Greetings from a Saluki fan

Donate To GopherHole
SalukiVisitor

SalukiVisitor

Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Hello everyone. I have been meaning to post on here for a while and I guess tonight is the night. Ever since I heard Kill and staff were heading to the U I have been following this message board daily. That first day of the hiring wasn't pretty on these boards. I was a biased coach Kill fan :) I knew you all had found the right coach and I believe the coaching staff found the right BCS school to settle on. It looks like I will be a Gopher fan from here on out.

Kudos to GopherHole and many of the people who post here. You have a pretty good message board and am impressed with a lot of the regular posters.

Coach Kill and staff came to my down and out Southern Illinois Salukis and turned the program around. That may not seem like much of a big deal to some of you, but I never thought I would see that program be successful. Never. Our facilities were terrible. Coach after coach came and went. And if I personally had pull in the University I would have tossed the football program out. Kill taking that job was a career suicide mission. Some how or another the team was consistently succcessful. His greatest work to date is not the Northern Illinois job. It is the job he took at the Southern end of the State. That region still has a lot of respect for the man. If you haven't noticed already, their local news is keeping tabs on what is going on in Minnesota.

Sure, SIU was and is 1-AA football and to many of you that may not mean too much. I looked at some of the division 1 power rankins for SIU and Minnesota during the last of the Mason years. SIU outranked Minnesota. Our teams were good. I remember when we went to play Indiana and choked for most of the first quarter. Putting ourselves into a quick 14 point deficit. After that, Indiana did not belong on the field with us. Our lines completely overpowered them. I believe Indiana was 3-5 in the B-10 that year. The reason I bring this up is because there seems to be some concern about recruiting. I'm thinking that if Kill can get a 1-AA school to dominate a Big 10 school then you are in good hands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEsRZdQF-nA

Coach Kill is the real deal. What he says it what he means. Sometimes it may be a little cheesy, but he is on the up and up. If he thinks the team is slow, I would trust that he thinks the team is slow. When he says his goal is to get better every day...he means it. I don't think he is too worried about wins and losses as much as he is about getting better. At least not right now. Gotta build the foundation first.

Here are some other random thoughts I have about Kill and staff:
  • He Likes leaders. He even sent a QB to a leadership training camp once.
  • He understands the importance of the fan base. He will relate to them.
  • Open practices inspire the players. Getting the fans excited gets the players going.
  • I'll be floored if he doesn't find a good kicker and punter.
  • He'll think outside of the box to get some players if need be.
  • Running backs will thrive.
  • Kill and company are blue collar to the core. Bring your lunch pails.
  • You will NOT have a program under NCAA investigation.

You also have Coach Klein now. Wow!! You have no idea. This guy is the real deal. He is a big reason why our basketball program was so successful. He really just may be the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. I was upset when he went to Northern Illinois...thought we could keep him. The basketball and football players loved the guy. Work those twitch muscles!

I'm not going to say everything was perfect at SIU. We were good, but as any good fan I had my complaints. What you all are getting is a program. Not just a football team. I imagine that you will find yourselves not only proud of your coaches, but also the players. For who they are and not just football. This means something and it makes it a lot easier to cheer for them.

I'm not sure how well the Gophers are going to do next year. Can't gaurantee anything in 3 years. However, I am pretty confident you will have one of the best programs (not just team) in the Big 10 3-4 years from now. I know Kill would never say that he wants a National Championship, but my gut tells me he is going to do everything he can to make it happen. All the while taking baby steps.

After watching some of the videos and seeing how the players are responding I think the Gopher pigskin team just may be a bit better than I thought they would be. I am looking forward to the USC game and hoping for a good season.

I have no doubt Kill was the right pick for the U. It needed someone who could revive the program and understands all of the aspects to do that. You got the right coach. It really does take everybody and that is going to be tough after so many down years to put faith in that.
 

Nice read. Probably the best recruiting post I have ever read!!! IMO, every football recruit should read your post.

Kudos!
 

wonderful post! i think 95% of the fans are starting to come around to this coach of ours... its tough to jump aboard after the brewster era... but theres something in my gut that says we got a coach... we finally got a coach..
 

