Coach Kill’s responses and comments to today’s queries by Sid Hartman and Dave Mona on ‘CCOs Sports Huddle:
1) Sid Hartman opened the show bemoaning the fact that college basketball coaches can have contact with their players during the off-season but football coaches can’t: Referring to the topic of contact with players: “It’s come up many times,” said Kill. He also listed some changes that have come about, including, “We can meet a couple hours a week in the classroom – looking at film – and the weight room.” He also said they can briefly watch some of the voluntary workouts; however, they cannot provide any instruction.
2) Sid mentioned a visit by Coach Kill and his wife, Rebecca, to Rochester (Mayo Clinic – St. Mary’s Hospital) to see Peter Westerhaus. According to Sid, Westerhaus is undergoing medical treatments and was surprised by the visit: “Pete’s a tremendous kid,” said Kill. He then said Conor Cosgrove’s cancer is in remission and that Pete Westerhaus showed up for an event celebrating the good news.
Kill also said, “Through his battles (Westerhaus) he’s been mentally tough . . . I’m proud of him.” Kill added, Peter Westerhaus is going through some difficult times (medically), “Prayers need to go out.”
3) Sid asked if there are any position changes now that the coaching staff has had a chance to review films from spring drills: Kill said that there aren’t any real changes; however, he did say they want to increase the numbers on the offensive line (depth), as they have on the defensive line. He’d like to see eight to ten players - for depth reasons - on the offensive line.
He did sound excited now that Jonah Pirsig is healthy. According to Kill, Pirsig is now 6-9 and about 325 pounds, “(Pirsig) had a great spring . . . is healthy – excited about that.”
There are no changes in the receivers or running backs positions. He mentioned that they did a lot work, however, with the tight ends during spring drills, but he didn’t elaborate on what they specifically did with the tight ends.
Kill said they’ll be facing seven teams this year that run spread and no huddle offenses. As a result, they’re hoping to add depth in the secondary, and he’s looking forward to the freshmen class that will soon be arriving on campus. (It sounded as though he expects some immediate help from the incoming class.)
4) Dave Mona asked about the physical changes at TCF Bank Stadium (heating coils) now that the Vikings will be playing at the college venue: “Not a big thing to us,” said Kill. He said maybe a late season game (like the Wisconsin game last year) might be affected by the change, but it’s more important to the Vikings because of their long season into December and January.
Kill said the biggest change will be the adjustments on weekends when both teams are at home. He said Sundays are a big day for recruiting, showing the stadium to the recruits, and they need to get approval from the NCAA to show off the facility when the Vikings are playing at home on Sundays – possible unfair recruiting advantage. Kill is hoping something can be worked out with the NCAA, such as having the recruits visit the stadium before game time on Sundays.
5) Sid asked about the Gophers’ new transfer (defensive back) from Winona State: Kill sounded surprised by the question, saying, “Not at this point.” Sid persisted by asking about a transfer from the southeastern Minnesota college, but Dave Mona intervened indicating that there wasn’t anything that could be said at this time, if at all. (Not sure about the question of a possible transfer or if Dave was covering during an awkward moment.)
6) Sid next asked about a special clinic in August: Kill immediately talked about the importance of the one-day camps in June – opportunities to see and evaluate potential recruits from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa where there are no spring drills as there are in the southern states.
Kill then discussed a “fantasy camp” for 20 people that they’ll conduct for the first time this year at the beginning of fall drills in August. Participants will sit in on the team meetings, drills, and meals at the start of the fall camp. The “fantasy camp,” which is a fund raiser for the program, will last a couple days, and will give the participants a complete feel for Minnesota Golden Gopher football practices. The camp is limited to 20 people because of the tight accommodations presently at the U; however, with the physical upgrades in athletic facilities - that are presently on drawing table – there will be more participants in the future.
The idea of “fantasy camps” originated in the south and Kill specifically mentioned Texas A&M. He also said Oklahoma State runs a camp that attracts 100 people, and that’s a number that Kill would like to see in the future at Minnesota.
