Matt Spaeth played for the Gophers from 2003-2006. The tight end from St. Michael, Minnesota was on the 2003 team that finished 10-3 and fourth in the Big Ten. The 2006 season was his last at Minnesota and it was also the final year for head coach Glen Mason.
The program went backward under coach Tim Brewster with his 2007-2010 teams finishing 11th, 7th, 8th and 9th. Spaeth was disappointed. “I am a Gopher fan forever. It was frustrating to watch them for awhile to see where that program went, and the things that happened on the field. It was tough for awhile.”
At the end of spring practice last week Spaeth, who now plays for the NFL’s Bears, told Sports Headliners the Minnesota program isn’t back to the level it was under Mason. “…I think they’ll be there soon. When I played with coach Mason he had some really tough teams. We had a team there the one year (2003), (if) we don’t blow a fourth quarter lead against Michigan, we probably go to the Rose Bowl. …”
How long before the Gophers return to a level of winning season records and at least approach .500 in the Big Ten Conference? “They’re headed there and they’re headed there fast,” Spaeth said. “I really think so. I expect big things in the next couple of years.”
Spaeth believes some day the Gophers can compete for a Big Ten championship under coach Jerry Kill, now in his second season at Minnesota. “You gotta hope to be a team that wins eight, nine games every year, and then every once in awhile you get a good team and compete for a Big Ten championship,” Spaeth said. “I hope people have patience because Big Ten championships just don’t happen in a conference like this.”
Kill has impressed many former Gophers who believe the former Northern Illinois coach is the person to revive the program and make it better than it has been in decades. “…I think he’s a great football coach, but he’s a better person,” Spaeth said. “I think it’s really important to have a guy like that as the head of your program to be a good person.
“It makes a difference when parents are thinking about sending their kids off to school and they’ve got a guy like coach Kill you can trust. He’s a good guy and I am very excited about where they’re going.”