MN Daily: Jeff Jones says Kill's health impacts him; Ragnow says it does not

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

Been thinking the same thing. The thing is...we will never truly KNOW. Could a kid not want to play at MN and be uncomfortable with Coach, sure. Probably weren't going to get that kid anyway, as I am sure they factor many things into their decision.

Very true. But most of the instate kids who go to programs like this either never see or have trouble getting on the field. Obviously there are exceptions, but I wonder if guys like James Onwualu regret their choice. He would probably be playing for the Gophers right now! Will he ever see the field for Notre Dame etc...

 

[FanSinceTheFifties]

It sounds to me like other coaches are whispering in their ear or they're listening to KFAN. Either one will poison your mind.

I'd love to have them both, but only if their hearts are in. I'll take a lesser rated recruit (think David Cobb) over an Andre McDonald anyday. The days of picking a recruit based on his "Star Rating" closed with the Brewster era. That dumpster fire is in the past.

Well told.

 

[forestlaker]

I believe Ragnow tweeted earlier that Coach Kill's epilepsy didn't affect his interest in the U. Perhaps Jones' statement saying Coach Kill's health does affect his interest coincides with his perceived weakening bond to MN and increased interest in Missouri. Much easier for the instate kid to say the coach's health affected his condition rather than say I don't want to go to the U, I want to go to Missouri because I want to play for a top ten team. Less chance of facing a backlash if you can blame it on something.

Look at the history of Jeff Jones:

1. I believe he was our first commit.
2. He said he was going to help recruit and get all the best local players to go to the U.
3. He said he wanted to take some other visits but was still committed.
4. He is now at best a "soft verbal" taking a visit to a bad Iowa St. team.
5. Now is says that Kills condition may effect his decision.

I think he is looking for a reason to leave town and it has nothing to do with Kill's condition.
Many current players and recruits have expressed their admiration for Kill's dedication and endurance.
I would tend to place my faith in the words of these players vs. one Jeff Jones no matter what he decides.

 

[GophersInIowa]

The body language of every comment Jones has made to date suggests strongly to me that he is gone. He's already made up his mind to go somewhere else.

I really don't look too much into what a kid says. 17-18 year olds can say just about anything when a certain question is asked in a certain way, even if they really didn't mean it.

Look at Ragnow's comments. He talks about MN having to win more, right after he visited a very bad Arkansas team.

My gut feeling comes from the fact Missouri has really come out of no where to be a highly ranked team (I don't think they are as good as they are ranked, but that's beside the point) in the best conference in the country. I just feel like it is being set up for him to go to the hottest, most "sexy" team right now.

 

[mngolf]

You're not understanding the issues or what is happening behind the scenes.

Crazy to think a kid is open and honest when he says he doesn't know if he can believe what Kill says (about his health) and that Kill's health is a big consideration re: Minnesota... yet you still say "maybe" it's an issue.

The future is in limbo and many people don't like uncertainty. I think the sooner Minnesota makes the right decision, the better. They finally took a temporary stand, but when will a difficult decision come?

"They" didn't take a temporary stand at all. Kill decided on his own. "They" have taken the stand of Kill is our coach period.

 

[everybody knows my name]

On one hand I sometimes think that I wouldn't want to be 18 again, and have to make huge life decisions about which everyone is going to have an opinion. On the other hand these kids have so much opportunity in front of them. For a kid who knows what he wants and has the confidence to reach for it, this life should be a dream.

Without wanting to dishonor young Jones, I think he's been leaning away from Minnesota almost as long as he's been committed to the Gophers. He's just keeping the commitment to the U as a fallback, just in case.

Ragnow - I think - is just the opposite. Even though he's insisted on keeping his options open and he hasn't committed yet, it seems to me he's made a lot of positive statements that reveal he's leaning toward the Maroon and Gold.

My 2 ¢

 

[dpodoll68]

Very true. But most of the instate kids who go to programs like this either never see or have trouble getting on the field. Obviously there are exceptions, but I wonder if guys like James Onwualu regret their choice. He would probably be playing for the Gophers right now! Will he ever see the field for Notre Dame etc...

Onwualu's seeing the field plenty as a true freshman for a Top 25 team. I'd be surprised if he has an ounce of regret.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

Onwualu's seeing the field plenty as a true freshman for a Top 25 team. I'd be surprised if he has an ounce of regret.

Does he have any stats? How much does he play?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/stats/_/id/550958/james-onwualu

nvm, looks like 3 total tackles. Must be on Special teams.

