Dave Mona was back on the Sports Huddle after a week hiatus. He joined Sid Hartman in questioning Coach Jerry Kill on the Sports Huddle.
1) Sid opened the show saying - according to Gopher Illustrated – that there a lot of out-of-state recruits at this year’s summer camps. Sid wanted to know if the university could pay the recruit’s travel expenses to attend the camps: “No. That’s against NCAA rules . . . that’s what makes it tough – long way from home . . . more in-state focus during camps,” said Kill. Kill said the schools in Michigan and Ohio have an advantage in recruiting since the areas they recruit are in their backyards; whereas recruits from those areas and across the country have great distances to travel to Minnesota. Nevertheless, there have been recruits from across the country at this year’s camps.
Later on in the program, Kill said they have one more camp, which will be conducted on July 20th. He said the camp is filling up quickly and that some of the campers who have been attending other camps this summer will be in attendance. So more out-of-state recruits will be visiting the Gopher camp and campus.
2) Sid asked if they have offered any scholarships to players that have attended the June camps: Kill replied (laughing), “Yes. Several.” Obviously he can’t give any names as to who’s been offered. Sid persisted in trying to get an exact number of offers, however; and Kill declined to give a number and that was when he answered, laughing, “Yes. Several.”
3) Dave Mona raised the question of players that come to camp who are tested at a position other than what they play in high school. He cited Eric Murray as an example of player who made a position change as a result of his workouts at the Gopher camp: “We’ve done that this week – work kids at another position in camp,” Kill answered.
Kill went on to say that he said frequently that Brock Vereen would play at the next level. Vereen was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the recent NFL Draft, and he expects Vereen will play. When he finished his comments about Brock Vereen, he immediately said he expects Eric Murray to play in the NFL when his career at Minnesota concludes. There was no equivocation in his assessment of Murray’s abilities as a defensive back.
4) Dave Mona said, according to recruiting services, Minnesota has recruited 3 offensive linemen, which appears to be an emphasis in this year’s class: Kill responded, “Offensive line is a big emphasis for us.” He said they’ll sign 4 and maybe 5 offensive linemen this year. He cited the number of upper class linemen on the team as a factor in recruiting this year and the need to replace those players in this year’s class.
Kill also said they were in on some out-of-state players, and, as a result, “Most important thing for us is getting kids in for early games.” IMO, he was talking about recruits from across the country that didn’t attend the summer camps at the U and some of the recruits were offensive linemen. Of course, he’d like them to see the campus and the program when the autumn weather is nice in the Twin Cities.
5) Sid wanted to know if there were any position changes after seeing the team in spring drills and during the summer workouts: Kill said from an offensive standpoint he doesn’t see too many “moves,” and then he added that he won’t know until fall camp begins in August, especially with the incoming class of recruits. He said he expects many of the freshmen will be coached at multiple positions.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kill mentioned the versatility of Damarius Travis: “Damarius Travis can be moved around a lot in the secondary.” Kill likes Travis’ size (6-2 210 pounds), athleticism and versatility. He mentioned that Travis can play safety and corner.
6) Dave Mona asked about the future of the fullback position: “You look in the NFL you see them (fullbacks) . . . Stanford does,” replied Kill when answering Mona’s query. He also said you do see more H-Back offenses; however, he said Wisconsin will take a fullback each year in recruiting, unless they change their offensive scheme.
Kill closed the question by mentioning several offenses that are run in college ball and that frequently many of the teams look alike, as a result, “It’s good to be different.” He likes to give opponents something different to prepare for.
7) Sid wanted to know what players, if any, have really stood out in spring ball and during the summer workouts: Kill quickly said he was impressed with several of the freshmen that arrived on campus for summer school and workouts; however, he also said, he would prefer to redshirt the entire class. He expects, however, some of the freshmen will be seeing the field in 2014.
In answering Sid’s question, Kill cited the following five players:
a) “Jonah Pirsig has easily stood out – spring and summer.”
b) “Scott Epke (has gone from 280 to 305 pounds) runs very well . . . stepped up his situation.”
c) “Cameron Botticelli has done some good things.”
d) “De’Vondre Campbell close to 240.”
e) Desmond Gant. Kill said Gant is “raw” but “More athletic than we thought.” (Although he acknowledged Gant being raw (diamond in the rough) he sounded excited when talking about the recent signee. He said he can see Gant playing linebacker and defensive back.)
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid opened the show saying - according to Gopher Illustrated – that there a lot of out-of-state recruits at this year’s summer camps. Sid wanted to know if the university could pay the recruit’s travel expenses to attend the camps: “No. That’s against NCAA rules . . . that’s what makes it tough – long way from home . . . more in-state focus during camps,” said Kill. Kill said the schools in Michigan and Ohio have an advantage in recruiting since the areas they recruit are in their backyards; whereas recruits from those areas and across the country have great distances to travel to Minnesota. Nevertheless, there have been recruits from across the country at this year’s camps.
Later on in the program, Kill said they have one more camp, which will be conducted on July 20th. He said the camp is filling up quickly and that some of the campers who have been attending other camps this summer will be in attendance. So more out-of-state recruits will be visiting the Gopher camp and campus.
2) Sid asked if they have offered any scholarships to players that have attended the June camps: Kill replied (laughing), “Yes. Several.” Obviously he can’t give any names as to who’s been offered. Sid persisted in trying to get an exact number of offers, however; and Kill declined to give a number and that was when he answered, laughing, “Yes. Several.”
3) Dave Mona raised the question of players that come to camp who are tested at a position other than what they play in high school. He cited Eric Murray as an example of player who made a position change as a result of his workouts at the Gopher camp: “We’ve done that this week – work kids at another position in camp,” Kill answered.
Kill went on to say that he said frequently that Brock Vereen would play at the next level. Vereen was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the recent NFL Draft, and he expects Vereen will play. When he finished his comments about Brock Vereen, he immediately said he expects Eric Murray to play in the NFL when his career at Minnesota concludes. There was no equivocation in his assessment of Murray’s abilities as a defensive back.
4) Dave Mona said, according to recruiting services, Minnesota has recruited 3 offensive linemen, which appears to be an emphasis in this year’s class: Kill responded, “Offensive line is a big emphasis for us.” He said they’ll sign 4 and maybe 5 offensive linemen this year. He cited the number of upper class linemen on the team as a factor in recruiting this year and the need to replace those players in this year’s class.
Kill also said they were in on some out-of-state players, and, as a result, “Most important thing for us is getting kids in for early games.” IMO, he was talking about recruits from across the country that didn’t attend the summer camps at the U and some of the recruits were offensive linemen. Of course, he’d like them to see the campus and the program when the autumn weather is nice in the Twin Cities.
5) Sid wanted to know if there were any position changes after seeing the team in spring drills and during the summer workouts: Kill said from an offensive standpoint he doesn’t see too many “moves,” and then he added that he won’t know until fall camp begins in August, especially with the incoming class of recruits. He said he expects many of the freshmen will be coached at multiple positions.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kill mentioned the versatility of Damarius Travis: “Damarius Travis can be moved around a lot in the secondary.” Kill likes Travis’ size (6-2 210 pounds), athleticism and versatility. He mentioned that Travis can play safety and corner.
6) Dave Mona asked about the future of the fullback position: “You look in the NFL you see them (fullbacks) . . . Stanford does,” replied Kill when answering Mona’s query. He also said you do see more H-Back offenses; however, he said Wisconsin will take a fullback each year in recruiting, unless they change their offensive scheme.
Kill closed the question by mentioning several offenses that are run in college ball and that frequently many of the teams look alike, as a result, “It’s good to be different.” He likes to give opponents something different to prepare for.
7) Sid wanted to know what players, if any, have really stood out in spring ball and during the summer workouts: Kill quickly said he was impressed with several of the freshmen that arrived on campus for summer school and workouts; however, he also said, he would prefer to redshirt the entire class. He expects, however, some of the freshmen will be seeing the field in 2014.
In answering Sid’s question, Kill cited the following five players:
a) “Jonah Pirsig has easily stood out – spring and summer.”
b) “Scott Epke (has gone from 280 to 305 pounds) runs very well . . . stepped up his situation.”
c) “Cameron Botticelli has done some good things.”
d) “De’Vondre Campbell close to 240.”
e) Desmond Gant. Kill said Gant is “raw” but “More athletic than we thought.” (Although he acknowledged Gant being raw (diamond in the rough) he sounded excited when talking about the recent signee. He said he can see Gant playing linebacker and defensive back.)
Go Gophers!!
