Some interesting comments from Jones and Ragnow, this is the first time I've seen a recruit come out and say that Kill's health impacts him.
Jones said Kill’s battle with epilepsy affects his recruitment tremendously.
“You never know if [Kill’s] telling the truth or not, but I believe him,” Jones said. “I don’t believe he’ll be going anywhere any time soon, but it’s always in the back of my head when I’m looking at another school that has a coaching staff established.”
Jones said the uncertainty surrounding Kill’s health does concern him a bit, especially when he’s trying to make a career out of football.
“It does [scare me] — just the fact that it isn’t a small thing,” Jones said. “It depends on my career as a college player. Will he be my head coach or not? That’s significant to me.”
Ragnow, on the other hand, said seeing the things Kill has overcome in his career makes him want to play for the Gophers even more. He said he sees Kill’s health problems as temporary.
“He’s had epilepsy for a lot of years, and he’s been a real successful coach,” Ragnow said. “This is just a bump. I think he’ll be fine, [and] I respect him for it.”
Ragnow said he doesn’t have reservations about Kill’s health, but he said he’s concerned about the program’s ability to win.
“I love the coaching staff, [and] it’s close to home,” he said. “It’s just you’d love to see them win more.”
Ragnow said he doesn’t expect the Gophers to turn into a powerhouse program overnight and said he will keep Minnesota in the mix until he makes his final decision.
“This is a big year for the Gophers,” Ragnow said. “I’m really watching closely, because I want to see progress.”
Jones agreed with Ragnow and compared Minnesota’s on-field success to that of the other programs going after him.
“Missouri’s top 10 in the country right now,” Jones said. “You can’t beat that.”
The Gophers are a running football team — something that would make a Jones-Ragnow tandem ideal.
“That offense is a dream come true for a running back,” Jones said. “Kill loves to feed the ball to the running backs, and … it’ll be a perfect fit if that’s where I choose.”
Ragnow said he loves to run block and wants to play in an offense that runs the ball frequently.
Jones said he and Ragnow have entertained the idea of playing together but aren’t necessarily looking at being a package deal.
“We were saying if we both went there, it’d be significant for the Gophers,” Jones said.
http://www.mndaily.com/sports/football/2013/11/05/kill’s-leave-gophers’-wins-impact-recruiting
Go Gophers!!
