BTN's Tom Dienhart says in future, Gophs have "good shot to win Big Ten West"

[BleedGopher]

BTN's Tom Dienhart says in future, Gophs have "good shot to win Big Ten West"

per Tom Dienhart Q&A:

I really like Jerry Kill as the Minnesota coach. It remains to be seen if he and his staff can recruit at a high enough level to compete for division titles, but there seems to be no doubt he knows what he’s doing on the field. In fact, he reminds me a lot of Kirk Ferentz. I think the Gophers are trending up and look like a 7-5 team this year. Your thoughts? – Tim

I have been on record for some time about my admiration for Kill. I think he’s a terrific coach who has a great staff. In fact, his staff hasn’t changed since he arrived in the Twin Cities. Many of his assistants have been with him for years. Offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover may be the best of all of them. He’s a bright mind and great teacher. The Gophers never will get top-shelf talent; this is a developmental program. And Kill and Co., have proven adept over the years at finding rough gems and polishing them. Be patient, my friend. As for this year, 7-5 would be a best-case record. I think this may be a 6-6 team. And in the future, I think Minnesota will have a good shot to win the Big Ten West.

http://btn.com/2013/08/16/mailbag-can-rest-of-b1g-keep-up-with-michigan-ohio-state/

Go Gophers!!

 

[Schnauzer]

Never say never

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

The level of recruiting for the program will improve, but it will be incremental, almost unnoticeable to some. As the record slowly improves, the average star rating of the recruits will increase by perhaps several tenths each season.

This year and next year are huge. Plenty of things have gone wrong the last few years, they need some things to go right. The HEALTH of the team this year is absolutely critical. An injury-laden season like last year could be a threat to that progress, at least in the short term.

 

[Deleted_User]

I think the recruits for next Feb. are already looking a few tenths better than previous years. Very highly thought of recruits. All the services seem to be giving them good marks and high position values. We might have few recruits, but they are solid looking prospects.

 

[RedPoo]

That's a pretty equivocal endorsement of their progress. I'd say every team in the Big Ten West has a good chance at winning the division in the future. You could put Temple in the division and I'd say the same thing.

 

[Parski1]

How refreshing to hear somebody in the media say something positive about this program. I like this guy.