This time, message to Gophers football players led to joy

Not long after Steven Richardson posted the tweet that set off a string of 80-plus riffs around the Twin Cities and beyond, the defensive tackle's phone buzzed.

Team meeting the next morning, 7:15.

Somewhere in Dinkytown, senior defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun got the same text and paused. The last 7:15 team meeting, two weeks prior, had been to announce that Jerry Kill was stepping down as Gophers football coach because of complications with his epilepsy.

"So I knew it was pretty important," Boddy-Calhoun said.

This time, the subject was at the other end of the emotional spectrum. Hours after Richardson's #TC4TC — Tracy Claeys for Twin Cities — hashtag took hold, Kill's longtime defensive coordinator removed "interim" from his title and was named, simply, the team's head coach. Claeys met with the team just before news broke and a couple of hours before interim athletic director Beth Goetz introduced him as the new face of the program.

"It was sad two weeks ago," Boddy-Calhoun said. "Now, it's brightening."

Richardson, a sophomore, said Claeys encouraged the players to finish the season strong and thanked them for competing in close losses to No. 15 Michigan and No. 2 Ohio State the past two weeks, a competitiveness that probably helped him secure the job. Richardson said everyone made sure the new head coach finished what he had to say.

"Everybody went crazy," senior wide receiver KJ Maye said.

The reaction reflected an intensifying voice within the program and without for Claeys to remain in the job.

"Couldn't see myself playing for another staff!!" sophomore defensive lineman Gaelin Elmore tweeted the night before.

"Only option," star Eden Prairie linebacker recruit Carter Coughlin chimed in on social media.

Players touted Claey's intelligence, competitiveness and ability to get the most out of his team, and spoke about a certain relief that comes with knowing what lies down the road.

While Chaska offensive tackle recruit Matt Kegel said he'd be a Gopher regardless, he had a "sigh of relief," knowing that Minnesota — with a new coaching staff — would not walk away from its scholarship commitment to him.

"I don't know if I was expecting it this early, but I was definitely expecting them to do it as soon as possible, just because it's such a big aspect in the school and in the recruiting process," he said. "If you don't have a head coach in time, you can lose a lot of recruits and that can put your football team in some serious danger in the years to come."

So does Richardson take credit for that late-night tweet starting a revolution?

"No," he said with a smile. "I definitely needed help from everybody repeating it and just spreading the movement."