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News, Notes, Tid-Bits and Quotes: Claeys, Leidner Will Lead Gophers
By Grant Erickson
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/299636?referrer_id=388419
With head coach Jerry Kill taking time away from the Gophers to manage and treat his Epilepsy, defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys stood in during Tuesday’s media tour. While much of the conversation centered on Kill, Claeys also spoke about the team and Minnesota’s attempt to bounce back following a much-needed week off.
Kill Focusing On Health
Last week, it was announced that Jerry Kill would be leaving the team for a period of time to focus on his health. As acting head coach, Tracy Claeys has allowed Kill to have time to be away from football.
“I’ve had more contact with Rebecca [Kill] until [Monday] night then Coach called [Monday] night and had a great conversation,” said Claeys. “He’s doing good. We talked about our last game; we talked about Northwestern’s last game, so he’s feeling good. We’re still going to prepare and I don’t anticipate him being at the game at this time. We’ll just have to see what happens but it was good to talk football with him.”
With Kill likely missing Saturday’s contest at Northwestern, Claeys will move from the press box to the sideline, something that should not be a major adjustment for the long-time defensive coordinator.
“It’s not a big change for me,” said Claeys. “I was on the boundary my first four or five years as a coordinator. I just have to change my charts around a little bit so I can have the information in front of me that I usually have. The hardest part of that when you’re on the boundary and you’re a defensive coordinator is you try to correct the mistakes in between plays. In a no-huddle situation you don’t have time to do that. I’m going to have to stay pretty disciplined of letting the other guys coach so we can get the play call in.”
Although Claeys will be leading the Gophers this week, he is certainly still open to coaching tips from Kill.
“If he calls me and he has something to say, we’d be more than glad to take all the advice he gives us,” said Claeys. “At the same time, we’re not going to be a burden and bother him. He does know that if a situation comes up that we need his advice we won’t hesitate to call him. For the most part, whatever advice he wants to give, that’s what we’ll do.”
As Kill takes his time to get healthy, Claeys and the Gophers know who is ultimately in charge of the Maroon and Gold.
“It’s Jerry Kill’s program and it will always be his program,” said Claeys. “There’s game management decisions that have to be made but besides those decisions, we’ll do it just like Coach Kill does. I’ve got a little bit different of a personality than Coach and so I think you always have to be yourself in those situations and not try to be somebody else but the principles are not going to change. It’s his football program and we’re just trying to take care of it and advance it along.”
Claeys and the Gophers will miss having Kill around, not only as a coach, but also a friend.
“I’d rather not be here,” said Claeys about Tuesday’s press conference. “With Coach, the thing we can’t replace what he is, he’s a good friend and he’s a great fan of the kids. So that’s where we miss him, having him around on the practice field. We’ve had to do it before, as a staff, and I feel very comfortable and very confident we’ll be fine.”
Leidner Starting
Although quarterback Mitch Leidner struggled at times against Michigan, he showed enough to get the start this weekend against the Wildcats.
“Obviously Mitch made some mistakes that he’d like to have back but we feel like that he played well enough and they moved the ball on offense and he deserved that opportunity again,” said Claeys. “The only thing that I shared with the offense was Philip will be ready to play and I’d like to get him in the game at some point, earlier in the game. The whole reason is if you ever have to play a second quarterback later on in the game, that’s tough coming off the bench after sitting all the time. We’ll have the plans to try and work both of them in but I think Mitch has deserved that opportunity.”
One important note at the quarterback position, Claeys stated that Chris Streveler is injured and has not practiced, making true freshman Conor Rhoda the team’s third-string signal-caller.
Position Change?
The Gophers may look to switch things up on defense; potentially moving safety Brock Vereen to cornerback.
“Brock did practice at corner last week and he took a few reps at corner on Sunday,” said Claeys. “We haven’t made that decision whether to truly move him there or not. A lot of that will depend on the kids at safety and changing that rotation. That’s the one possibility that we could end up making here but I still want to see [Tuesday’s] practice.”
Williams Stellar
Maxx Williams was a bright spot for the Gophers against Michigan. The freshman tight end hauled in five catches for 54 yards and Minnesota's only touchdown.
“If you can get a tight end that’s bigger than the safeties and can outrun most linebackers, I think that’s what everybody’s looking for,” said Claeys. “Maxx is a kid who has developed into that. Our intention was to play him a year ago. He was ready to play a year ago and he hurt his shoulder at the beginning of the season and probably wasn’t really healthy until midway through the season. We made the decision to go ahead and redshirt him. He definitely puts a stretch up the middle of the defense and creates mismatch problems. If you have that guy, it makes things a lot easier as far as trying to loosen some people up to run the ball.”
Campbell’s Spot
Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell has seen his playing time decrease recently as James Manuel has stepped up as a run-stopping threat.
“We’ve put De’Vondre more in the nickel situations,” said Claeys. “It’s the same thing on the running game; James has handled the running game a little better than De’Vondre has so that’s kind of how we decided to rotate. Not to put too much on De’Vondre’s plate at one time with the nickel stuff too so we’re playing him more in the nickel situation and James more in the base back.”
