The Gophers football team, with new coach Jerry Kill and staff, starts practice on Monday and is allowed 105 players to participate. Kill said today he’s heard from former Gophers coaches including Lou Holtz who told him, “You know what you’re doing. Do it your way.”
The Big Ten announced today it will expand from an eight game conference schedule for each team to nine games starting in 2017. The Gophers are one of six league teams who will host five conference games in even years (starting in 2018).
Everett Withers, the Gophers defensive coordinator in 2007 under head coach Tim Brewster, is now interim head coach at North Carolina where his former boss, Butch Davis, was dismissed last week.
Minnesota prep football teams begin conditioning practices on Monday, August 15. Blaine, Cretin-Derham Hall, Eden Prairie and Wayzata are expected to be among the best teams in the state.
Brainerd coach Ron Stolski, the all-time state career coaching leader with 330 wins, is coaching again this year and so, too, is Verndale’s Mike Mahlen who has 327 victories.
Dwight Lundeen, going into his 42nd season at Becker, is the only football coach the school has had. He has 293 career wins, all at Becker.
The Vikings have four preseason games, playing at Tennessee August 13 and at Seattle August 20, plus home games August 27 and September 1 against Dallas and Houston. All four are evening games and will be telecast on KARE 11.
The Vikings have to cut their roster down to 75 players by August 30 and reduce it to a final 53 by September 3.
The Vikings are tied for 10th with the Dolphins and Texans for most difficult regular season schedule in 2011 based on the records of opponents last year, 132-124. Carolina has the most difficult 2011 schedule among NFL teams with last year’s opponents having a 142-114 record.
Much publicized Gopher basketball newcomers Andre Hollins and Julian Welch will draw attention for more than their resumes. Their respective jersey numbers are 1 and 00.
Canterbury Park’s Extreme Race Day is Saturday and the event schedule includes more than camel and ostrich racing. There will be a 100-yard dash and also a race with horses who have never won on turf. The camels race starts at 3 p.m. with the ostriches scheduled for 4:40 p.m. Both are non-wagering races.