Gophers freshman center Tyler Moore received the kind of news he didn’t expect and want on his 19th birthday last month.
Tyler’s father, Samson Moore, told Sports Headliners about how the first hours of October 28 developed involving his son and Jerry Kill. “He was waking up happy about his birthday, and then he gets called into a 7:30 a.m. meeting, (and) his coach is telling him he’s got to retire due to his health,” Sam said in a telephone interview last week. “That hit them (all the players) hard. I know it hit Tyler especially hard…because of that bond they had (Tyler and Kill). I know it still bothers him to now. He’s just trying to focus on football as much as he can. Keep that out of his mind.”
Mary Moore, Tyler’s mom, had a traumatic brain injury as a child. She has struggled with seizures—just like Kill who resigned because of his battles with epilepsy and seizures. When Kill was recruiting Tyler last year in Texas a connection was created between the coach and the Moore family.
“Tyler had been through and seen a lot of things that his mom had dealt with—and knowing what coach Kill was living with as well—I think they had that extra connection between them,” Sam said.
Kill has dealt with seizures for years. As he got to know the Moores he expressed a willingness to help Mary. “He always told her if there is anything that we can do, or any procedure, or a doctor you need to see, you just let me know,” Sam recalled. “(He said) we’ve got great facilities up here and everything. I can get you to the right people.”
October had begun with excitement and promise for the Moores. Tyler, only a true freshman and 18 years old, made his first start for the Gophers at Purdue on October 10. Prior to that start Sam reminded his nervous son he had been playing football with success since he was seven years old. He also told him how unusual it is for a freshman offensive lineman to start for a Big Ten team. “That’s a badge of honor,” Sam said.
Tyler, 6-4, 311 pounds, was ranked among the top 10 high school center prospects in the country while playing for North Shore High School in Houston. He’s started at center for the Gophers in their last four games.
North Shore High School coach John Kay told Sports Headliners “the sky’s the limit” on Tyler’s potential. Tyler was a three-year starter at North Shore, playing both guard and center.
Kay praised Tyler’s work ethic and “physical stature.” The coach hadn’t predicted Tyler would start as a true freshman, but he’s not that surprised either.
Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said that as expected with a player so young and inexperienced there are “ups and downs” in game day performances. But Limegrover also used the “sky’s the limit” tag for Tyler. “Overall, I’ve been really pleased with what he’s been able to do this year,” Limegrover said.
In high school Tyler’s offensive line coach was Ben Wilkerson who was co-winner of the 2004 Rimington Trophy as the nation’s outstanding center while playing for LSU. Wilkerson is now an assistant coach with the Bears in the NFL.
If Tyler—who Limegrover noted has yet to have a bad snap in a game—is to one day be considered for the Remington, he will have to prove himself without Kill. He will have to succeed when confronted with problems like the morning of his birthday when he heard the news about the coach. “He took it really hard,” his dad said. “He’s a big guy; he’s got a soft heart. Coach Kill was the one that really put it over the top for him as far as committing to Minnesota. They used to talk quite a bit before his commitment. …”
Sam remembered Tyler told him in the days leading up to Kill’s resignation the coach’s physical appearance was different. “He said he (Kill) just didn’t look right. He just didn’t seem himself—(and Tyler) came to find out he’d had some seizures that week already.”
Like so many people, the Moores were admirers of both Kill and his wife Rebecca. During the last several years in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Kills have bettered the community including establishment of the Chasing Dreams Fund through the Epilepsy Foundation.
“They’re regular people,” Sam said about Kill and his wife. “What you see is what they really are. It’s a tough loss for everybody, and the University. I hope the University can bring him back in some fashion so that he can be around the game that he loves. …I think that will make him feel some kind of normalcy.”
Worth Noting
An injury to starting center Brian Bobek, a redshirt senior, gave Moore the opportunity to play with the No. 1 offense. Moore is backed up by redshirt sophomore Matt Leidner, the younger brother of Gophers redshirt junior quarterback Mitch Leidner. At 21 years old, Mitch is just 16 months older than 20 year old Matt.
