Keanon Cooper and Mike Rallis joined coach Kill on today's Sports Huddle at the Minnesota State Fair. Kill was on at his usual time slot; however, he stayed over the newsbreak for a few more questions and Keanon Cooper and Mike Rallis were on until about 10:20 a.m.
Sid and Dave asked coach Kill a lot of rapid fire questions.
Abbreviated summary:
1. Last Thursday's game: Kill was pleased with the defense, especially the safeties (Derrick Wells, Brock Vereen, and Cedric Thompson). He also cited the play of the defensive line (fifteen hits and two sacks on the UNLV quarterback). He was also pleased with the linebackers. Was not happy with the play of the cornerbacks, however. The cornerbacks "lost leverage" a few times. Was happy with the defense and the adjustments they made while facing a lot of new offensive looks from the Rebels, which they had not prepared for. Coach Hauck had reverted to his Montana days. Minnesota rotated the defensive line (nine players saw action). Kill said D L Wilhite played his best game, since Kill has been at Minnesota. He also cited Scott Epke's and Roland Johnson's line play. Overall, he was happy with the pressure by the front four.
Offense: Kill said Campion had a very good game, probably the best of the group. Not happy with the team's execution; mental mistakes on the snap counts. Passing game was a disappointment . . . missing open receivers down field (Gray was over anxious, according to Kill). Receivers did a good job catching the ball when the opportunity presented itself. Cited the receiving of A.J. Barker. Kill said Barker had a good camp, too. (If Gray had hit his open receivers, the Gophers would have won going away, said Kill.) He cited the hard running of Donnell Kirkwood, KJ Maye, James Gillum and Devon Wright. "Kirkwood ran hard."
They did not rotate players on the offensive line as they did on defense. Kill thought the heat (95-100 degrees at game time) may have affected their concentration at times, especially since they didn't rotate the linemen.
Kicking: Pleased with Jordan Wettstein's kicking and overcoming his initial missed field goal attempt. Was successful at the critical times in the three overtimes.
Punting: Struggled. However, he sounded pleased with Christian Eldred. (First game, every, by the Aussie.) Eldred punched kick a couple inside the twenty . . . wants them inside the ten. Sounded upbeat about the punting now that he's seen the group punt under game conditions. IMO, Christian Eldred has the inside track at this time. "We'll move forward and get better."
Kill was happy to see the team respond to adversity: "coming back after falling behind late in the game . . . we're still finding out about ourselves."
Nine true freshmen played in Thursday's game.
2. Upcoming opponent, New Hampshire: Been looking at a lot of film of New Hampshire. They're more athletic at certain spots than UNLV. Kill spoke hightly about their skill positions, especially at recevers.
Defense: New Hampshire, which beat Holy Cross yesterday, is aggressive on defense. They do a lot of blitzing.
Kill said it'll be good to play at home again. Game starts at 11 a.m. He said it's an opportunity for the fans and they (team) need their support. "It's important to create an exciting gameday environment . . . and we need to play better."
3. Jamel Harbison is out with a torn ACL. It was a clean tear. Harbison will soon have surgery. He's optimistic about the surgery and rehab. Harbison will be redshirted.
4) Sid was disappointed in Stoudermire's play at cornerback: Kill responded, "We're not the NFL . . . I don't get into negativity." Kill also said Stoudermire has only played five games at the cornerback position and had to sit out last year due to an injury.
5) Keanon Cooper said there's greater confidence and chemistry between the coaches and players this year. The players know what the coaches expect and coaches are more confident in their play.
6) Kill said Gray didn't have to scramble because the offensive line was doing a good job of pass blocking. Again, he said he was disappointed in the passing game; missed too many open receivers.
7) Keanon Cooper has graduated and is pursuing graduate work in kinesthesiology and Rallis is on track to graduate with a degree in marketing.
8) Kill spent some time talking about the new rule related to kick-offs. He expects most teams will try to kick the ball out of the end zone, even though the ball is then placed at twenty-five.
9) Kill also talked about the importance of defense . . . "Defense wins championships." He then referenced the smothering defense of Alabama. He went on to say defense and the recruiting of quality defensive players is a priority. Pleased with the play at safety (three interceptions Thursday night; whereas, they had only four all last year.) Cooper and Rallis credited the line play in the interceptions . . . a lot of pressure on the UNLV QB that was hit fifteen times and sacked twice.
