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News, Notes, Tid-Bits and Quotes: 'If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Try to Fix it.'
By Grant Erickson
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/304527?referrer_id=388419
Tuesday provided a unique media experience with defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys and Jerry Kill addressing the local writers and TV cameras. Much of the discussion centered on Kill’s return to the team but there was still plenty of talk about Minnesota’s huge victory over Nebraska on Saturday.
Kill’s Progress
Kill returned to practice last week, spent time recruiting and watched his second game in a row from the press box.
“I’ve been back,” said Kill. “I’m managing my time better. Last week, I needed to be around the players and the coaches. I wasn’t dodging the media or anything of that nature. I spent a ton of time recruiting because that’s the most important thing. I think we all know, no matter what level it is, you better have players. I needed to make sure that our recruits hung in there, which they have. I feel optimistic that we’ll pick up a couple others.”
Watching Minnesota’s victory—and subsequent field storming against Nebraska—was something Kill savored.
“What was good about that was for the state of Minnesota, and our fans, I stayed up there with Bill Miller because Bill had coached against Nebraska for several years and never beaten them,” said Kill. “So everybody else went out of the press box and I said, ‘Hey Billy, why don’t you sit up here. Let’s watch this thing.’ We just stood up there and watched all the fans. I watched my wife about get run over…I just watched them all take the field and I just sat up there and watched…I just felt good for the state of Minnesota and all our fans.”
With the Gophers winning two straight conference contests, Kill doesn’t want to change anything now and will remain in the pressbox during games.
“I can tell you this, we ain’t going to screw it up right now,” said Kill. “I will be in the box at Indiana. I’ve got enough trust in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it…I am a little superstitious, we’re not going to change a whole lot.”
Winning is the most important thing for Minnesota’s head coach, not where he coaches from.
“I ain’t going to change anything,” said Kill. “What’d my daddy used to say? ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.’ I’m not really going to fix anything. My ego ain’t that big. I just want to win.”
While Kill has been away, his coaches and his team have been putting in extra work to make their leader proud.
“When I went to the practice field on Tuesday, I really didn’t have to say a whole lot,” said Kill. “Those kids have picked it up now. They have picked it up. The coaching staff’s picked it up. We’ve been in the program and I think they understand what they need to do so that makes my job easier. I give all the credit; it comes down to players. Those players are relentless and have done a great job for us.”
As Kill begins to increase his time coaching, he has gotten guidance on how to handle the situation.
“I’ve had great advice from some of the best in the country,” said Kill. “Chuck Pagano has reached out to me from the Colts. I don’t even know the guy. He wrote me a note and kind of told me a few things…There’s a lot of people that have had different situations that have come back and I’ve listened to those people. I haven’t listened to a whole lot in 30 years but I’m listening now. I’ve got great professional advice from people that have been in the game.”
While taking a step back from coaching, Kill has continued to get healthy and has high hopes for the next few months.
“I’m going to sum this all up; everybody’s seen my parking spot and that’s been empty, I’ll be driving in February,” said Kill. “I’m not going to say ‘I hope,’ or ‘maybe’ and all that. I’m going to be driving that truck too. Matter of fact, I think I’m going to order the damn thing this week.”
Looking Back
Following Minnesota’s impressive 34-23 victory over the Huskers, the Gophers were understandably thrilled.
“Obviously we’re excited about the win versus the University of Nebraska,” said Claeys. “It’s always good for the players’ confidence; I think for the fan base to show progress that we’re building in the right direction. I wish we had more time to enjoy it but you move to another conference game.”
The Gophers were able to run solid plays on first down, giving them more chances on later downs. In the game, Minnesota picked up 23 first downs compared to 17 for the Huskers.
“Coming from a defensive football coach, it’s hard to win football games when you’re in second and short and third and short all the time and get off the field,” said Claeys. “We averaged 7.7 yards [on first down] or something like that. If you do that, you’re going to win a lot of ball games...If you’re able to do that week in and week out and keep defenses off balance.”
Bowl-Eligible
Picking up their sixth win of the season on Saturday, the Gophers became eligible for their second bowl game under Kill. The Maroon and Gold are excited about the opportunity but hope they can build off their early-season success.
“It’s a great reward for the kids,” said Claeys. “I think the more things that you can do for the kids and going to a bowl game is a tremendous experience and it’s a great reward for the kids. To know that you already have that established, it’s a lot of fun. It really is. But now the challenge is, the more games you win, the better bowl game that you get. I think our kids are excited about that…As long as you have two losses, in our side of the division, I think you still have a chance up to this point with four or five weeks to go in the season. That’s really the bigger thing over which bowl we’re going to go to is finishing the conference strong and let’s see where this thing ends up if we take care of ourself.”
Nelson Impressive
Philip Nelson was impressive on Saturday, completing seven of his 15 passes including a perfect toss to Derrick Engel for a 33-yard touchdown.
“He’s been very efficient, very efficient,” said Claeys. “He’s had so many throws, and really Mitch (Leidner) has too, we’ve had so many throws that have been close but we just haven’t completed them. Philip, on Saturday, those throws were there and Derrick also made a great catch on the one ball. The more they play, the better they get. From my perspective, from the boundary, I still believe that we can win with either one. They both continue to improve and are great competitors.”
Injury Report
Even after playing a physical Nebraska squad, the Gophers emerged relatively healthy for this week of practice. The only questionable player for Minnesota is sophomore running back Rodrick Williams.
“We still don’t know if we’ll have Rodrick back,” said Claeys. “I think that’s the main one. You always have banged up, bruises and stuff like that, and that’s part of football season. Right now, I think Rodrick is the only questionable one that I remember.”
