Gophers Football – Page 260 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vereen: Bowl Game a ‘Priority’ for U

Posted on December 26, 2013December 26, 2013 by David Shama

The Gophers arrived in Houston for the Texas Bowl two days before Syracuse. To Gophers senior cornerback Brock Vereen, getting to the host city six days before the game demonstrates coach Jerry Kill’s intent to be prepared.

“There’s no other way to describe it — (that’s) coach Kill,” Vereen said last week.

Teams at bowl games can lack focus. Players become distracted by mild weather, recreational activities and meeting new people.

“We’re not talking about what night life we’re gonna do, or what restaurant we’re gonna go eat at,” Vereen said last Friday. “We’re all talking about the game. It’s good to know that’s still the priority.”

Former Gophers center Ray Hitchcock played in two bowl games. “You want to be ready to play,” said Hitchcock, now a Gophers radio analyst. “You have to be prepared, especially in the first quarter. Some teams come out with a lot of energy.”

The 8-4 Gophers are expected to win tomorrow night’s Texas Bowl that will be televised nationally by ESPN starting at 5 p.m. Minneapolis time. Vereen said winning a ninth time in 2013, “sending the seniors” home with a victory in their last game and gaining momentum for the program in 2014 are reasons the Gophers want to defeat 6-6 Syracuse. “We’re going down to win the game,” Vereen said.

“I do expect them (the Gophers) to win,” Hitchcock said. “I know the practices have been good. I think we’re the better team, with better personnel. I know it’s all business (in Houston). They’re not down there sightseeing.”

The game seems to fit the program’s “brick-by-brick” philosophy. While the Gophers best record since 2003 brought them near an invitation to a more prestigious bowl game in Arizona or Florida, the trip to Houston matches them against an opponent less formidable than Minnesota would have seen in those places.

The Gophers were in Houston last December and lost to Texas Tech when the game was the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Gophers can show tomorrow night they can win in Houston, stopping a five game postseason losing streak and winning nine games for the first time since 2003.

Worth Noting

The site for last year’s game and the one tomorrow night is Reliant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Texans. The facility has FieldTurf and three types of grass fields that can be used for playing surfaces.

Gophers deputy athletic director David Benedict said Minnesota played on FieldTurf last year but will play on one of the grass fields tomorrow night. The game will be the fourth this year when the Gophers played on a grass surface. The other sites were New Mexico State, Northwestern and Michigan State.

The Gophers sold approximately 3,100 tickets to last year’s bowl in Houston but Benedict said the 2013 total will be higher. Among the fans will be University of Minnesota students who paid $200 each to be bused to Houston and enjoy the bowl game experience including meals. Benedict said three buses of students are travelling. For their money students also receive 2014 Gophers season tickets.

Former Gophers football players and also ex-Iowa and Vikings coach Jerry Burns are expected to attend a lunch tomorrow (Friday) in Edina to recognize the December 26 birthday of Murray Warmath. The former Gophers national championship coach died in 2011 at age 98. Wamath would have been 101 today.

The Gophers basketball team plays Texas Corpus Christi at Williams Arena on Saturday night. Senior guard Malik Smith, although not a starter, scored a Minnesota career high 19 points in the last game, a December 20, 92-79 win over Nebraska-Omaha.

Smith has scored 15 points or more in four of the last six games. He’s also shown proficiency for long range shooting, making 16 of this last 34 three point attempts.

Smith doesn’t hesitate to launch shots further back from the three point line than most players will attempt. “Honestly, I think I can shoot from a step inside the half court line without like really forcing a shot,” he said.

The Vikings play their last game ever at Mall of America Field on Sunday against the Lions. At halftime the organization will unveil the remaining two “Top 10 Moments at Mall of America Field.” A short post-game ceremony featuring a highlight video and remarks from several Vikings legends will officially close the building. Former Vikings Matt Birk and Robert Smith, along with Adrian Peterson and Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant are expected to address the crowd.

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Claeys High on Hageman NFL Draft

Posted on December 13, 2013December 13, 2013 by David Shama

Gophers defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys doesn’t hesitate when talking about senior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman being chosen during the first round of next spring’s NFL Draft.

“He will be a first round draft pick. I don’t see 20 teams passing him up, let alone 32 once they get a chance to work him out,” Claeys told Sports Headliners this week.

If Claeys is correct, Hageman will be the first Gopher selected in the first round since running back Laurence Maroney in 2006. Hageman became the first Minnesota player to be chosen first team All-Big Ten since 2009 (wide receiver Eric Decker) when he made both the media and coaches all-conference teams.

Hageman finished the 2013 regular season with 34 tackles, a team-high 11 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, one interception, eight pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one blocked field goal and one blocked extra point.

A converted tight end, the 6-foot-6, 311-pound Hageman was announced as the Gophers’ MVP and outstanding defensive player at the team’s awards program on Sunday. “I think he’s improved a lot since we got here,” said Claeys who came to Minnesota with head coach Jerry Kill for the 2011 season. “Each year he’s made leaps and bounds (improvement). I think this year he made a lot more individual plays than he has in the past, and that caused people to have to double team him more.”

Claeys said Hageman has “tremendous upside” and will benefit from playing in the NFL where he won’t face as many blocking schemes. “He’s right up there with the best that is in the Big Ten and I think that will show on draft day,” Claeys said.

Media specializing in draft analysis have varying opinions on where Hageman will be selected, with Dane Brugler from CBSsports.com among the more optimistic. He projects Hageman being selected No. 29 in the first round by the Patriots. He also ranks him No. 2 among projected defensive tackles available for the draft.

