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Phil Miller is returning to his Big Ten roots to follow Minnesota’s football fortunes for the Star Tribune after a decade of chronicling the NBA and Major League Baseball. The Illinois native began his writing career by covering Utah football for six seasons, and still insists that 12-1 Florida stole the 2009 BCS Championship from the unbeaten Utes.
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Posts about Gophers disciplinary action
McDonald won't play in Gophers' bowl game
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: December 24, 2012 - 3:34 PM
Gophers freshman receiver Andre McDonald will not play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston on Friday because of a violation of team policy.
Coach Jerry Kill made the announcement this afternoon in a press release.
McDonald has 10 catches for 121 yards this season.
The Gophers' opponent, Texas Tech, will be missing three players on Friday.
The Red Raiders say the players violated undisclosed team rules.
Suspended are starting defensive back Cornelius Douglas, special teams player Chris Payne and reserve defensive lineman Leon Mackey.
Chris Thomsen is the Red Raiders' interim head coach after Tommy Tuberville left to go to Cincinnati three weeks ago. Thomsen will lead the Raiders on Friday even though Kliff Kingsbury has been hired as Tuberville's successor for next season.
Kill corrects sideline behavior caught on tape
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: September 6, 2011 - 2:39 PM Among the many tapes he analyzed Sunday, coach Jerry Kill watched the recording of his team's sideline, in order to evaluate body language of the players, coaches and staff members not on the field. And what was his opinion?
"We did a little extra running" because of it, Kill said.
The Gophers are learning quickly that their coach watches everything, and he saw some activity that he wants corrected, Kill said Tuesday.
"I thought there was a group that did a great job, and we had a group that could have done better," Kill said. "You can tell when players come off frustrated. It doesn't mean you get on them, but if you've got a kid that's frustrated, sometimes you don't se that as a coach. So then you can talk to him on Sunday, or even after the game, say, 'Hey, we understand you're a competitor, but you've got to play with great composure."
Kill said he even judged his own performance. "I did an OK job for awhile, and there were a few times I didn't do so good, either, didn't hold my composure. So we all need to be evaluated sometimes and held accountable."
Kill chased an official onto the field after USC cornerback Torin Harris intercepted Max Shortell's pass on Minnesota's final drive, and berated another official as play resumed.
"Everybody said, 'Boy, coach got after that official,' but you never know what I'm saying down there. I might have been asking him if he had a hot date that night," Kill joked, adding that he has never been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. "Aggressive football is aggressive football, so I'm not going to moan and groan about it. You know, that kid made a good interception and he made an aggressive play, and if I was on the other side of it, we'd be coaching that aggressive play."
Kirksey back after one-game suspension
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: November 7, 2010 - 6:13 PM Brandon Kirksey has been reinstated to the Gophers' roster as expected, coach Jeff Horton said Sunday, and will play Saturday against Illinois.
Horton believes he will get one of Kirksey's best games, too, after the junior captain served a one-game suspension for a locker-room blowup following Minnesota's 52-10 loss to Ohio State.
"They've got a lot of guys from St. Louis, where he's from, so that's a big game to him. I think he'll really rebound and play well," Horton said. "He's a good kid. Just needs to channel all that energy into getting ready this week."
Gophers suspend three defensive players
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: November 2, 2010 - 1:49 PMThe Gophers keep losing games, and now they're losing players, too.
Defensive tackle Brandon Kirksey has been suspended for Saturday's game at Michigan State for unspecified reasons, Minnesota coach Jeff Horton said Tuesday. But Kirksey -- a team captain -- has already met with Horton, and th
Brandon Kirksey
e coach said he expects Kirksey to return to action Nov. 14 at Illinois.
Michael Carter and Ra'Shede Hageman, on the other hand, probably won't play again this season, after Horton suspended them "so they can focus on academics."
Hageman, a redshirt freshman who backed up Kirksey at defensive tackle, appeared in eight games this season and made five tackles, while Carter, a sophomore cornerback, had two interceptions and 24 tackles in seven games.
Senior offensive linemen Matt Carufel and Dom Alford, meanwhile, have been sidelined by knee injuries and will not play, leaving the Gophers with six healthy offensive linemen to cover five positions, Horton said. But it's possible that both players could still return this year, the coach added.
Hageman suspended for Penn State game
Posted by: Phil Miller Updated: October 20, 2010 - 6:12 PM Defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman has been suspended for Saturday's game after an unspecified violation of coach Jeff Horton's new rules, the coach said Wednesday.
"I made some points that I expected our players to follow, what I expected out of them on and off the field and practice field," said Horton, in his first week as interim coach of the Gophers. Hageman violated those rules on Tuesday, the coach said, and will not be in uniform against Penn State.
"We will meet again on Sunday, and if he fulfills his obligations all week long like I expect him to, he will be reinstated on Sunday," Horton said.
Hageman, a reserve tackle who started the season as a defensive end and eventually was moved inside, has four tackles in seven games thus far. The remaining three tackles on the depth chart -- Brandon Kirksey, Jewhan Edwards and Austin Hahn -- will absorb Hageman's playing time this week, the coach said.
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