 

[bemidjigopher]

My guess is Jones is moved to the slot if he goes to Mizzou

 

[FanSinceTheFifties]

Kind of surprised at how arrogant both of those guys come off in the article. I doubt either one ends up with us. I'm extremely confident in our ability to run the ball even if we don't land either of them. If they were a QB/WR/defensive player then it would be a bigger hit in my opinion. We are going to end up being a plug and play program at the RB position.[/QUE]

Give the kids a break. You expect 18 year-olds to be adept at handling questions from an interviewer? Seasoned pros often blow it and seem off -- especially in print.

 

[howeda7]

Look at the history of Jeff Jones:

1. I believe he was our first commit.
2. He said he was going to help recruit and get all the best local players to go to the U.
3. He said he wanted to take some other visits but was still committed.
4. He is now at best a "soft verbal" taking a visit to a bad Iowa St. team.
5. Now is says that Kills condition may effect his decision.

I think he is looking for a reason to leave town and it has nothing to do with Kill's condition.
Many current players and recruits have expressed their admiration for Kill's dedication and endurance.
I would tend to place my faith in the words of these players vs. one Jeff Jones no matter what he decides.

This. Kill's health may indeed affect some recruits, but they're very unlikely to say so. The only way to really tell is if there are kids saying these same things off the record. Otherwise, all you can do is judge the recruiting classes that occur from here forward. We're already pretty low in the rankings so it may be hard to guage.

 

[howeda7]

Look back at threads in the past. Plenty of people claimed Kill's health issues were a non-issue.

The 3-0 record with Kill's head coaching duties removed may actually indicate to some that his health issues are more of an issue than they previously thought.



No, I've always said a reasonable path to consider is reassigning him as a "special assistant" or some made up position. This helps to ease the concerns of those worried about "starting over" as you keep the staff in the program, with Claeys elevated.

The issues are many, but some perspectives:
- Kill's seizures date back more than 20 years. He's seen many doctors. Even if he said, "hey guys, I'm back 100%" this afternoon it's crazy to think it's unlikely he'll continue to have issues.
- I think it's likely the U told him "hey, you've been a bad patient - we're taking away your HC duties.. you need to invest in your health"... which is great. But I don't know that you can change the man. He's a tough son of a gun and for anyone - but especially a guy like Kill - changing your ways is difficult. The "more sleep", "walks around the neighborhood", "take things off his plate" talk is nice, but not sure it's much more than lip service.
- I also believe Kill will be freaked if he returns to the sidelines. Imagine if he was out there Saturday and PSU beats Minnesota and there's another trip to the hospital. More "supporters" would flip on him. Stress is bad for Jerry Kill but how are you going to alleviate it with him as head coach? Totally a crappy position for him to be in and it's not fair - but it's reality.

I like the idea of helping the guy be involved with the program while also putting his health first. To me, that means no more head coaching. Until you make that call I think you're just kicking the can down the road.

Thoughts of Kill coming back as head coach, staying healthy for the next decade and enjoys much success with Minnesota are wonderful thoughts. Just tough for me to envision. And nearly impossible to erase worries of recruits and others unless he gets through a couple of years without missing time during the season... but it's been at least a decade since that's happened.

Since when do they 'go back 20 years'. The earliest that is ever discussed is ~2005 at SIU. They're not going to fire him or shove him aside as a 'special assistant' after winning the most games in a decade. It will be up to Kill his family and his doctor's, not our resident recruiting/ncaa rules/epliepsy/baseball neck injury/Florida legal system expert.

 

[lexicalNinja]

I believe Ragnow tweeted earlier that Coach Kill's epilepsy didn't affect his interest in the U. Perhaps Jones' statement saying Coach Kill's health does affect his interest coincides with his perceived weakening bond to MN and increased interest in Missouri. Much easier for the instate kid to say the coach's health affected his condition rather than say I don't want to go to the U, I want to go to Missouri because I want to play for a top ten team. Less chance of facing a backlash if you can blame it on something.

This is pretty much the first thing I thought. He wants to go somewhere else, how do I make this easy and believable?

At least its creative. Lame, but creative. But worrying that this staff won't be around for the next four years is pretty ridiculous, given what they have done and how they have fared with Kill in the booth or gone. Any replacement would most likely come from within the staff.

 

[dpodoll68]

They're not going to fire him or shove him aside as a 'special assistant' after winning the most games in a decade.

