Jerry Kill brings energy, message to another rebuilding project at Rutgers

Fans in Minnesota became well-versed in Jerry Kill’s health challenges, which ultimately caused him to step down as Gophers football coach in the middle of the 2015 season.

At the time of his departure from the Gophers, Kill acknowledged that his ongoing battle with epilepsy was at odds with the demands of being a Big Ten head coach. He walked away after an emotional, unforgettable news conference at TCF Bank Stadium.

But Kill continued to be a champion for epilepsy awareness. And now he’s bringing that message to New Jersey, where the former Gophers head coach believes he has found the proper balance between football and healthy lifestyle as the new offensive coordinator at Rutgers.

With spring football set to arrive sooner than we think, Kill was featured recently by the Asbury Park Press — where he was quoted extensively talking about his health and being part of another rebuilding project. Rutgers was 0-9 in the Big Ten last season and just 2-10 overall.

Kill, who reportedly has lost 25 pounds while on a special diet, said of his new job: “It’s night and day, what you deal with as a head coach and as a coordinator. (Being a head coach) is very hard. There are so many responsibilities, especially when you’re building a program.”

Still, his new role will require plenty of recruiting.

“I enjoy the recruiting part and a lot of people don’t,” Kill told the paper. “I think my years of experience help. I’ve been a head coach (and) I think there’s some credibility to that when you walk in a (recruit’s) house. They know who you are.”

There might not be a ton of new ground covered in the feature, but it is a good catch-up if you’re wondering how Kill is doing heading into his new project.