Gophers acting head coach Tracy Claeys met with the team's beat writers this morning. A few highlights:
* Claeys said Jerry Kill is making good progress but isn't yet ready to return from his leave of absence. Claeys guessed that Kill would watch next Saturday's game against Nebraska from the coaching box, and that Kill might even want to stop by to watch practice this week if he's feeling up to it.
Those would be considered steps in his progression toward returning full-time.
"In my opinion," Claeys said, "I don't anticipate it'll be all of a sudden, wham, he's back going full speed. There'll be a build up to it, and when the time's right, he'll be ready to go."
* Claeys didn't name a starting quarterback for the Nebraska game, but said he expects the offensive staff to evaluate that so a decision can be made by Tuesday. Claeys said whether it's Philip Nelson or Mitch Leidner, the non-starter will still see time in the first half, just as the plan went against Northwestern.
"The one thing I can tell you we're not going to do, we're not going to get into alternating series," Claeys said. "I just don't believe in that. I think you play the guy who gives you the best opportunity to win."
* Claeys said the team came out of Saturday's game relatively healthy. Return man Marcus Jones is dealing with an ankle injury, and left tackle Ben Lauer (corrected) has a shoulder issue, but those were the only new injuries of note.
* Rodrick Williams played on special teams but not at tailback.