Hartman: Gophers coaches believed they were due for a big return

The Gophers might not have beaten Northwestern 24-17 on Saturday, in a game where the Wildcats completely dominated the offensive statistics, had sophomore Jalen Myrick not run back a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, something that special teams coach Rob Reeves predicted would happen during practice this week.

Coach Jerry Kill described Reeves saying to him, " 'With what we're doing we feel like we can take one, if we can get everybody to execute.' So we worked some extra time on it, and the kids executed it. I liked the way we finished the run. The guy had the angle and Jalen made him miss and we had people up front."

Myrick, who was not highly recruited out of Savannah Christian Prep School out of Georgia, wouldn't be returning kicks had regular returner Marcus Jones not gotten injured against San Jose State.

"With Marcus' injury we put him back there, and with his size he can break a tackle," said Kill about Myrick, who weighs 210 pounds but is one of the fastest players on the team.

Myrick, a 5-10 sophomore, played most of last season on special teams but is playing great in the secondary this year with 16 tackles, one interception and five pass deflections.

Myrick was asked how long he had been waiting for a moment like this. "I had been waiting two weeks," he said. "We had been working on that return for a long time. It felt like that was the one to break. I give a lot of credit to my blockers. We're in the huddle before we went out there and a couple of guys were just like, 'Take it back.' … Those boys held up well. Once I got past the first two levels I just had to outrun the kicker and I did that."

Kill said during his news conference that Myrick was a piece of work, Myrick was asked what he meant by that.

Myrick, who ran a 10.61 in the 100-meter dash in high school, said he was ranked in the second team elite nationally as a junior, a sore hamstring kept him from competing his senior year.

The Wildcats lost this game even though they ran 84 plays for 393 yards compared to the Gophers' 54 plays for 274 yards. Kill's players beat a very good football team, and in doing so they put themselves in a position where, if they can beat Purdue and Iowa in home games and defeat Illinois on the road, they could be 9-1 with three powerhouses left on the schedule: Ohio State at home and Nebraska and Wisconsin left on the road.

Greg Jennings' record of winning 11 out of 13 games against Detroit is a good omen for the Vikings against the Lions on Sunday.

Jennings will be facing off against one of his favorite opponents, as he has five touchdowns and has averaged 62.0 receiving yards per game, still he said this Lions team — which currently has the NFL's top-ranked defense — has clearly improved from some of the more downtrodden squads of the past.

"They have gotten a lot better on defense, more disciplined," he said. "They're not making as many mistakes to shoot them in the foot, which is going to make it a challenge because upfront they're very stout, very physical, and they try to get to the quarterback to pressure the quarterback to get the quarterback to make quick decisions."

"I'm happy with my role here, happy with my decisions to be here in Minneapolis," Jennings said.

Jennings posted three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons from 2008 to 2010 and had 949 receiving yards in 2011 before an injury-shortened 2012 season. Those outstanding years were enough to lead the Vikings to sign him to a five-year, $45 million deal in 2013.

He rewarded them by leading the team in receptions (68) and receiving yards (804) last year. And while Jennings has just 17 receptions through five games this year, his yard-per-catch average of 13.8 is his highest since 2011, and he isn't overly concerned with how many receptions he gets.

"I can't worry about that," he said. "Just have to go and work every single day to get better. Whether the balls are coming or not, you just work to get better every single day."

Following their 42-10 loss to his old team Oct. 2 at Lambeau Field, Jennings was asked if he thinks the Vikings can improve.

• The Twins might interview a number of candidates for their managerial position, but rest assured, unless Terry Ryan finds a phenom, Paul Molitor will be the manager as long as he and Ryan see eye-to-eye. … If Ron Gardenhire doesn't get a managerial job, he definitely will become an adviser to Ryan.

• Glen Taylor, owner of the Timberwolves and the Star Tribune, said he recently attended a meeting of local businessmen with Mark Abbott, president and deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer. Taylor was there not as a potential future owner, but rather to encourage soccer officials that the Twin Cities would be a great area for MLS expansion.

• Regarding the Target Center's $97 million overhaul, the entrance for the Timberwolves and Lynx arena will be at the corner of Sixth Street and First Avenue. Design work is already in progress and construction should start next year no later than June 15, and the building should be ready by Nov. 16.

• The Gophers men's track and field team might have the best hammer thrower in the country in Gian Ferretti, a native of Italy who has thrown more than 229 feet, a distance that would have been good enough to win the Big Ten championship. Gophers coach Steve Plasencia also has great hopes for freshman Obsa Ali, who was the Class 2A champion in cross-country last year at Richfield.

• The best bet is that the Gophers' new modern outdoor track will be located in the area of Cleveland Avenue N. and Roselawn Avenue W. in St. Paul. The intersection is the northeast corner of the university's Les Bolstad Golf Course.