MINNEAPOLIS — A year ago, the University of Minnesota football team ended its season with an emotional win over rival Iowa. That victory, however, was followed by a winter of uncertainty, as head coach Tim Brewster had already been fired and his successor had not yet been chosen.
This past November, the Gophers again ended their season on a high note, defeating Illinois in the last game of the year. But they entered the current offseason with far fewer question marks than the year before as head coach Jerry Kill and his staff have now been in place at Minnesota for over a full calendar year.
"First of all, last year we didn't even have a head coach for a lot of the beginning of that offseason after the season," said linebacker Mike Rallis. "We know what to expect going into this year scheme-wise and from how the coaches teach and train and all that. It's a lot easier going into this year."
Kill was hired in early December of 2010, a few weeks after Minnesota's season ended with a 27-24 win over Iowa. He and his coaches didn't have a full offseason to recruit.
But as soon as the 2011 season was finished, Kill hit the recruiting trail. He returned from the road Friday, just in time for the team to unveil its new uniforms. Kill's stay in Minneapolis was short-lived, though, as he was back at it again Monday with signing day quickly approaching.
"We feel like this is our first year. This really is. This is our first recruiting class. Now it takes a year," Kill said. "I think we're in a lot better feel for things and the situation right now than we were a year ago, no doubt about it. A year ago, I was scrambling around my office trying to find out what direction I was going."
Kill's favorite motto when talking about the Gophers' football program was that he had to rebuild it on concrete, not sand. He preached patience as Minnesota attempts to get back to being competitive in the Big Ten conference.
Part of that rebuilding process has had to happen internally, Kill said. That means getting the team's grades up, something Kill has already done in his first season. While he didn't have the exact numbers of his team's cumulative GPA when speaking with the media Friday, Kill was clearly proud of how well the Gophers had done in the classroom.
"I've demanded a lot out of the kids. The best thing I can say is what happened in the classroom. The insides of it are starting to get the direction that we want it to be," Kill said. "I think the insides of our program are starting to change. When the insides start to change, the outside perception, winning and those kinds of things, will eventually come. When it's going to happen, I don't know. But we're certainly going to work at it."
When the Gophers beat Iowa to close out the 2010 season, fans at TCF Bank Stadium rushed the field to celebrate with the team. Minnesota was hoping that emotional victory would carry over into the following season.
It didn't.
The Gophers opened 2011 with a pair of losses, including a home loss to New Mexico State. But Minnesota gained confidence as the season went on, winning two of its last five games and losing by one touchdown on the road to then-No. 17 Michigan State. A dominating 27-7 victory over Illinois closed the books on Kill's first year at the helm.
Once again, Minnesota hopes that season-ending victory could be a sign of good things to come in 2012.
"Our last game is what we were capable of, and then some," said quarterback MarQueis Gray who, like the team, showed steady improvement throughout the year. "If we continue to build off that in the offseason, then we should have a better season next year."
Until then, however, it's back to the classroom — and the weight room — for Kill's Gophers. Minnesota was outmatched physically in many of its conference games, and Kill said the goal is to continue to add strength this offseason to be better prepared for the rigors of Big Ten play.
"I think they understand we mean business. If you're going to play here now, you're going to have to do what we ask you to do," Kill said. "Right now, we just need to keep the positive wave going. There will still be bumps in the road. … But I think they're starting to understand what they're going to have to do to compete at the Big Ten level. We've physically got to be stronger and faster. I think they'll respond."