To be fair, this very administration fired our basketball coach after the most successful season in 23 years, so the precedent has been set. I think they'd be asinine to do anything with Kill (other than maybe give him a raise and an extension), but I've already seen some pretty messed-up things this administration has done.

 

[MaxyJR1]

This is pretty much the first thing I thought. He wants to go somewhere else, how do I make this easy and believable?

At least its creative. Lame, but creative. But worrying that this staff won't be around for the next four years is pretty ridiculous, given what they have done and how they have fared with Kill in the booth or gone. Any replacement would most likely come from within the staff.

This staff will be around for the better part of 7 more years. Teague is going to allow them to build the best program/foundation and learn from them as he is not a football guy.

A strong program and foundation will allow him to make a great next hire, whenever that may be.

At least this is what I would do if I were in Teague's shoes.

 

[Nate]

Since when do they 'go back 20 years'. The earliest that is ever discussed is ~2005 at SIU. They're not going to fire him or shove him aside as a 'special assistant' after winning the most games in a decade. It will be up to Kill his family and his doctor's, not our resident recruiting/ncaa rules/epliepsy/baseball neck injury/Florida legal system expert.

It was reported two years ago in both the Strib and Pioneer Press.
Kill has dealt with seizures since he was an offensive coordinator at Pittsburg (Kan.) State in 1992.


Another link from the U:
www1.umn.edu/news/prod/groups/ur/@pub/@ur/@news/documents/content/ur_content_425180.pdf

Kill downplays the situation because as serious as the condition might be it hasn't stopped him
from doing his job. In more than 20 years as a coach (he had his first seizure in 1992), he has
never missed a game and has taken less than a week off from work for medical reasons.

 

[sconnygopher]

Joe Paterno coached from the booth and still ran the show. Why cant kill?

 

[FreakyDeke]

Joe Paterno coached from the booth and still ran the show? Why cant kill?

I'm not saying Kill can't, but JoePa did it temporarily when he had a knee injury due to getting run into on the sidelines, not full time. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[John Galt]

I think everyone is overreacting on Jones. If you read the entire article, it talks about where he sees Kill as almost like a father figure. If he comes to the U, one of the main reasons will be because of Kill, and he wants to make sure he's the coach for the next 4-5 years.

Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but we're still in the running with both of these kids. The staff is doing the right thing by recruiting other RBs hard, and if we end up keeping Jones it will be a bonus. Let it play out...

 

[Section 100]

I'm curious to see if Andersen changes the UW offense if Gordon opts for the NFL. I think he ran a heavy read-option offense at Utah State.

GA will do exactly what BA says.

Coach wants players who want to be here. And it seems like Kill's plans are starting to take shape. If Ragnow & Jones don't want to participate, so be it. Pretty sure coach will find guys to fill those spots.

 

[wait!what?]

GA will do exactly what BA says.

BA has a statue of himself. The whole Joepa thing taught everyone that statues should be tabled til the immortalized is dead.....long dead

 

[GophersInIowa]

Joe Paterno coached from the booth and still ran the show. Why cant kill?

I have a pretty good feeling Paterno was pretty much doing nothing except just be there and conduct interviews/press conferences at the end of his career. His assistants were running the show.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

I have a pretty good feeling Paterno was pretty much doing nothing except just be there and conduct interviews/press conferences at the end of his career. His assistants were running the show.

Bingo. This is how I was going to weigh in as well. Does anyone REALLY think that Kill has had less involvement with the day-to-day activities of the program over the last month than JoePa did (or Bobby Bowden for that matter) in the last several years of that tenure?

Secondly, as far as anything hurting recruiting; what do you think hurts recruiting more: a coach who has some health issues that are being addressed but has still been active and visible during that time, or a coach (like Mason?) who is constantly flirting with every other job opportunity that comes up?

I'd rather have the coach who is addressing his issues and WILL be there as long he is physically able than the guy who flirts with other job vacancies on a regular basis.

 

[howeda7]

It was reported two years ago in both the Strib and Pioneer Press.
Kill has dealt with seizures since he was an offensive coordinator at Pittsburg (Kan.) State in 1992.


Another link from the U:
www1.umn.edu/news/prod/groups/ur/@pub/@ur/@news/documents/content/ur_content_425180.pdf

Kill downplays the situation because as serious as the condition might be it hasn't stopped him
from doing his job. In more than 20 years as a coach (he had his first seizure in 1992), he has
never missed a game and has taken less than a week off from work for medical reasons.

