Last Saturday’s upset win over Michigan in Ann Arbor was unusually emotional for Gophers coach Jerry Kill who immediately after the game gave a long hug to his wife Rebecca and then praised seizure specialist Dr. Brien Smith. Kill told ABC sideline analyst Jeannine Edwards the doctor “saved my career.”
In 2013 the Gophers had also been in Ann Arbor when on the morning of the October 5 game Kill suffered an epileptic seizure. He has had a number of seizures but this was the first causing him to miss coaching a game. He also didn’t coach the following game two weeks later, and while he eventually returned to game day coaching last season it was from the press box and not the sidelines.
With a history of seizures, including at Minnesota where he started coaching in 2011, Kill drew criticism from media and fans last year who questioned whether the coach’s health should prompt his resignation. He responded by taking a leave of absence to again confront his challenge with epilepsy and seizures.
Kill turned to Smith, a nationally recognized authority on treatments for seizures. Last week Smith talked to Mlive.com reporter Sue Thoms for a September 27 story about Kill. “I think he just realized, yes, I have to monitor the situation because I can’t push the envelope too far,” Smith said.
Kill has made changes with medication and in his lifestyle including management of stress, according to the story. Close associates and other observers have praised his renewed health. His progress, of course, doesn’t come with guarantees that he will not have future seizures.
Smith knows the concern is ongoing for those afflicted with seizures. “It can be challenging, and it’s not always an easy fix for everyone,” Smith said. “In many cases, it’s trial and error with different medications and making other adjustments. You have to keep plugging away at it and fix the things you can fix.”
During his TV interview with Edwards, Kill gratefully acknowledged the role of Rebecca. Kill said without her support, including willingness to let her husband continue his career, he wouldn’t be coaching.
Kill’s mother was at the game and that added to the emotional scene in Michigan Stadium. She witnessed the Gophers’ first win over the Wolverines since 2005 and only the fourth victory dating back to 1977. It was a milestone win for Kill who preaches all the time he coaches “for the kids” and the victory eased the frustration of 58-0 and 42-13 losses in Ann Arbor in 2011 and 2013.
The Gophers won back the Little Brown Jug, college football’s oldest rivalry trophy. Kill wants Minnesota fans that haven’t seen the jug to have that opportunity. Tonight and Thursday evening the jug will be on display in the T. Denny Sanford Athletics Hall of Fame at TCF Bank Stadium from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Kill told Sports Headliners yesterday that people who haven’t seen him for awhile remark about how much better he looks. “I’ve worked hard to walk everyday—get some time to myself everyday,” Kill said. “Still working the same (long) hours but just being smarter about it. Doing the best I can to sleep. It’s hard during the season but I am doing the best I can. It’s all good at the end of the day. I am doing all the things that Doc Smith told me to do.”
Dan O’Brien, the Gophers associate athletic director who works closely with the football program, knows too that epilepsy means there’s never guarantees seizures won’t reoccur but the last 12 months have been positive. “He hasn’t had any (seizures) since right after that Michigan game (2013) when they started a new treatment plan,” O’Brien said.
Kill and his team stumbled a year ago in Michigan. Last Saturday he and the Gophers triumphed, celebrating a kind of double win on and off the field—partially thanks to a doctor from the Wolverine State.
Big Ten Power Rankings
Here’s how Sports Headliners sees the 14 Big Ten teams after five weeks of mostly nonconference action but also league games for all but three schools.
1. Michigan State (3-1, 0-0)—Spartans are the class of the Big Ten and worthy of their top 10 national ranking with a high scoring offense, tough defense and tougher coach in Mark Dantonio.
2. Ohio State (3-1, 0-0)—Buckeyes fail to impress defensively but offense coming along nicely without injured quarterback Braxton Miller who is out for the season but coach Urban Meyer says is the starter in 2015.
3. Wisconsin (3-1, 0-0)—Badgers inconsistent so far and LSU loss will haunt this team all year, but love that running game led by Wisconsin native Melvin Gordon.
4. Nebraska (5-0, 1-0)—Cornhuskers on a sugar binge after devouring all those cupcakes and first test comes Saturday at Michigan State—wonder if coach Bo Pelini will bring his cat for good luck.
5. Iowa (4-1, 1-0)—Hawkeyes have won two games by a total of eight points and lost one by three while playing tough in the trenches (as usual). U student body already practicing “We hate Iowa cheer” in anticipation of November 8 game in Minneapolis.
6. Minnesota (4-1, 1-0)—The Gophers will need the same kind of passing from quarterback Mitch Leidner and offensive line play shown in the Michigan game to become real contenders in the West Division race, but that’s not an impossible task.
7. Maryland (4-1, 1-0)—The Terps have only a game-ending loss to West Virginia but we will know a lot more after Saturday when they host Ohio State in a game that could be trouble for the Buckeyes.
8. Penn State (4-1, 1-1)—PSU fans now know new coach James Franklin doesn’t walk on water after the Nittany Lions lost to so-so Northwestern last Saturday, again showing a dismal run game that might make the late Joe Paterno hold his nose.
9. Rutgers (4-1, 0-1)—The feisty Scarlet Knights, formerly from the not so famous American Athletic Conference, have been better as a Big Ten member than most expected and have away from home wins over Washington State and Navy. Gotta give a wink to a school whose football alums include Ozzie Nelson.
10. Northwestern (2-2, 1-0)—Coach Pat Fitzgerald received major contributions from freshmen in last weekend’s dominating 29-6 win at Penn State and the Cats could give the Gophers an alley fight in Minneapolis a week from Saturday.
11. Michigan (2-3, 0-1)—Coach Brady Hoke, who won 11 games in 2011, is 9-9 in his last 18 games, and his seat is the warmest in college football while more seats are going empty in 109,901 capacity Michigan Stadium.
12. Indiana (2-2, 0-1)—The stumbling Big Ten image got such a lift from the Hoosiers’ miraculous road win over SEC member Missouri on September 20 that I don’t have the heart to rate them any lower in the power rankings than 12th although they might deserve it.
13. Illinois (3-2, 0-1)—Illinois has one of the league’s better quarterbacks in newcomer Wes Lunt and offensive coordinator Bill Cubit is talented but Illinois is in for a long season including a probable fourth consecutive loss to the Gophers on October 25.
14. Purdue (2-3, 0-1)—The Boilermakers play at Illinois on Saturday in a game that will cheer up one of these two downtrodden programs and probably give the scoreboard a workout since Purdue is yielding 27.8 points per game, the Illini 35.