By Grant Erickson
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/304527?referrer_id=388419
Tuesday provided a unique media experience with defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys and Jerry Kill addressing the local writers and TV cameras. Much of the discussion centered on Kill’s return to the team but there was still plenty of talk about Minnesota’s huge victory over Nebraska on Saturday.
Kill’s Progress
Kill returned to practice last week, spent time recruiting and watched his second game in a row from the press box.
“I’ve been back,” said Kill. “I’m managing my time better. Last week, I needed to be around the players and the coaches. I wasn’t dodging the media or anything of that nature. I spent a ton of time recruiting because that’s the most important thing. I think we all know, no matter what level it is, you better have players. I needed to make sure that our recruits hung in there, which they have. I feel optimistic that we’ll pick up a couple others.”
Watching Minnesota’s victory—and subsequent field storming against Nebraska—was something Kill savored.
“What was good about that was for the state of Minnesota, and our fans, I stayed up there with Bill Miller because Bill had coached against Nebraska for several years and never beaten them,” said Kill. “So everybody else went out of the press box and I said, ‘Hey Billy, why don’t you sit up here. Let’s watch this thing.’ We just stood up there and watched all the fans. I watched my wife about get run over…I just watched them all take the field and I just sat up there and watched…I just felt good for the state of Minnesota and all our fans.”
With the Gophers winning two straight conference contests, Kill doesn’t want to change anything now and will remain in the pressbox during games.
“I can tell you this, we ain’t going to screw it up right now,” said Kill. “I will be in the box at Indiana. I’ve got enough trust in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it…I am a little superstitious, we’re not going to change a whole lot.”
Winning is the most important thing for Minnesota’s head coach, not where he coaches from.
“I ain’t going to change anything,” said Kill. “What’d my daddy used to say? ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.’ I’m not really going to fix anything. My ego ain’t that big. I just want to win.”
While Kill has been away, his coaches and his team have been putting in extra work to make their leader proud.
“When I went to the practice field on Tuesday, I really didn’t have to say a whole lot,” said Kill. “Those kids have picked it up now. They have picked it up. The coaching staff’s picked it up. We’ve been in the program and I think they understand what they need to do so that makes my job easier. I give all the credit; it comes down to players. Those players are relentless and have done a great job for us.”
As Kill begins to increase his time coaching, he has gotten guidance on how to handle the situation.
“I’ve had great advice from some of the best in the country,” said Kill. “Chuck Pagano has reached out to me from the Colts. I don’t even know the guy. He wrote me a note and kind of told me a few things…There’s a lot of people that have had different situations that have come back and I’ve listened to those people. I haven’t listened to a whole lot in 30 years but I’m listening now. I’ve got great professional advice from people that have been in the game.”
While taking a step back from coaching, Kill has continued to get healthy and has high hopes for the next few months.
“I’m going to sum this all up; everybody’s seen my parking spot and that’s been empty, I’ll be driving in February,” said Kill. “I’m not going to say ‘I hope,’ or ‘maybe’ and all that. I’m going to be driving that truck too. Matter of fact, I think I’m going to order the damn thing this week.”
Looking Back
Following Minnesota’s impressive 34-23 victory over the Huskers, the Gophers were understandably thrilled.
“Obviously we’re excited about the win versus the University of Nebraska,” said Claeys. “It’s always good for the players’ confidence; I think for the fan base to show progress that we’re building in the right direction. I wish we had more time to enjoy it but you move to another conference game.”
The Gophers were able to run solid plays on first down, giving them more chances on later downs. In the game, Minnesota picked up 23 first downs compared to 17 for the Huskers.
“Coming from a defensive football coach, it’s hard to win football games when you’re in second and short and third and short all the time and get off the field,” said Claeys. “We averaged 7.7 yards [on first down] or something like that. If you do that, you’re going to win a lot of ball games...If you’re able to do that week in and week out and keep defenses off balance.”
Bowl-Eligible
Picking up their sixth win of the season on Saturday, the Gophers became eligible for their second bowl game under Kill. The Maroon and Gold are excited about the opportunity but hope they can build off their early-season success.
“It’s a great reward for the kids,” said Claeys. “I think the more things that you can do for the kids and going to a bowl game is a tremendous experience and it’s a great reward for the kids. To know that you already have that established, it’s a lot of fun. It really is. But now the challenge is, the more games you win, the better bowl game that you get. I think our kids are excited about that…As long as you have two losses, in our side of the division, I think you still have a chance up to this point with four or five weeks to go in the season. That’s really the bigger thing over which bowl we’re going to go to is finishing the conference strong and let’s see where this thing ends up if we take care of ourself.”
Nelson Impressive
Philip Nelson was impressive on Saturday, completing seven of his 15 passes including a perfect toss to Derrick Engel for a 33-yard touchdown.
“He’s been very efficient, very efficient,” said Claeys. “He’s had so many throws, and really Mitch (Leidner) has too, we’ve had so many throws that have been close but we just haven’t completed them. Philip, on Saturday, those throws were there and Derrick also made a great catch on the one ball. The more they play, the better they get. From my perspective, from the boundary, I still believe that we can win with either one. They both continue to improve and are great competitors.”
Injury Report
Even after playing a physical Nebraska squad, the Gophers emerged relatively healthy for this week of practice. The only questionable player for Minnesota is sophomore running back Rodrick Williams.
“We still don’t know if we’ll have Rodrick back,” said Claeys. “I think that’s the main one. You always have banged up, bruises and stuff like that, and that’s part of football season. Right now, I think Rodrick is the only questionable one that I remember.”