Coach Kills recruiting territories

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Bayfieldgopher

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I took a look at the current NIU roster which shows players from the following states: Illinois-55; Florida-12; Indiana & Wisconsin-7; Missouri-6; Michigan-5; Texas, California-3; Ohio, Georgia, Minnesota, N. Carolina, Kansas, Alabama-2; Arizona, New Jersey, Iowa, D.C. and Ontario-1

I hope the current Gopher verbals take a close look at Coach Kill's system, his track record and producing a winner at NIU with three recruiting classes at the bottom compared to the rest of the MAC. The parents should appreciate his no nonsene approach and genuine concern for his players.
 

His offense should appeal to just about any recruit - multi-dimensional, and something for everybody.
 

Jerry Kill has deep ties in the Kansas JUCO system.

His connections there was the reason current NFL players Brandon Jacobs and Deji Karim wound up at Southern Illinois.

Kill's philosophy is to build a foundation for a program with high schools then fill in holes with JUCO guys. He's done a very nice job of that in the past.
 

12 from Florida....that's actually quite surprising. And one of his signees last year was an LB out of Florida with an Ole Miss offer, a 3 star kid on Rivals. I'm curious to see what he can do with Big Ten and new stadium backing him in the homes of recruits rather than something called the MAC.
 

Kill Fan

Can you see him raising the level of recruits he brings to Minnesota?
 


His staff will be big.

The head coach is very important but lets not forget the big key to recruiting is the assistant coaches and the rest of the staff who do much of the ground work to bring in a recruit. NIU sure isnt a Big Ten program but Kill can coach. He has proven that over and over again. He now needs to prove he can improve players enough to make them live up to their potential but also get the guys with a higher level of potential so we can compete. If he can do that with our current talent some good things could happen sooner than expected.
 

His JC connections may come in handy as we could use some instant help/playing time experience at DE, DB and the OL.
 

Johnny Olson said:
Kill Fan

Can you see him raising the level of recruits he brings to Minnesota?
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He sold several future NFL players on the notion of playing at Southern Illinois, which had a 17,000 stadium built 75 years ago that was about to be condemed.

I don't think he'll have much trouble selling good recruits on the facilities at Minnesota.:)
 

JerryKillFan said:
He sold several future NFL players on the notion of playing at Southern Illinois, which had a 17,000 stadium built 75 years ago that was about to be condemed.

I don't think he'll have much trouble selling good recruits on the facilities at Minnesota.:)
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None of those guys had offers to top FBS schools.

I think its much different between selling good recruits to a FBS school like a Minnesota to selling recruits to FCS schools. On the FCS level you know the caliber of kids you're recruiting, and there really isn't any such thing as a FCS powerhouse when it comes to recruiting. What gets the recruits is being swayed by the Head Coach and buying into the plan, like you said Kill seems like he can do that very well.

But on this level one of the key elements to selling the program is the program itself. If we invested as much into our football program as Wisconsin & Iowa have done, then we should get similar results back. I think Kill is a solid hire due to his coaching experience, but its not the big name hire I expected or anyone else did. If there is any positive to this is that I dont see Kill using this job to get a bigger offer elsewhere.
 



When I was reading about Kill it mention he has a lot of recruiting connections in Florida
 


Gopher Fan said:
None of those guys had offers to top FBS schools.

I think its much different between selling good recruits to a FBS school like a Minnesota to selling recruits to FCS schools. On the FCS level you know the caliber of kids you're recruiting, and there really isn't any such thing as a FCS powerhouse when it comes to recruiting. What gets the recruits is being swayed by the Head Coach and buying into the plan, like you said Kill seems like he can do that very well.

But on this level one of the key elements to selling the program is the program itself. If we invested as much into our football program as Wisconsin & Iowa have done, then we should get similar results back. I think Kill is a solid hire due to his coaching experience, but its not the big name hire I expected or anyone else did. If there is any positive to this is that I dont see Kill using this job to get a bigger offer elsewhere.
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He somehow convinced Brandon Jacobs to leave this little school called Auburn for the cozy climes of Carbondale, IL.;)

Kill could sell ice cubs in International Falls come January. One of his current assistants told me once all they had to do was get a home visit and Kill would always seal the deal.

Are you going to get Top 10 classes from him? Doubt it.

But you are going to get good, solid classes that will have 4-5 years of coaching from a very good staff with an outstanding track record.
 

JerryKillFan said:
He somehow convinced Brandon Jacobs to leave this little school called Auburn for the cozy climes of Carbondale, IL.;)

Kill could sell ice cubs in International Falls come January. One of his current assistants told me once all they had to do was get a home visit and Kill would always seal the deal.