Thanks. I assume GW had some top-secret info the rest of us were not privy to. It would seem it was not a major issue from 1992-2005 though.

 

[cncmin]

Not clear to me why Jones would still be wavering. The proof is in the results - Kill/Claeys/Limegrover have built a competitor, and assuming Limegrover keeps delivering his offensive schemes that are displaying a lot of recent success, a blue chip running back could cement his line to the NFL in a hurry in this system predicated on featuring the run, first and foremost.

To each their own, I guess.

 

[GameDay]

That Kill's health issues are a recruiting issue has been obvious for years, but it's a bigger issue today than ever before for some (although there will continue to be those who insist it's a non-issue). If I'm Jerry I am hesitant to step on the sidelines again this season for fear of what another game day episode does for my future.

Rough situation. I do think if you create a 'special assistant' type position for Kill and give the keys to Claeys you can ride the current momentum a bit... otherwise the issue is at the forefront probably more than ever before.

The comments from Jones are reasonable and very understandable.

Jones' comments aren't understandable. They are contradictory and foolish sounding. "It's hard to tell if Coach Kill is [lying] telling the truth or not, but I believe him." -the dumbest comment I've read in a while.
"I believe Coach Kill and his staff are here to stay, but it's always in the back of my mind". He is a beast football player that the Gophers would be lucky to have, but he sorely needs better education.

 

[hyaluronic]

How could this be true!? I thought Kill's health wouldnt impact recruiting according to the experts on GH. This is case #1 that his health does impact recruiting and you can bet there are others where the recruit just doesnt say it.

I don't recall anyone saying it would have no impact on recruiting. Speaking for myself, I said that it was overplayed, and depending on how the issue is tackled in recruiting, could be a net positive. In fact, Ragnow's comments highlight that potential aspect. You might lose some out of concern, you might gain some because it gives them additional respect for Coach Kill and co. IMO, the overall impact will be negligible. I can ENVISION it going either way. Jones would be a huge loss, but he was waivering well before the season started, let's not pretend Kill's health concerns are the impetus for that change.

Regardless, with the progress of the season, the history of the staff, we ought to be able to pull in a slightly higher caliber recruiting class. Given we already appear to be near the corner, that only bodes well.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

Jones' comments aren't understandable. They are contradictory and foolish sounding. "It's hard to tell if Coach Kill is [lying] telling the truth or not, but I believe him." -the dumbest comment I've read in a while.
"I believe Coach Kill and his staff are here to stay, but it's always in the back of my mind". He is a beast football player that the Gophers would be lucky to have, but he sorely needs better education.

It's understandable to me. The kid is saying he tries to believe it when Kill is feeding him lines about his health and how it's a non-issue, but it's hard not to have some doubts about it.

You want contradictory, check out what Kill and the U have said. Plenty of 180's.

Anyway, should be interesting to see how this season wraps up (does Kill stay upstairs out of fear?) and what happens with the recruiting class over the next few months... looking forward to being at the bball game Friday night and back again Saturday morning to watch Claeys hopefully coach this team to another victory!

 

[Dr.Don]

It's understandable to me. The kid is saying he tries to believe it when Kill is feeding him lines about his health and how it's a non-issue, but it's hard not to have some doubts about it.

You want contradictory, check out what Kill and the U have said. Plenty of 180's.

Anyway, should be interesting to see how this season wraps up (does Kill stay upstairs out of fear?) and what happens with the recruiting class over the next few months... looking forward to being at the bball game Friday night and back again Saturday morning to watch Kill and his Staff hopefully coach this team to another victory!

FIFY GW.

 

[hyaluronic]

It's understandable to me. The kid is saying he tries to believe it when Kill is feeding him lines about his health and how it's a non-issue, but it's hard not to have some doubts about it.

You want contradictory, check out what Kill and the U have said. Plenty of 180's.

Anyway, should be interesting to see how this season wraps up (does Kill stay upstairs out of fear?) and what happens with the recruiting class over the next few months... looking forward to being at the bball game Friday night and back again Saturday morning to watch Claeys hopefully coach this team to another victory!

To the bolded: C'mon man! I'm trying to respect your take, and you're still throwing out cheap shots.

Otherwise: I concur with your analysis of Jones' statements. He wants to believe, but there is a seed of doubt. That with his apparent desire to be with a 'proven' program may make it difficult to retain his commitment.