Great post. The more I see and hear about Kill and his staff the more I simply can't wait for the season to start.
 

4four4 said:
Nice read. Probably the best recruiting post I have ever read!!! IMO, every football recruit should read your post.

Kudos!
Click to expand...

+1 and what you said 4four4. You are okay in my book Saluki and are welcome on this board anytime! Thanks for a great, well thought out post! :clap:
 


I'm really pumped for this year, and not just the W-L record, but the steps in building the program. I've heard nothing but positives from the few players I know.

I really, really want that @#$@ing Axe!
 

Probably the best first post in the history of GH.com?
 

Welcome to Gold Country and thanks for the post.
 

Formo said:
Probably the best first post in the history of GH.com?
Click to expand...

No, probably second to whatever I posted first. But a nice read nonetheless.
Welcome to the board. I hope you enjoy following Gopher football more than I have :D
 



Thanks for stopping by and sharing your perspective - great post. Don't be a stranger around these parts!!

Go Gophers!!
 

I think it speaks very well of Coach Kill that we have had so many fans of his former teams come on here to post. he obviously makes a lasting impression.
 

Auburn/Ohio State vs. Kill

SalukiVisitor said:
Here are some other random thoughts I have about Kill and staff:
  • He Likes leaders. He even sent a QB to a leadership training camp once.
  • He understands the importance of the fan base. He will relate to them.
  • Open practices inspire the players. Getting the fans excited gets the players going.
  • I'll be floored if he doesn't find a good kicker and punter.
  • He'll think outside of the box to get some players if need be.
  • Running backs will thrive.
  • Kill and company are blue collar to the core. Bring your lunch pails.
  • You will NOT have a program under NCAA investigation.
Click to expand...

The last bullet point seems very relevant after reading about Auburn and Ohio State in the paper this morning. Thanks for your well written and inspiring comment today SalukiVisitor.
 

Thanks. I live down in Tennessee and am hoping to make it to a game this year. My bro lives in Waconia so that can be my excuse for heading up to see a game. My daughter loves the snow (since we do not get very much down here) too. Gonna have to find someplace that carries the U's football games so I can see how things are going.
 



SalukiVisitor

If your daughter loves snow you better come before then. It is usually gone by September. But if it is October or November then it might snow although they are not our best sledding months. Actually, fall can be quite lovely in Minnesota.
 

Refeshing to see a humble approach.

versus the dip sch-ts to the east who wouldn't know humility if it smacked them in the face. Thanks for the insight on Coach Kill and please join us throughout the year.
 

After I quickly realized all the big names weren't coming to Minnesota, Coach Kill was number one on my list. I am very pleased that Maturi finally offered him and the coach is now a Gopher.

Most Gopher fans are rather giddy right now after what we have been through. We actually have a bonafide proven winner as our coach. But most all of us realize Coach Kill has a steep uphill climb to get the Gophers to respectability.

Thanks again SalukiVisitor for you candid remarks.
 

Be sure

to keep posting during the year. Your insights are very interesting
 

Nice read, once I saw what Kill had done at other schools and saw some interviews with him, I bought in. He seems like a really good football coach who knows what he is doing, tough nosed, loyal, hard worker. As pumped for the season as I get watching the vids of practice I have to be realistic about this year, I predict 5-7, 6-6. But if this team did go 7-5 8-4 it wouldn't shock me. I feel like this team definetly has talent but if injuries and other things start happpening there isnt much depth. Seeing how they play week 1 against USC will be interesting.
 

Great post. I do find it interesting that there seem to be far more SIU fans on here then NIU fans. Not saying that means anything negative about his time at NIU. What he did at SIU was clearly a greater feat and they revere him for it.
 

howeda7 said:
Great post. I do find it interesting that there seem to be far more SIU fans on here then NIU fans. Not saying that means anything negative about his time at NIU. What he did at SIU was clearly a greater feat and they revere him for it.
Click to expand...

They will build a statue of him in his honor. Bank on it!:)
 

Not sure SIU is going to build a statue. Maybe Minnesota will in 20 years :clap: Novak had NIU in pretty good shape w/ expectations already pretty high. NIU had stumbled (injuries, etc.) but SIU didn't even have any legs to stumble with. Big difference.
 