Are you going to get Top 10 classes from him? Doubt it.

But you are going to get good, solid classes that will have 4-5 years of coaching from a very good staff with an outstanding track record.
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Thats because Jacobs was buried on the depth chart and they were the only place willing to let him shine. Do you think if Jacobs could start over Ronnie & Cadillac that he would've picked Southern Illinois? Lets discuss reality here.

Im not expecting him to bring in Top 10 classes at all. I just want to see us build a real foundation for this program like you suggested he would be able to. I like the concept of building it on 4-5 year(redhsirt) guys, and plugging the holes with Juco talent. Throw in maybe 2-3 impact recruits each class and we can be contending for our division in a few years.

Do you know what members of his staff will he bring? Nothing against Brewster's Texas connection, but I'd like to see some guys on our staff that can really recruit Michigan, Wisconsin, & the Cincinatti area.
 



People talking about Kill's ability to sell the program is making me have horrific flashbacks about Brewster.
 



Dude, convincing anyone who dreams of having half a social-life to live in Carbondale or DeKalb is a miracle from God. Of course he will bring in better recruits than he did at those places.

There are countless advantages he has with the quality of education, new facilities, great cities, blah, blah, blah. Plus he won't have to convince anyone that his 1-11 season was a fluke!!
 


Gopher Fan said:
Thats because Jacobs was buried on the depth chart and they were the only place willing to let him shine. Do you think if Jacobs could start over Ronnie & Cadillac that he would've picked Southern Illinois? Lets discuss reality here.

Im not expecting him to bring in Top 10 classes at all. I just want to see us build a real foundation for this program like you suggested he would be able to. I like the concept of building it on 4-5 year(redhsirt) guys, and plugging the holes with Juco talent. Throw in maybe 2-3 impact recruits each class and we can be contending for our division in a few years.

Do you know what members of his staff will he bring? Nothing against Brewster's Texas connection, but I'd like to see some guys on our staff that can really recruit Michigan, Wisconsin, & the Cincinatti area.
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I suspect he'll bring his entire NIU staff to Minnesota. Those guys have been with him for many, many years. That should tell you something.

The Jacobs story was a bit of a stretch on my part (Jacobs thought he would be the starter at Auburn when Brown and Williams each announced they were leaving a year early for the NFL) but they both changed their mind and stuck around for their senior season.

Same thing happened with the former Gopher Terry Jackson. Did you know he played for Kill at SIU after leaving Minnesota? SIU was so loaded at running back (I believe Jacobs was there during that span) he didn't see a ton of playing time.

My point is no matter what the circumstances Kill finds a way to get talented players. I know in the past he has recruited the south, especially Louisiana, quite well.
 

What, if any, evidence do we have . . .

JerryKillFan said:
He sold several future NFL players on the notion of playing at Southern Illinois, which had a 17,000 stadium built 75 years ago that was about to be condemed.

I don't think he'll have much trouble selling good recruits on the facilities at Minnesota.:)
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that he can recruit the elite athletes needed to win in the Big Ten in a sufficient number on a regular basis. None. He has had a couple of studs go through his program over the years, but virtually every college in the land has placed one or two athletes in the NFL. I just don't see him competing with the coaches of the other major programs for these athletes. Neither he nor his staff have ever had been in this position.

I thought Bruininks recognized the need to get someone who could compete in this arena. Why did he let Joel fall short of the mark.
 

He does get to hire a recruiting coordinator, right???

So, we had a recruiter who couldn't coach and that didn't work. Now we've hired a coach with some questions about recruiting. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. The key to success is putting people around you that complement you. So, if I'm Coach Kill, I go find a top-notch recruiting coordinator.

Let's not panic before we see the total package...oh right, this is the Internet...my bad!

Go Gophers!
 

hillbillygopher said:
that he can recruit the elite athletes needed to win in the Big Ten in a sufficient number on a regular basis. None. He has had a couple of studs go through his program over the years, but virtually every college in the land has placed one or two athletes in the NFL. I just don't see him competing with the coaches of the other major programs for these athletes. Neither he nor his staff have ever had been in this position I thought Bruininks recognized the need to get someone who could compete in this arena. Why did he let Joel fall short of the mark.[/QUOTE

give the guy and his staff a chance to recruit before you go with the whole doom and gloom notion.

just becuase he hasn't done it before at a BCS school doesn't mean he can't land good recruiting classes.
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In state recruits

I hope that Kill recognizes the in state talent that is in Minnesota!:)
 

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