Gophers football notes:
Big Ten Network analyst Chris Martin raves about Minnesota coach Jerry Kill. “He’s one of the best coaches out there,” Martin said. “He’s won every place he’s been.”
Martin told Sports Headliners before last Saturday’s game against Wisconsin that he “truly believes Kill is a great coach.” The Gophers are 5-17 during the last two seasons and the program hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 1967, but that doesn’t damper Martin’s enthusiasm for Kill and his staff. “I know he will get them back on top,” Martin said.
He also described defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys and offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover as “brilliant.” Those two, along with Kill and the other coaches have the Gophers playing with maximum effort, according to Martin, a former defensive back for Northwestern.
“They play harder than anybody in the Big Ten,” Martin said.
Martin played for the Chicago Bears when Greg Schiano was an assistant coach there in the 1990s. He believes Schiano, now head coach at Rutgers, could be in the “conversation” as the next Penn State head coach. Schiano was an assistant at Penn State before he joined the Bears.
Injured Gophers defensive back and kickoff returner Troy Stoudermire is a senior and hasn’t played since the fourth game of the season but he might receive a medical redshirt allowing him to play next season.
At least one pro scout was at Saturday’s Minnesota-Wisconsin game. Gophers wide receiver Da’Jon McKnight is the one Minnesota senior who might be chosen in next year’s NFL draft.