NOW IN THE LOCKER ROOM TO KIND OF KEEP THE MESSAGE OF WE STILL HAVE TWO MORE GAMES LEFT, WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO BE BOWL ELIGIBLE. WHAT'S THE MESSAGE LIKE AMONG THE GROUP? YOU GOT TO KEEP THE WALLS HIGHER. YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO KEEP THE INTERNAL MESSAGE LOUDER THAN THE EXTERNAL MESSAGE. AND I THINK LIKE GOING INTO THIS WEEK AGAINST THE HOUSE, IT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GO OUT FOR THE SENIORS. YOU KNOW, LIKE BREVIN NEWBERN, CHRIS, LIKE ALL THESE GUYS WHO HAVE PUT IN YEARS AND YEARS OF HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO THIS PROGRAM. IT'S FOR THEM AND IT'S A GAME THAT WE TRULY THINK THAT WE CAN WIN. AND IT'S JUST ABOUT GOING OUT THERE. AND LIKE I SAID, KEEPING THE WALLS HIGHER AND ATTACKING THE DAY. LET'S STAY WITH OHIO STATE NOW. POINTS ARE GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU GUYS IN A GAME LIKE THIS. YOU CAN'T MISS ANY OPPORTUNITY. SO AS A KICKER, WHEN YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAME LIKE THIS, I'M NOT THINKING YOU'RE PUTTING EXTRA PRESSURE ON YOURSELF BY ANY MEANS. BUT HOW IMPORTANT IS IT KNOWING THAT EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOU GET AGAINST THIS TEAM, YOU GOT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF? YEAH, IT'S THAT'S HOW I GO INTO EVERY GAME. BUT THIS ONE, ESPECIALLY WITH, YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW HOW GOOD OHIO STATE IS, BUT BEING ABLE TO EXECUTE ON EVERY FIELD GOAL, EVERY EXTRA POINT, HOPEFULLY IT'S A LOT OF EXTRA POINTS THIS WEEK. BUT YEAH IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN IT WAS IN THE PAST, BUT IT'S STILL VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MENTIONED IT'S A GAME THAT YOU GUYS THINK YOU CAN WIN. I'M I'M GOING TO BE REALLY HONEST WITH YOU. EVERYBODY OUT THERE IS NOT PICKING YOU TO WIN. THEY'RE NOT. BUT IN HERE YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN WIN. WHY? YEAH, BECAUSE OUR OUR BOND. OUR BROTHERHOOD TOGETHER. WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT. AND WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR PAST TO CREATE OUR FUTURE. AND WE STILL HAVE YET TO PLAY OUR BEST BALL. AND WE GOT TWO GAMES LEFT TO PLAY. AND I DON'T SEE WHY WE CAN'T PLAY OUR BEST BALL IN THIS GAME. FOR YOURSELF PERSONALLY, YOU'VE HAD A FEW BIG MOMENTS THIS SEASON. YOU KNOW THE OPENING GAME AGAINST NEBRASKA, AKA THE IOWA GAME WHERE YOU KICK FOUR FIELD GOALS. YOU WERE THE ONLY POINTS IN THAT GAME FOR MINNESOTA. WHAT HAS THIS SEASON BEEN LIKE FOR YOU? MAN, IT'S SOME WOULD SAY, A DREAM. YOU KNOW, BACK UP. MATTHEW TRICKETT FOR TWO YEARS WAS A BLESSING IN DISGUISE. YOU KNOW, THAT THAT MAN TAUGHT ME SO MUCH ABOUT KICKING AND ELEVATING MY FIELD GOAL GAME AND BEING ABLE TO LIKE WIN SOME OF THESE GAMES FOR THE TEAM. AND IT'S A WHOLE TEAM EFFORT BECAUSE THE OFFENSE HAS TO GET YOU IN THAT POSITION. THE DEFENSE HAS TO MAKE STOPS AND ME BEING ABLE TO FINISH IT, IT JUST IT'S MOMENTS KICKERS DREAM OF. AND I'VE BEEN ABLE TO I'VE BEEN ABLE TO FULFILL THOSE DREAMS. YEAH. AND IN THOSE MOMENTS, YOU'VE PROVEN THAT YOU CAN BE RELIED UPON IN THE BIG MOMENT. HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THAT GIVE YOU MOVING FORWARD? IT GIVES ME A TON OF CONFIDENCE, AND THE REASON I HAVE THAT MUCH CONFIDENCE IS BECAUSE I HAVE SO MUCH CONFIDENCE IN BRADY WEEKS. PROBABLY THE BEST LONGSNAPPER IN THE COUNTRY. YOU GOT MARC CRAWFORD WHO HIS HOLES ARE IMMACULATE. YOU KNOW, YOU GOT A GREAT PROTECTION UP FRONT. SO ME BEING ABLE TO HAVE CONFIDENCE IS BECAUSE I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEM. AND THEN I DON'T HAVE TO RELY ON AS MANY THINGS. I CAN JUST RELY ON MY MECHANICS AND MY TECHNIQUE TO BE ABLE TO GET THE BALL THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS. YOU MENTIONED MARC CRAWFORD'S HOLDS ARE IMMACULATE. WHAT GOES INTO AN IMMACULATE HOLD, FROM YOUR OPINION? THE TILT THE SPOT, EVERYTHING. JUST GETTING THE BALL DOWN IN TIME SO I CAN SEE IT FOR BECAUSE WE GET THE KICK OFF AND ROUGHLY LIKE 1.25 TO 1.3 SECONDS. SO THE FASTER CROFT CAN GET IT DOWN, THE LONGER I CAN SEE IT, WHICH MAKES ME FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE. YOU KNOW, WE WERE JOKING WITH PJ, NOT THAT LONG AGO ABOUT HOW SOME COACHES, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE KICKERS GO OUT IN PRACTICE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE COACHES GO IN AND GET COFFEE AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN PAYING ATTENTION, NOT PJ HE'S NO, HE'S LASER FOCUSED ON THE SPECIAL TEAMS UNIT. WHAT IS IT LIKE HAVING HIM WITH HIS EYES ON YOU IN PRACTICE? LIKE THAT? IT'S AWESOME. EVEN TODAY AT PRACTICE. YET HE HAS ALL EYES ON ME AND JACOB LEWIS, BUT IT HONESTLY I FEEL MORE PRESSURE AT PRACTICE THAN I DO IN GAMES, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I HAVE THE HEAD COACH WATCHING ME KICK AT PRACTICE. SO IT HELPS ME IN GAMES. IT HELPS ME PERFORM. SO I HOPE HE KEEPS DOING IT BECAUSE IT TRULY DOES MAKE ME BETTER. LET'S GO BACK TO CRAWFORD FOR A SECOND. WE HEAR THAT THE TWO OF YOU ARE GOOD BUDDIES AND WE KIND OF FEEL LIKE THERE SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF LIKE, BUDDY COP COMEDY STARRING THE TWO OF YOU. DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR HOLDER, MARC CRAWFORD IT'S A FANTASTIC RELATIONSHIP. YOU KNOW, HIM AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT DOING SO MANY THINGS, LIKE STARTING PODCASTS AND LIKE EVEN GOING THROUGH CAMPUS AND HAVING PEOPLE LIKE KICK FIELD GOALS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO WE HAVE A WE HAVE A LOT OF CRAZY THOUGHTS, BUT WE NEVER KIND OF WE NEVER ACTUALLY DO THEM. BUT HIM AND I HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP. YOU KNOW, WE TALK EVERY DAY AND OBVIOUSLY AT PRACTICE, WE'RE OUT AT PRACTICE WORKING TOGETHER EVERY SINGLE DAY. HE'S PROBABLY ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS ON THE TEAM. I CAN GO TO HIM WITH ANYTHING AND HE'S AN OLDER GENTLEMAN, SO HE'S SEEN A LOT MORE THAN I HAVE. SO HE GIVES ME HE GIVES ME A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE. BUT YEAH, HE'S DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY A GOOD GUY TO HAVE AND TRULY THANKFUL FOR HIM. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE KICKER POSITION? HMM. THAT IT'S EASY. THERE'S ONE MISCONCEPTION. OKAY. YEAH I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. IT'S MORE IT'S MORE MENTALLY TOUGH THAN IT IS PHYSICAL. TOUGH OBVIOUSLY, WE KNOW THAT IT'S A MENTAL THING. LIKE WHEN YOU MISS ONE GOING BACK OUT THERE, IT'S REALLY A MENTAL BATTLE. SO JUST HAVING THAT MINDSET WHERE IF YOU MISS ONE, FORGET ABOUT IT, LET IT GO. SO THAT'S ONE ONE, MISS CONCEPTION, ANOTHER MISCONCEPTION IS THAT WE DON'T DO ANYTHING AT PRACTICE. WE GO OUT THERE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THAN