Responses and comments by Coach Jerry Kill to questions by Dave Mona and Sid Hartman on today’s Sports Huddle:
1) Sid opening comments dealt with the size of the crowd at yesterday’s practice: Kill replied, “The fans have been great . . . the kids play harder (with fans visiting the open practices), I’ve said that all along . . . tried to make it as game-like as possible.”
2) Sid asked what players stood out in yesterday’s scrimmage: Kill immediately responded by saying they had film to review as well as situations at yesterday’s practice.
Kill then proceeded to name a few players as well as his thoughts about the spring practice: “Overall, player-wise, the running backs continue to improve.” He also cited receivers KJ Maye, Duke Anyanwu, Isaac Fruechte, Drew Wolitarsky for their play yesterday.
On the defensive side of the ball: Kill expressed some concern about the defensive tackles (injuries); however, he expects them to be back when fall practices commence. (Kill didn’t list the injured players.)
Kill sounded happy with the play of two redshirt linebackers: Rayfield Dixon and De’Niro Laster. He also cited linebackers Jack Lynn and Nick Rallis.
He finished the question, saying, the secondary is going to be a strength on the defensive side of the ball.
3) Sid made the comment that he knew the coaching staff wanted to see improvement on offense: “We’ve improved,” said Kill. “We’re stronger . . . we’ll be better with the kids coming in . . . our running backs have been productive . . . (we’ve) thrown the ball more this spring.” Overall, he sounded positive with the strides they’ve made on the offensive side of the ball.
4) Sid asked if there are any redshirts that have really stood out: “Not really, pretty much what we expected,” replied Coach Kill. However, he did mention the following players: Defensive backs Damarius Tavis and Daletavious McGhee and tight ends Nate Wozniak and Duke Anyanwu. (Kill hastened to add that Anyanwu is not a redshirt; however, he mentioned that he had been injured. So now is the first time that he has really been able to show his athletic abilities.)
Kill sounded very pleased with the kicking game (indoors) yesterday, “Kicking game was good, made all the kicks.” (He didn't cite any of the kickers.)
He completed the question by talking about the risk of injuries during the spring drills, “Yesterday was a physical practice.” He said some of the players are walking around today with bumps and bruises, and they want to make sure that those that are injured are healed up for fall practice.
5) Dave followed up with a two-part question. First, he wanted Kill to elaborate on the play of wide receiver KJ Maye, and, second, the topic of players getting banged up in spring drills and the future of spring games: Kill took the Maye question first, saying, “Maye moved from quarterback (when he arrived at Minnesota) . . . learning how to make plays . . . big thing, getting (Maye) healthy.”
He then turned his attention to spring drills and the future of spring games: “Spring games – a lot of teams are playing young players . . . (coaches) concerned about injuries . . . we’ll do things differently (didn’t elaborate) . . . In the future, I don’t see spring games (being played) . . . knock on wood, keep them healthy.” By his comments, you could tell Kill and coaches in general are concerned about keeping their players healthy and ready for the fall season and that they try to keep the majority of reps for the younger players. No doubt there’s a greater risk of injury to key players and players in general because of the size and speed of today’s players.
6) Sid asked the last question, which was a comment about the size of Tommy Olson: Kill was succinct in his appraisal of Tommy Olson, “He’s big but athletic . . . (he’s) done what we’ve asked him to do (to get flexible through their physical training program).”
Note: The Coach Jerry Kill segment on ‘CCOs Sports Huddle will be at 9:30 a.m. next Sunday, as had been announced and scheduled since the start of spring drills. He’ll be on the air longer, too, so as to cover questions about the spring game and this year’s spring practices.
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid opening comments dealt with the size of the crowd at yesterday’s practice: Kill replied, “The fans have been great . . . the kids play harder (with fans visiting the open practices), I’ve said that all along . . . tried to make it as game-like as possible.”
2) Sid asked what players stood out in yesterday’s scrimmage: Kill immediately responded by saying they had film to review as well as situations at yesterday’s practice.
Kill then proceeded to name a few players as well as his thoughts about the spring practice: “Overall, player-wise, the running backs continue to improve.” He also cited receivers KJ Maye, Duke Anyanwu, Isaac Fruechte, Drew Wolitarsky for their play yesterday.
On the defensive side of the ball: Kill expressed some concern about the defensive tackles (injuries); however, he expects them to be back when fall practices commence. (Kill didn’t list the injured players.)
Kill sounded happy with the play of two redshirt linebackers: Rayfield Dixon and De’Niro Laster. He also cited linebackers Jack Lynn and Nick Rallis.
He finished the question, saying, the secondary is going to be a strength on the defensive side of the ball.
3) Sid made the comment that he knew the coaching staff wanted to see improvement on offense: “We’ve improved,” said Kill. “We’re stronger . . . we’ll be better with the kids coming in . . . our running backs have been productive . . . (we’ve) thrown the ball more this spring.” Overall, he sounded positive with the strides they’ve made on the offensive side of the ball.
4) Sid asked if there are any redshirts that have really stood out: “Not really, pretty much what we expected,” replied Coach Kill. However, he did mention the following players: Defensive backs Damarius Tavis and Daletavious McGhee and tight ends Nate Wozniak and Duke Anyanwu. (Kill hastened to add that Anyanwu is not a redshirt; however, he mentioned that he had been injured. So now is the first time that he has really been able to show his athletic abilities.)
Kill sounded very pleased with the kicking game (indoors) yesterday, “Kicking game was good, made all the kicks.” (He didn't cite any of the kickers.)
He completed the question by talking about the risk of injuries during the spring drills, “Yesterday was a physical practice.” He said some of the players are walking around today with bumps and bruises, and they want to make sure that those that are injured are healed up for fall practice.
5) Dave followed up with a two-part question. First, he wanted Kill to elaborate on the play of wide receiver KJ Maye, and, second, the topic of players getting banged up in spring drills and the future of spring games: Kill took the Maye question first, saying, “Maye moved from quarterback (when he arrived at Minnesota) . . . learning how to make plays . . . big thing, getting (Maye) healthy.”
He then turned his attention to spring drills and the future of spring games: “Spring games – a lot of teams are playing young players . . . (coaches) concerned about injuries . . . we’ll do things differently (didn’t elaborate) . . . In the future, I don’t see spring games (being played) . . . knock on wood, keep them healthy.” By his comments, you could tell Kill and coaches in general are concerned about keeping their players healthy and ready for the fall season and that they try to keep the majority of reps for the younger players. No doubt there’s a greater risk of injury to key players and players in general because of the size and speed of today’s players.
6) Sid asked the last question, which was a comment about the size of Tommy Olson: Kill was succinct in his appraisal of Tommy Olson, “He’s big but athletic . . . (he’s) done what we’ve asked him to do (to get flexible through their physical training program).”
Note: The Coach Jerry Kill segment on ‘CCOs Sports Huddle will be at 9:30 a.m. next Sunday, as had been announced and scheduled since the start of spring drills. He’ll be on the air longer, too, so as to cover questions about the spring game and this year’s spring practices.
Go Gophers!!