Great 1st post.

Regarding the lack of NIU posters - I was on the NIU campus a few weeks ago and had to ask a student for directions to a building I was trying to find. He was going that way and said I could just walk with him. I asked if he is a football fan and he said he is. I asked if he went to many NIU games and he said he went to every single game last year.

I told him I am from MN and a Gopher fan/season ticket holder. He asked me what i thought about Coach Kill. Not knowing what he would say, I told him I am pretty excited - seems very down to earth, and knows exactly what he wants to do. I also told him that based upon hints Kill had given at the time regarding the expectations he has for his players, that our boys may be in for a rude awakening.

He told me, "You have no idea! It doesn't matter if a guy is 3rd string or 1st team All American, if he isn't doing things the way Coach Kill wants him to, he will be on the bench at the drop of a hat, and I am not exaggerating."

This kid was NOT happy about coach leaving there, but as Coach Kill said when he took the job here, if they were glad to see him go, he must not have been doing the job very well.

I'm happy.
 

howeda7 said:
Great post. I do find it interesting that there seem to be far more SIU fans on here then NIU fans. Not saying that means anything negative about his time at NIU. What he did at SIU was clearly a greater feat and they revere him for it.
Click to expand...

it could be a good sign. The "sting" of him leaving is still there so they're probably disappointed he left but yet don't want to trash the guy either because he did good things there.
 

I personally can't verify this although I do believe it is true. I read something on the Saluki board about how the football players left a mess in the McDondalds at the SIU student center. McDonalds called the coach so the coach sent the players back to McDonalds to clean up for a week. Kill wants his players to be men. No doubt about that. He coaches with personal philosophy that is more about life than it is about football. One of my favorite quotes is from him..."Winning is a habit just like losing is a habit."...and then something to the effect of changing habits.
 

I personally can't verify this although I do believe it is true. I read something on the Saluki board about how the football players left a mess in the McDondalds at the SIU student center. McDonalds called the coach so the coach sent the players back to McDonalds to clean up for a week. Kill wants his players to be men. No doubt about that.
Click to expand...

The attitude coach has about wanting to do the right thing rubs off on players. This quote is very telling.

"One of the greatest things that happened to me today over anything that's happened to me in my life time is is I'm standing there getting ready before the game and I have a kid that's a senior that's not playing very much for me.
And he walks up and he has his hands out and grabs me and he holds me and he says "coach thanks for bringing me here and thanks for saving my dang life." That's what coaching is all about."

Post Game press conference 12/8/2007 after loss at home to Delaware in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.
 

GophersInIowa said:
it could be a good sign. The "sting" of him leaving is still there so they're probably disappointed he left but yet don't want to trash the guy either because he did good things there.
Click to expand...

This is accurate. Northern fans were pissed that he left prior to their bowl game.
 

I was not disappointed when Coach Kill was hired and now I'm ecstatic. Thanks for the great post which confirms what the evidence so far has indicated. Y'all keep posting. (And while I appreciate the post, I sincerely hope if you come to a fall game that your daughter can't go skiing at the same time!).
 

thanks for the post, I think you are right, one of the most impressive things about coach Kill is that he has left programs that have maintained success. That really shows getting the fundamentals done right.
Hope you have a good season as well.
 

GRGOPHER said:
(And while I appreciate the post, I sincerely hope if you come to a fall game that your daughter can't go skiing at the same time!).
Click to expand...


Understood.

I'll be following Gopher football for some time to come I am sure. I live in SEC country and basically follow FCS (1-AA) football. Don't have a B10 team to cheer for so there is plenty of room for the Gophers on my Saturdays. I'm sure I can find a local watering hole that will show the games. I couldn't think of a better fan base to support.
 

SalukiVisitor said:
Understood.

I'll be following Gopher football for some time to come I am sure. I live in SEC country and basically follow FCS (1-AA) football. Don't have a B10 team to cheer for so there is plenty of room for the Gophers on my Saturdays. I'm sure I can find a local watering hole that will show the games. I couldn't think of a better fan base to support.
Click to expand...

Just a tiny precaution.. These Gophers are addicting. =)
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom