In the locker room after the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ season-opening 38-0 victory over the New Mexico State Aggies, head coach P.J. Fleck awarded game balls to Mohamed Ibrahim and Trey Potts. Both running backs had bounced back from season-ending injuries a year ago to combine for 221 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the season opener.
But defensive coordinator Joe Rossi had one game ball left to give.
“Hold on, coach,” Rossi can be heard saying near the conclusion of a video shared by the team’s Twitter account Friday night. The video is edited so that we don’t get the full context of what he said next, but the note Rossi ends on is certainly telling: “We knew you’d be the utmost professional, because that’s what you are.