In year three at Minnesota coach Jerry Kill is feeling more positive about his running backs. “It’s better, there is no question,” Kill told Sports Headliners.
The success of the Gophers offense depends on a productive running game. Part of the reason is Kill’s offensive philosophy is to balance the run and pass. But targeting an effective ground game in 2013 just makes sense because the talent is unproven among the wide receivers and sophomore quarterback Philip Nelson is running better than he is passing.
Against New Mexico State last Saturday the Gophers had 342 net yards running after rushing for 221 yards in their opening game with UNLV. By contrast the Gophers had 99 and 127 yards passing in their first two games, both victories against sub-par FBS teams.
When Kill was hired in late 2010 he inherited only one running back who is a contributor in 2013, redshirt junior Donnell Kirkwood. The top four backs now are Kirkwood, junior David Cobb, sophomore Rodrick Williams and freshman Berkley Edwards.
Kirkwood and Edwards weren’t available for the New Mexico State game because of ankle injuries. Will they play Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium against Western Illinois? “I doubt it,” Kill said early this week.
Whenever Kirkwood returns he might not regain the starting assignment he had last season and in the opener against UNLV. Kirkwood probably doesn’t have the power of Williams and certainly not the speed of Edwards. Williams, starting at tailback last Saturday night, impressed Kill when he led the team in rushing with 148 net yards.
“Rodrick played outstanding,” Kill said. “He ran like Brandon Jacobs.”
Jacobs, a brute of a runner, played for Kill at Southern Illinois before having an eight-year NFL career that included two seasons gaining over 1,000 yards. Kill won’t say Williams is another Jacobs but his sophomore tailback ran over tacklers on Saturday night. Williams is a powerful 235 pounds and although listed at 5-11 in Gophers publicity materials, Kill said, “He is only 5-9.”
Cobb ran for 56 yards against the Aggies showing power and speed. Williams had 16 carries, seven more than Cobb. “Never take out a hot back,” Kill said referring to Williams. “Let him keep playing.”
Cobb is listed at 5-11, 225 so his size is similar to Williams. Kill said both are “pretty fast” but no back on his roster is like Edwards who after establishing himself as one of the fastest prep sprinters in the country has yet to play for the Gophers because of the ankle injury.
“There’s nobody like Berkley (on the team),” Kill said. “He has a different gear.”
It will be interesting to see the contributions of all four running backs as the season develops but the Gophers will also depend on Nelson’s legs. He had 15 runs against the Aggies gaining 122 net yards.
Nelson is a deceptive ball handler who often will fake a handoff to a running back and sprint down the field showing more speed than expected. Last year Nelson was faster than MarQueis Gray, the athletic senior starting quarterback, and he believes his speed has improved from 2012. “I think I got a little bit too big for my body. I am feeling really good around 215,” Nelson said. “Being able to lose weight and get a little bit stronger has helped my speed.”
When they scramble, some college quarterbacks are taught to slide but not in the Gophers’ system. “We’re not trying to duck out of the way at all,” Nelson said.
Worth Noting
Kill’s 20 years of coaching college football and total wins of 138 are the most of any Big Ten Conference coach. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is second in years at 18, while Ohio State’s Urban Meyer is second in wins with 118.
Kill is promoting an auction that dedicates all proceeds to the Gary Tinsley Memorial Scholarship Fund. The auction lasts through September 18 and can be viewed at www.32auctions.com/mnultimateauction.
Bob Nielson, the former UMD national championship football coach and athletic director, deserved consideration for the Gophers AD job when it opened up two years ago, but probably wasn’t interviewed. Nielson is in his first season as Western Illinois coach with the Fighting Leathernecks who play against the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday.
The Fighting Leathernecks nickname is from U.S. Marine Corps history and Western Illinois is the only nonmilitary school granted permission by the Navy to use the name.
The St. Louis Park High School Athletic Hall of Fame will induct its bi-annual class Thursday night at the Minneapolis Marriott West. Bears coach Marc Trestman, whose teams plays the Vikings in Chicago on Sunday, is among the inductees although his schedule won’t allow him to be present. Trestman was a multi-sport athlete at St. Louis Park and played college football as a quarterback before starting a coaching career that led to CFL championships and his first year opportunity as Bears head coach. His parents, Sharon and Jerry, will accept the Hall of Fame honor and plaque in his absence.
Steve Hunegs emailed that Hall of Fame committee chair Stan Veker visited Trestman earlier this year after the vote was finalized. “Stan reports that Marc could not be more gracious and honored…as is typical of Marc. (He) still has time for a good word for everyone despite his responsibilities as a NFL coach,” Hunegs wrote.
Hunegs added Trestman joins the late Sid Gillman as NFL head coaches produced by “our Minneapolis Jewish Community,” and among those being honored at the Hall of Fame induction will be two of St. Louis Park’s greatest teams. The 1986 girls’ state champion basketball squad will be recognized as a “Team of Distinction” along with the 1958 track and field state champs.
Zach Line is collaborating with SI.com writer Jenny Vrentas on weekly stories about his quest to make the NFL including his rookie experience with the Vikings. Vrentas interviews him for about 20 to 30 minutes each week but Line doesn’t have editorial control or get paid. “I see it (the story) when it’s published,” he told Sports Headliners recently. “She always does a good job so I trust her.”
Line was a tailback in high school and college but has been converted to fullback with the Vikings. An undrafted free agent who has run a 4.61 in the 40-yard dash, he hopes to eventually play tailback in the pros but accepts his role now as a reserve fullback blocking for Adrian Peterson.
“You don’t want to let him down, obviously,” Line said. “He was an MVP last year and he wants to win games. I am a rookie that needs to shake off the rookie dust fast. Just want to do right for him and do right for the offense.”
Vikings rookie cornerback Xavier Rhodes acknowledged the pro game moves faster than college football but he won’t let the pace make him hesitant to jump into passing lanes for possible interceptions. “You can’t hold back in the game of football, especially at corner, because that’s how you get beat, being timid. So I try to go out there and play football. …I am just waiting on my opportunity, basically.”
For the first time Canterbury Park will be the site of Indian Horse Relay racing this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Indian riders compete against one another in traditional Native American dress. They change horses during racing heats in front of the grandstand and ride thoroughbreds bareback. The races are nonwagering events although the riders are competing for money.