Claeys also believes senior Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen will be drafted. He projects Vereen as a “middle rounds” choice because of his abilities including experience playing both cornerback and safety for the Gophers.

Worth Noting

Chris Werle, Gophers senior associate athletic director, e-mailed that as of Wednesday morning 40,000 tickets had been sold for the outdoor Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium. The doubleheader, featuring the Gophers men’s and women’s teams, will be played the evening of Friday, January 17. If severe weather causes postponement, the classic will be rescheduled for Sunday, January 19.

The athletic department is looking for financial help with the cost of busing students to the Texas Bowl where the Gophers play Syracuse in Houston on Friday, December 27. The Gophers football marching band will fly to Houston.

Big Ten Network football analyst Gerry DiNardo said on Sunday after the announcement of the seven Big Ten bowl game assignments that the Gophers have the most favorable match-up. The Gophers are 4 ½ point favorites to defeat Syracuse, according to yesterday’s Linemakers story on Sportingnews.com.

Jeff Jones, the state’s 2013 Mr. Football, visits Iowa State this weekend. He visited the Gophers last weekend. Other official visits aren’t scheduled yet.

Last night legendary former Saint John’s head football coach John Gagliardi received the Contributions to College Football Award during the Home Depot College Football Awards show on ESPN. Gagliardi retired after the 2012 season as the winningest coach in college football history.

The Eagles team that plays the Vikings on Sunday at Mall of America Field has won five consecutive games and owns a league best 5-1 road record. On Sunday the Eagles, led by new head coach Chip Kelly, will try to become the fifth team in NFL history to have 11 games of 400-plus yards in a single season.

Nick Foles has emerged as the Eagles quarterback and he is featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Kelly is quoted in the story as saying Foles will be the team’s quarterback “for the next thousand years.”

Gophers basketball players heard from Louisville coach Rick Pitino when he was in town earlier in the week to watch Minnesota play South Dakota State at Williams Arena. Gophers forward Oto Osenieks said Pitino told the players that to be a better team they have to improve defensively. “He said he watches us all the time on TV,” Osenieks said.

Asked about the similar mannerisms and appearances of Pitino and his son Richard Pitino, the Gophers coach, Osieneks said: “You can tell they’re related.”

Phil Jackson includes Minnesota connections in his bestselling new book Eleven Rings. The NBA coaching legend writes about his Williston High School team losing in the North Dakota state tournament finals to Rugby led by Paul Presthus who went on to become captain of the Gophers. Jackson also writes about the “my way or the highway” style of Bill Fitch, his University of North Dakota coach, who after going to Bowling Green coached the Gophers. After a great career at North Dakota, Jackson chose the New York Knicks of the NBA over the ABA’s Minnesota Muskies.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is fourth among front court players and guard Ricky Rubio is eighth among backcourt players in voting for Western Conference players to determine who will participate in the Sunday, February 16 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. The NBA issued the first of voting updates yesterday. Balloting concludes on Monday, January 20.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher has high praise for Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones. “I think he is the best (prep) guard in state history,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners. “He has great court awareness and when he needs to take over the game he does. I think he will play well immediately for Duke (next year). An NBA friend told me he thinks he can play at the next level.”

Saint John’s men’s basketball coach Jim Smith is one victory away from tying Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball’s all-divisions win list. Smith has a 758-538 career record in 50 seasons.

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Kill-Claeys Roles Not Set for Bowl

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013 by David Shama

Tracy Claeys told Sports Headliners earlier this week he isn’t sure if Jerry Kill will coach from the press box in the Gophers’ bowl game in Houston on December 27.

“He’s basically back doing everything now anyways, except I still do a lot of the practice organization and the meeting times and all that stuff getting (things) set up,” Claeys said. “But as far as recruiting and everything else goes, coach is back in the office doing everything.”

Claeys, the Gophers defensive coordinator, added the title of acting head coach earlier this fall when Kill needed time to first focus on his epilepsy struggles and then shifted his workload. The Gophers won four consecutive Big Ten games with the arrangement and finished with an 8-4 record, the school’s best since 2003.

Could the roles of Claeys on the sidelines and Kill in the press box continue indefinitely? “That will be up to ‘Killer’ but I don’t expect this to go on very much longer,” Claeys said. “He’s gotten along great (with improving health).

“He is very superstitious and the fact that we’ve played well, and by me taking a few of the things off (Kill’s duties) with the practice schedule and stuff like that, it has allowed him to spend more time with the players and recruiting. At this time of the year that’s the two most important things to spend your time with.”

Claeys moved from his usual game day spot in the press box to the field when Kill was sidelined this fall. Claeys was concerned about no longer being able to direct the defense if he took on head coaching responsibilities on the field but that hasn’t been an issue. He has continued directing the defense while taking on the extra work.

Claeys has coached with Kill for about two decades. The two are close friends and value each other personally and professionally. “I would do it again (acting head coach),” Claeys said.

Claeys has also gained admiration for all that a head coach does. “You deal with a lot of things every day,” he said. “It takes a lot more time when you are the guy in charge. It gives you a lot of respect for the person sitting in that seat.”

Although Claeys made the coaching switch to help a friend and assist the staff, the change hasn’t been without compensation, too. The Gophers athletic department has been paying him an additional $13,000 per game for serving as acting head coach.

Claeys appreciates the money but what will he do with it? “I am gonna give half of it to the state of Minnesota, I am sure,” he laughed. “So that’s the way that works.”

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