By Grant Erickson
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/299636?referrer_id=388419
With head coach Jerry Kill taking time away from the Gophers to manage and treat his Epilepsy, defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys stood in during Tuesday’s media tour. While much of the conversation centered on Kill, Claeys also spoke about the team and Minnesota’s attempt to bounce back following a much-needed week off.
Kill Focusing On Health
Last week, it was announced that Jerry Kill would be leaving the team for a period of time to focus on his health. As acting head coach, Tracy Claeys has allowed Kill to have time to be away from football.
“I’ve had more contact with Rebecca [Kill] until [Monday] night then Coach called [Monday] night and had a great conversation,” said Claeys. “He’s doing good. We talked about our last game; we talked about Northwestern’s last game, so he’s feeling good. We’re still going to prepare and I don’t anticipate him being at the game at this time. We’ll just have to see what happens but it was good to talk football with him.”
With Kill likely missing Saturday’s contest at Northwestern, Claeys will move from the press box to the sideline, something that should not be a major adjustment for the long-time defensive coordinator.
“It’s not a big change for me,” said Claeys. “I was on the boundary my first four or five years as a coordinator. I just have to change my charts around a little bit so I can have the information in front of me that I usually have. The hardest part of that when you’re on the boundary and you’re a defensive coordinator is you try to correct the mistakes in between plays. In a no-huddle situation you don’t have time to do that. I’m going to have to stay pretty disciplined of letting the other guys coach so we can get the play call in.”
Although Claeys will be leading the Gophers this week, he is certainly still open to coaching tips from Kill.
“If he calls me and he has something to say, we’d be more than glad to take all the advice he gives us,” said Claeys. “At the same time, we’re not going to be a burden and bother him. He does know that if a situation comes up that we need his advice we won’t hesitate to call him. For the most part, whatever advice he wants to give, that’s what we’ll do.”
As Kill takes his time to get healthy, Claeys and the Gophers know who is ultimately in charge of the Maroon and Gold.
“It’s Jerry Kill’s program and it will always be his program,” said Claeys. “There’s game management decisions that have to be made but besides those decisions, we’ll do it just like Coach Kill does. I’ve got a little bit different of a personality than Coach and so I think you always have to be yourself in those situations and not try to be somebody else but the principles are not going to change. It’s his football program and we’re just trying to take care of it and advance it along.”
Claeys and the Gophers will miss having Kill around, not only as a coach, but also a friend.
“I’d rather not be here,” said Claeys about Tuesday’s press conference. “With Coach, the thing we can’t replace what he is, he’s a good friend and he’s a great fan of the kids. So that’s where we miss him, having him around on the practice field. We’ve had to do it before, as a staff, and I feel very comfortable and very confident we’ll be fine.”
Leidner Starting
Although quarterback Mitch Leidner struggled at times against Michigan, he showed enough to get the start this weekend against the Wildcats.
“Obviously Mitch made some mistakes that he’d like to have back but we feel like that he played well enough and they moved the ball on offense and he deserved that opportunity again,” said Claeys. “The only thing that I shared with the offense was Philip will be ready to play and I’d like to get him in the game at some point, earlier in the game. The whole reason is if you ever have to play a second quarterback later on in the game, that’s tough coming off the bench after sitting all the time. We’ll have the plans to try and work both of them in but I think Mitch has deserved that opportunity.”
One important note at the quarterback position, Claeys stated that Chris Streveler is injured and has not practiced, making true freshman Conor Rhoda the team’s third-string signal-caller.
Position Change?
The Gophers may look to switch things up on defense; potentially moving safety Brock Vereen to cornerback.
“Brock did practice at corner last week and he took a few reps at corner on Sunday,” said Claeys. “We haven’t made that decision whether to truly move him there or not. A lot of that will depend on the kids at safety and changing that rotation. That’s the one possibility that we could end up making here but I still want to see [Tuesday’s] practice.”
Williams Stellar
Maxx Williams was a bright spot for the Gophers against Michigan. The freshman tight end hauled in five catches for 54 yards and Minnesota's only touchdown.
“If you can get a tight end that’s bigger than the safeties and can outrun most linebackers, I think that’s what everybody’s looking for,” said Claeys. “Maxx is a kid who has developed into that. Our intention was to play him a year ago. He was ready to play a year ago and he hurt his shoulder at the beginning of the season and probably wasn’t really healthy until midway through the season. We made the decision to go ahead and redshirt him. He definitely puts a stretch up the middle of the defense and creates mismatch problems. If you have that guy, it makes things a lot easier as far as trying to loosen some people up to run the ball.”
Campbell’s Spot
Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell has seen his playing time decrease recently as James Manuel has stepped up as a run-stopping threat.
“We’ve put De’Vondre more in the nickel situations,” said Claeys. “It’s the same thing on the running game; James has handled the running game a little better than De’Vondre has so that’s kind of how we decided to rotate. Not to put too much on De’Vondre’s plate at one time with the nickel stuff too so we’re playing him more in the nickel situation and James more in the base back.”