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid Hartman opened the show bemoaning the fact that college basketball coaches can have contact with their players during the off-season but football coaches can’t: Referring to the topic of contact with players: “It’s come up many times,” said Kill. He also listed some changes that have come about, including, “We can meet a couple hours a week in the classroom – looking at film – and the weight room.” He also said they can briefly watch some of the voluntary workouts; however, they cannot provide any instruction.
2) Sid mentioned a visit by Coach Kill and his wife, Rebecca, to Rochester (Mayo Clinic – St. Mary’s Hospital) to see Peter Westerhaus. According to Sid, Westerhaus is undergoing medical treatments and was surprised by the visit: “Pete’s a tremendous kid,” said Kill. He then said Conor Cosgrove’s cancer is in remission and that Pete Westerhaus showed up for an event celebrating the good news.
Kill also said, “Through his battles (Westerhaus) he’s been mentally tough . . . I’m proud of him.” Kill added, Peter Westerhaus is going through some difficult times (medically), “Prayers need to go out.”
3) Sid asked if there are any position changes now that the coaching staff has had a chance to review films from spring drills: Kill said that there aren’t any real changes; however, he did say they want to increase the numbers on the offensive line (depth), as they have on the defensive line. He’d like to see eight to ten players - for depth reasons - on the offensive line.
He did sound excited now that Jonah Pirsig is healthy. According to Kill, Pirsig is now 6-9 and about 325 pounds, “(Pirsig) had a great spring . . . is healthy – excited about that.”
There are no changes in the receivers or running backs positions. He mentioned that they did a lot work, however, with the tight ends during spring drills, but he didn’t elaborate on what they specifically did with the tight ends.
Kill said they’ll be facing seven teams this year that run spread and no huddle offenses. As a result, they’re hoping to add depth in the secondary, and he’s looking forward to the freshmen class that will soon be arriving on campus. (It sounded as though he expects some immediate help from the incoming class.)
4) Dave Mona asked about the physical changes at TCF Bank Stadium (heating coils) now that the Vikings will be playing at the college venue: “Not a big thing to us,” said Kill. He said maybe a late season game (like the Wisconsin game last year) might be affected by the change, but it’s more important to the Vikings because of their long season into December and January.
Kill said the biggest change will be the adjustments on weekends when both teams are at home. He said Sundays are a big day for recruiting, showing the stadium to the recruits, and they need to get approval from the NCAA to show off the facility when the Vikings are playing at home on Sundays – possible unfair recruiting advantage. Kill is hoping something can be worked out with the NCAA, such as having the recruits visit the stadium before game time on Sundays.
5) Sid asked about the Gophers’ new transfer (defensive back) from Winona State: Kill sounded surprised by the question, saying, “Not at this point.” Sid persisted by asking about a transfer from the southeastern Minnesota college, but Dave Mona intervened indicating that there wasn’t anything that could be said at this time, if at all. (Not sure about the question of a possible transfer or if Dave was covering during an awkward moment.)
6) Sid next asked about a special clinic in August: Kill immediately talked about the importance of the one-day camps in June – opportunities to see and evaluate potential recruits from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa where there are no spring drills as there are in the southern states.
Kill then discussed a “fantasy camp” for 20 people that they’ll conduct for the first time this year at the beginning of fall drills in August. Participants will sit in on the team meetings, drills, and meals at the start of the fall camp. The “fantasy camp,” which is a fund raiser for the program, will last a couple days, and will give the participants a complete feel for Minnesota Golden Gopher football practices. The camp is limited to 20 people because of the tight accommodations presently at the U; however, with the physical upgrades in athletic facilities - that are presently on drawing table – there will be more participants in the future.
The idea of “fantasy camps” originated in the south and Kill specifically mentioned Texas A&M. He also said Oklahoma State runs a camp that attracts 100 people, and that’s a number that Kill would like to see in the future at Minnesota.
Go Gophers!!