Gophers senior wide receiver KJ Maye had a personal-best 116 yards in receptions last Saturday against then No. 1 ranked Ohio State. Maye has improved his route running in the last couple of weeks. “Yeah, you should see that guy in practice,” Mitch Leidner said. “He goes constantly. He doesn’t take reps off because he doesn’t want to. Just how competitive he is. That’s why it pays off on the field on game day. He’s a heck of a player.”
Leidner talking about running the read-option against Ohio State All-American defensive end Joey Bosa who could be the first player chosen in next year’s NFL Draft: “As far as pulling it on a guy like Bosa, good luck with that. He plays the zone-read best out of anyone I’ve ever seen.”
The Gophers and Iowa renew their rivalry and possession of Floyd of Rosedale tomorrow night in Iowa City. Gophers senior redshirt punter Peter Mortell is from Green Bay and he’s learned about the rivalry’s intensity and keeping possession of the bronze pig. “I didn’t know about it as much before I got here but no one likes Iowa,” Mortell said. “No one in the locker room and (no one) outside it. …”
Mortell is on the Ray Guy watch list to possibly win the award for the nation’s best punter. He led the Big Ten in punting last season averaging 45.1 yards per kick. The former walk-on had minor knee surgery earlier this fall but is still averaging 43.7 yards per punt—third best in the Big Ten. He has been disappointed in “maybe” three of his punts this season.
“I try to look forward and not backward,” Mortell said. “The fact of the matter is that when I am healthy I think I am one of the best punters in the country—and I think my teammates and coaches would echo that. …”
The Gophers have lost three consecutive Big Ten games including the last two against nationally-ranked Michigan and Ohio State. Minnesota, though, played competitively in those games and had opportunities to win in the fourth quarter.
“Before that (Michigan and Ohio State) we weren’t playing up to our potential, and if we were playing like that against Michigan and Ohio State we probably would have got…run off the field,” said Gophers sophomore defensive end Gaelin Elmore. “I think we feel like we’re starting to play a little bit more like we’re capable of. We’re starting to catch the momentum and the ball will fall our way here eventually.”
Elmore was initially a tight end with the Gophers but was quickly switched to defense where his athleticism was needed. His roommate at Minnesota is former Wayzata High School tight end Brandon Lingen who is developing into a playmaker as a sophomore starter. Elmore was asked if he could catch the ball as well as his roomie.
“Oh yeah,” he answered. “People forget that I can catch the ball. Especially the D-linemen, they try to say I got moved (to defense) because I can’t catch the ball but it’s quite the opposite.”
At his Tuesday news conference Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was full of praise for Kill. He talked about what a special person Kill is, and lauded the lifetime coach’s ability to build programs including at places he coached before coming to Minnesota.
“They got on our radar at Southern Illinois, really got on it at Northern Illinois,” Ferentz said. “We’d see them on film playing very well, and…I was hopeful Minnesota wouldn’t hire him. I was hoping nobody in the Big Ten would, but Minnesota figured it out. They hired a great coach and a great staff. The work that they’ve done up there, the improvement they’ve made is really clear to see. You don’t have to be an expert to figure that out.”
Teddy Bridgewater is expected to make his ninth start of the season on Sunday in Oakland against the Raiders. The second-year quarterback only has six touchdown passes and the same number of interceptions but the Vikings do have a surprise 6-2 record after going 7-9 last season. With the first half of the schedule completed, offensive coordinator Norv Turner was asked yesterday for his evaluation of Bridgewater.
“We’re 6-2 and that’s to me the evaluation that matters,” Turner said. “I think Teddy has had a lot to do with that record. I think he’s an opportunistic guy. I think he’s making very few negative plays. He’s not making plays that cost us games, and obviously in the most critical situations when we’ve been behind, whether it be early in the fourth quarter, or late in the fourth quarter, he’s put together drives. He’s put together plays that have given us a chance to win.
“As coach (Mike Zimmer) says, we’re still growing in the passing game, and when you’re not having the kind of success that you want, or having the kind of numbers that you want, obviously it always goes back to the quarterback. But for us to continue to get better in the passing game…we’ve got to do all of the little things in all areas—whether it be protection, route running, getting the right plays called at the right time, all of those things.”