Go Gophers!!
Sid and Dave asked coach Kill a lot of rapid fire questions.
Abbreviated summary:
1. Last Thursday's game: Kill was pleased with the defense, especially the safeties (Derrick Wells, Brock Vereen, and Cedric Thompson). He also cited the play of the defensive line (fifteen hits and two sacks on the UNLV quarterback). He was also pleased with the linebackers. Was not happy with the play of the cornerbacks, however. The cornerbacks "lost leverage" a few times. Was happy with the defense and the adjustments they made while facing a lot of new offensive looks from the Rebels, which they had not prepared for. Coach Hauck had reverted to his Montana days. Minnesota rotated the defensive line (nine players saw action). Kill said D L Wilhite played his best game, since Kill has been at Minnesota. He also cited Scott Epke's and Roland Johnson's line play. Overall, he was happy with the pressure by the front four.
Offense: Kill said Campion had a very good game, probably the best of the group. Not happy with the team's execution; mental mistakes on the snap counts. Passing game was a disappointment . . . missing open receivers down field (Gray was over anxious, according to Kill). Receivers did a good job catching the ball when the opportunity presented itself. Cited the receiving of A.J. Barker. Kill said Barker had a good camp, too. (If Gray had hit his open receivers, the Gophers would have won going away, said Kill.) He cited the hard running of Donnell Kirkwood, KJ Maye, James Gillum and Devon Wright. "Kirkwood ran hard."
They did not rotate players on the offensive line as they did on defense. Kill thought the heat (95-100 degrees at game time) may have affected their concentration at times, especially since they didn't rotate the linemen.
Kicking: Pleased with Jordan Wettstein's kicking and overcoming his initial missed field goal attempt. Was successful at the critical times in the three overtimes.
Punting: Struggled. However, he sounded pleased with Christian Eldred. (First game, every, by the Aussie.) Eldred punched kick a couple inside the twenty . . . wants them inside the ten. Sounded upbeat about the punting now that he's seen the group punt under game conditions. IMO, Christian Eldred has the inside track at this time. "We'll move forward and get better."
Kill was happy to see the team respond to adversity: "coming back after falling behind late in the game . . . we're still finding out about ourselves."
Nine true freshmen played in Thursday's game.
2. Upcoming opponent, New Hampshire: Been looking at a lot of film of New Hampshire. They're more athletic at certain spots than UNLV. Kill spoke hightly about their skill positions, especially at recevers.
Defense: New Hampshire, which beat Holy Cross yesterday, is aggressive on defense. They do a lot of blitzing.
Kill said it'll be good to play at home again. Game starts at 11 a.m. He said it's an opportunity for the fans and they (team) need their support. "It's important to create an exciting gameday environment . . . and we need to play better."
3. Jamel Harbison is out with a torn ACL. It was a clean tear. Harbison will soon have surgery. He's optimistic about the surgery and rehab. Harbison will be redshirted.
4) Sid was disappointed in Stoudermire's play at cornerback: Kill responded, "We're not the NFL . . . I don't get into negativity." Kill also said Stoudermire has only played five games at the cornerback position and had to sit out last year due to an injury.
5) Keanon Cooper said there's greater confidence and chemistry between the coaches and players this year. The players know what the coaches expect and coaches are more confident in their play.
6) Kill said Gray didn't have to scramble because the offensive line was doing a good job of pass blocking. Again, he said he was disappointed in the passing game; missed too many open receivers.
7) Keanon Cooper has graduated and is pursuing graduate work in kinesthesiology and Rallis is on track to graduate with a degree in marketing.
8) Kill spent some time talking about the new rule related to kick-offs. He expects most teams will try to kick the ball out of the end zone, even though the ball is then placed at twenty-five.
9) Kill also talked about the importance of defense . . . "Defense wins championships." He then referenced the smothering defense of Alabama. He went on to say defense and the recruiting of quality defensive players is a priority. Pleased with the play at safety (three interceptions Thursday night; whereas, they had only four all last year.) Cooper and Rallis credited the line play in the interceptions . . . a lot of pressure on the UNLV QB that was hit fifteen times and sacked twice.
Go Gophers!!
