quote:

ORIGINAL: Jim Frenette

I kind of already lost faith in Kill.

quote:

ORIGINAL: djskillz

Anyone else find it incredibly funny that the Big10 is ALREADY looking at changing the division names due to "overwhelmingly negative" response.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Karl H

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jim Frenette

I kind of already lost faith in Kill.

It's really early yet, but I'm not totally impressed on the recruiting front so far. 

- We lost Matt LaCosse, a projected TE, to Illinois.  IMO, we need a good recruit at this position.

- Rumor is WR Bryant Allen has stated he is transferring. Nothing official yet, but this would be a huge blow to already weak position.- Joe Bjorklund didn't get a lot of interest from MN and just committed to Toledo.  Not that we need another OL, but he was one of the best remaining of the Minnesota kids.

- Foster Bush changed his commit from Northern Illinois to Minnesota.  A positive I suppose but my gripe is that most of the offensive line recruits are NOT Minnesota kids.  I thought that is what this state produced?

- Josh Campion committed to Minnesota (again).  He was a commit a couple of years ago, but for whatever reason it didn't work out.  Hopefully this time it does.  However, it gives us 6 offensive linemen so far.  Do we really need that many when spots like WR and DB are pretty weak?  Not to mention that just 2 of the 6 are from that state of MN.....

quote:

University of Minnesota sophomore two-sport athlete Bryant Allen plans to transfer to a school closer to home, according to Allen's high school football coach, Brandon Gregory.

Gregory, Allen's coach at Maplewood Richmond Heights High School in suburban St. Louis, said Allen told the Gophers on Friday that he would be leaving for personal reasons. Allen, who caught 16 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown this season, also was a basketball walk-on last season but not this season.

"(Allen) told me he wanted to be closer to home and closer to his son," Gregory said. "It was the reality of being that far away from family and things like that kind of kicked in. He didn't have anything bad to say."

The 6-foot, 160-pound Allen started three games at receiver in 2010 and was the Gophers' leading punt returner, with four for 49 yards.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

I watched some of NI's bowl game on the weekend ... anyone else?
Liked what I saw ... if that is the direction we are going.
More talented than I expected. And i liked the attack. They weren't playing a great team, but they attacked and defended with purpose and fire.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jim Frenette

quote:

ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

I watched some of NI's bowl game on the weekend ... anyone else?
Liked what I saw ... if that is the direction we are going.
More talented than I expected. And i liked the attack. They weren't playing a great team, but they attacked and defended with purpose and fire.

And what great team would that be? Fresno hasn't been that good for years. Yes they made it to a bowl game, but they are in a weak conference

And BTW, way to many bowl games with teams that don't deserve an extra game. I also hate ESPN grabbing 90% of them and not give us a choice which game to watch

quote:

ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

I watched some of NI's bowl game on the weekend ... anyone else?
Liked what I saw ... if that is the direction we are going.
More talented than I expected. And i liked the attack. They weren't playing a great team, but they attacked and defended with purpose and fire.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bruce Johnson

quote:

ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

I watched some of NI's bowl game on the weekend ... anyone else?
Liked what I saw ... if that is the direction we are going.
More talented than I expected. And i liked the attack. They weren't playing a great team, but they attacked and defended with purpose and fire.

How much of that coaching staff comes here to join Coach Kill?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lynn G.

I kind of feel sorry for Northern Illinois. They have to be resenting MN right now for the fact that their team's coaching staff has just been pillaged.

But I'm certainly hoping it pays off for us.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jim Frenette
On another note, one kid that had verbally committed to Kill at NIU has changed to Minn. He is a big lineman from Wisc

quote:

Jay Sawvel rounds out the on-field coaching staff for the Gophers. He will coach the defensive backs and serve as special teams coordinator. Sawvel has coached under Kill for the past 10 years, beginning at Southern Illinois in 2001 and moving on to Northern Illinois in 2008.

"Jay is an outstanding coach and a tremendous recruiter," Kill said. "He's a relentless guy. He's been with me a long time and that's important."

Sawvel helped lead the Huskies to a No. 16 national ranking in scoring defense last season. NIU also ranked No. 28 in total defense in 2010. Sawvel's defensive backs were an integral part of a Huskie defense that recorded 16 interceptions last season, to rank No. 21 in the nation. In each of Sawvel's first two seasons at Northern, the Huskies led the Mid-American Conference in total defense.

On special teams, the Huskies blocked 17 kicks in Sawvel's three seasons.

In seven seasons at Southern Illinois, Sawvel's defensive backs helped hold opposing offenses to just 18.5 points per game. In 2007, the Salukis tallied 21 interceptions (fourth most in the nation) and the defensive backs accounted for nearly 53 percent of the team's total tackles. In 2004, SIU led the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 13.2 points per game. The Salukis intercepted 17 passes, while allowing just 12 passing touchdowns.

Special teams were strong at SIU under Sawvel, as well. The Salukis ranked No. 1 in the Gateway Conference and No. 7 in the nation in net punting, while leading the conference and ranking No. 6 in the country in kickoff returns. Sawvel coached two special teams All-Americans in 2007. Overall, Sawvel's units blocked multiple kicks in six of his seven years at SIU.