THE TEAM GET OUR WORK DONE AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF SHY AWAY FROM THE TEAM, GET OUR INDIVIDUAL WORK DONE, AND THEN COME BACK OUT WHEN WE HAVE TO HELP WITH OTHER SPECIAL TEAMS, UNITS AND STUFF LIKE THAT INTO THE CORNER. BUT OH, THERE GOES A PANE OF GLASS ON A JIGSAW. NICK LUCIJ HIT NHL OR MILAN LUCIC IS A RELATIVE OF YOURS, CORRECT? DID I READ THAT CORRECT? YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. THE RELATION SHOUT OUT THE BOSTON BRUINS, BUT NO FREE SHOUT OUTS. BUT YEAH HE'S HE'S ON MY DAD'S SIDE AND MY DAD ALWAYS EXPLAINS TO ME IT'S LIKE SOMETHING LIKE MY GRANDPA'S COUSINS SON IT'S LIKE IT'S A DISTANT RELATIVE. YEAH, SURE, SURE. YEAH. I'VE MET HIM A COUPLE TIMES. GREAT GUY. HE PLAYED AT THE TWINS LAST YEAR AND MY BROTHER AND MY COUSIN, I WENT AND GOT SAW. I GOT TO SEE HIM AFTER THE GAME. SO. YEAH, IT'S COOL HAVING ONE OF THE HARDEST HITTERS IN THE NHL. IS YOUR COUSIN, SO IT'S AWESOME TO GET THIS PUCK OUT OF HIS GUYS. JUSTIN, RON, I GOT TO TELL YOU, THESE GUYS, THE SPECIAL TEAMERS, DRAGAN, MARK CRAWFORD LISTEN, FOX NINE IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR PROGRAMING. I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE A BUDDY COP COMEDY STARRING THE TWO OF THEM. JUSTIN, I THINK YOU AND I WOULD TUNE INTO THAT. NO PROBLEM. RIGHT OKAY. I ABSOLUTELY. THEY'VE BEEN INCREDIBLE. THEY'RE FUN. THEY'RE GUYS WERE WHEN YOU SHOW UP TO PRACTICE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE ONES COMING OVER BECAUSE THEY'VE PRACTICED THEIR HOLDS. RIGHT. RON WOULD SAY THEY'RE OFF TO THE SIDE. WE DON'T DEAL WITH THE KICKERS. YOU KNOW, WHENEVER A SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER COMES UP, WHO'S THE GUY THAT STAYS ON THE SET? IT AIN'T RON JOHNSON. IT'S JUSTIN GARDE. RIGHT. BUT WE LOVE THOSE GUYS AND THEY'VE GOT SUCH A GREAT VIBE AND YOU KNOW, MARK CRAWFORD, WE HAD HIM ON THE SHOW EARLIER, 30 YEAR OLD LIVING HIS BEST LIFE JUST HANGING OUT, YOU KNOW, BEING A PUNTER, HANGING OUT WITH HIS NEW BEST FRIEND, DRAGAN KESICH. AND BY THE WAY, KESICH HAS HAD A GREAT YEAR. I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT IT, PIERRE , THE MVP OF THE SPECIAL TEAMS UNIT. THE FACT THAT HE CAN JUST KICK IT INTO THE END ZONE EVERY SINGLE KICKOFF THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE WEAPON. SO THE FACT THAT HE'S A GREAT DUDE ON TOP OF IT IS REALLY ADDS TO THE STORY. NOW, DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU MISS OUT ON WHEN YOU DON'T TALK TO THE SPECIAL TEAMERS? THIS IS THIS IS THE KIND OF ENTERTAINING CONVERSATION YOU GET. THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON. RON I HEART YOU GUYS. YEAH. THE ONE THING I WILL SAY ABOUT KESICH TODAY MIGHT BE A DAY WHERE HE NEEDS TO KICK SIX FIELD GOALS LIKE IF THEY CAN GET INTO THE RED ZONE AS LONG AS THEY WALK AWAY WITH FIELD GOALS, THAT'S A WIN AGAINST OHIO STATE, WHICH IS THE NUMBER TWO SCORING DEFENSE IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL ARENA. AND SO KESICH TODAY IS GOING TO BE HIGHLY NEEDED. SO I HOPE HE'S OUT THERE WARMING UP ON THAT FIELD. WELL NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT EVENTUALLY WARMING UP ON THAT FIELD AND FEELING EVERY SINGLE SPOT INSIDE THE 40 OF WHERE HE MIGHT HAVE TO KICK FROM. BECAUSE TODAY IS GOING TO BE A FIELD GOAL TYPE OF DAY AND THAT MIGHT BE JUST ENOUGH. YOU NEVER KNOW. POINTS WILL BE AT A PREMIUM. AND YEAH, MINNESOTA DIDN'T NEED TO