Wednesday is the last day of final exams at the University, so Jerry Kill will soon learn a little more about his football team.
"I told them when I arrived, 'You've got 2 1/2 weeks to either impress me, or not,' " Kill said. "The best way to impress me right now is to finish up strong academically. Take the classroom part of your responsibilities seriously -- that's going to be important to me, and it will show that this team is important to you, too."
But the Gophers' new coach understands that all the changes can be hard on some players, and he realizes that a few may walk away from the Gophers rather than play for a staff that didn't recruit them.
"It can be hard going through transitions, and we've always lost a couple when we come in," Kill said of previous stops at Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois. "There's some natural attrition, too, but nothing too serious. The kids have been really positive so far."
Now he wants to see some positive grade-point averages, too. "We'll know more after the Christmas holidays, how this semester went," Kill said. "I told them, get to the weight room, stay out of trouble, and get after it in the classroom. That's how we're going to operate. This is a critical time for me to evaluate our kids, and try to help those who need it."
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-- Kill informed recruiting coordinator Dan Berezowitz on Monday that his contract will not be renewed. Berezowitz was hired by Tim Brewster, whom he worked alongside at North Carolina and Texas in the 1990s, when Brewster became head coach four years ago.
-- A clarification: A story last week noted that Jeff Horton signed a two-year contract worth $590,000 to be Brewster's offensive coordinator last winter. But the second year of the contract was only valid if Brewster remained head coach; Horton was paid $250,000 for the 2010 season, plus another $50,000 for serving as interim coach after Brewster was fired.
