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University of Minnesota Athletics
Spring Practice Report: Kill Addresses Students
4/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate with even the best-laid plans. But those who fight through the elements are sometimes rewarded. That's what happened Thursday at TCF Bank Stadium for a group of U students who came out to catch the final Gopher Football practice before Saturday's Spring Game.
More than 500 U of M students RSVP'd to attend an event that was being dubbed Friday Field Frenzy and was scheduled for last Friday night under the lights at TCF Bank Stadium. Rain and snow caused that event to be postponed to Thursday afternoon. Cold, gray, overcast skies hung over TCF Bank Stadium Thursday, although there was no precipitation. About 100 students braved the elements and came out to see some of their classmates work through the 2-hour practice session.
Those 100 or so were rewarded with a free stadium blanket, free pizza and drinks. More importantly, they got an intimate audience with the new leader of the Gopher Football program, head coach Jerry Kill.
Kill was sincerely appreciative of those who took the time to come out and see the team and listen to him talk. After his talk with the students, he posed for photographs with many of the students and even took the time to chat with those who approached him.
"I appreciate you coming out today," Kill told the group. "I know you have a lot to do, finals coming up and things of that nature. I'm excited about being here at the University of Minnesota. I'm a personable guy, if you ever need something or want to stop by and say hi, you're certainly welcome to do that."
Helping was a big theme of the chat Coach Kill had with the students. But he didn't just ask for the students to help the football program. He pledged he would do whatever he could to build on the experience of attending college football games at the U.
"The most important thing I want to do is help you have a great time at what we're doing," Kill said. "You can always contact me, if there are things you feel I can do to help you and help the excitement of what we're trying to do. I love college football. I love students. Young people like you saved my life. I'm a cancer survivor. It's kept me young, it's kept me ambitious and it's kept me with a lot of energy. The most important part of college football is sometimes not just the game. It's the atmosphere."
As part of that atmosphere, Kill made sure to let the students know that the team needs them to be a part of that.
"I just want you to come to the game, bring somebody with you and have fun," Kill said. "We need your help. My job is to come here and change some 30 years. It's not going to happen overnight. But I can do that with the help of students. It needs to be a party, a get-after-it atmosphere. There needs to be something going on all the time in the stadium. If you do that, eventually we'll get the product on the field that you want. It will help us be successful and make you proud.
"It won't happen overnight," Kill reiterated. "We're going to try to make it as fast as we can. But you can help us get there."
Kill told the students that every part of the college football experience is important.
"The fans, the students, the tail-gating, the band and the cheerleaders ... that's just as important as any football player playing that game," Kill said. "All of it together, generates a lot of enthusiasm for the University of Minnesota."
Kill also told the students he knows what his part of the equation is as well.
"We need to win," Kill said. "I understand that. I've got my work cut out for me to get that done. While I'm trying to get that done, you've got to help me. Anything you can do to help us, I certainly appreciate it."
On the field prior to Kill's meeting with the students, the Gophers went through a two-hour practice session in preparation for Saturday's scrimmage, which represents the 15th and final spring practice of the year.
Kill said he's seen progress so far this spring, but he said there is plenty of work to be done over the summer leading into fall camp.
"I think we're at the beginning stages of learning how to work," Kill said. "The kids are trying. They're trying to do what we expect. We'll see what impact we have been over the next two weeks when finals come out. Then, also into the summertime what their preparation is going to be."
The final portion of Thursday's practice was spent going over fundamentals and individual drills the Gophers will be able to do on their own over the summer. With football coaches unable to work with student-athletes until the beginning of fall camp, working on their own and with the strength and conditioning staff will be of utmost importance, Kill said.
Saturday's Spring Game will begin at 1 p.m., although the use of the word game is a bit of a misnomer this year. With a lack of depth and a handful of injuries, Kill said the team will practice for about 1 ½ hours Saturday, including a good deal of scrimmage work.
The game will be streamed live on www.BigTenNetwork.com as well as in the Gold Zone on www.GopherSports.com . The Big Ten Network will rebroadcast the event at 6 p.m. CT Sunday night. KFAN 1130 AM and the Gopher Radio Network will broadcast from TCF Bank Stadium from 1-3 p.m. as well.
Media Roundup
Here's a look at some of the coverage of Gopher Football in the media recently.
- The Star-Tribune's Phil Miller writes about the Gophers beginning to prepare for summer .
- Miller also writes about the Gophers' situation at middle linebacker .
- The Star-Tribune's Sid Hartman writes about Gopher linebacker Ryan Grant and his family tree .
- ESPN.com's Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg writes about the pace of Minnesota's practices .
- The Pioneer Press' Bob Sansevere has another Q&A with Coach Kill .
-By Andy Seeley, Associate Director of Athletic Communication
