Turner Gill

[np_husker]

Steven M. Sipple: Gill's rise began in Columbia

 

Turner Gill remembers the game well. It was rugged. Missouri blitzed him mercilessly.

 

“We didn’t want to give him room to breathe,” Tigers secondary coach Zaven Yaralian said at the time.

 

The time was Oct. 24, 1981. The place was Columbia, Mo. Gill was a sophomore making his third varsity start. The first two were easy. This was a bear. Nebraska escaped 6-0 on fullback Phil Bates’ three-yard touchdown burst on a trap play with 23 seconds remaining.

 

“That was a special game for me,” Gill said Tuesday. “That was the first game I started against a very good opponent in a tough environment.”

 

Gill, in his third season as the University of Buffalo’s head coach, will be in familiar territory Saturday when the Bulls (2-1) play fifth-ranked Missouri (3-0). Columbia remains an unwelcoming environment for visitors. Mizzou was mighty in 1981, but much stronger now. The upstart Bulls stand little chance.

 

Even so, there’s plenty of intrigue in these parts. Nebraska fans will pay close attention to the Buffalo-Mizzou score (the game won’t be televised). In the stadium in which Gill’s ascent as a player started in earnest, the Husker icon’s ascent as a head coach will continue.

 

Buffalo is off to its best start in a decade. Gill last season was named Mid-American Conference coach of the year after leading the Bulls to a 5-3 league mark, including 4-2 in the East Division to claim a share of the regular-season crown. The Bulls had won eight MAC games total the previous eight years.

 

“You never know the dynamics of when it’s all going to happen for a coach, whether it’s going to take two years, three years, five years, seven years — you just never know. I know Gary Pinkel’s been at Missouri eight years now, and it probably took him five or six years before he really got things going the way he wanted them to go,” said Gill, who spent 13 seasons as a Nebraska assistant coach (1992-2004).

 

Gill left the Husker program in early December of 2004. It was an awkward day for Big Red fans who hold the program’s proud and unique tradition so close to their hearts. One of the last ties to the Tom Osborne era suddenly was gone.

 

Gill was 28-2 as Nebraska’s starting QB. He glided around the corner on the option, always cool under pressure. What’s more, he was a gentleman. He remains a gentleman.

 

He spoke with pride and poise that harsh December day and teared up as spoke about the players he was leaving. Lots of folks shed tears that day.

 

Gill never really fit in with Bill Callahan’s crew, which often seemed more interested in developing players for the NFL than developing them for life. So, Gill ventured out on his own, determined to find work as a head coach. Before taking over in Buffalo, he spent the 2005 season as player development director and offensive assistant with the Green Bay Packers.

 

It should be noted that in November of 2000, Gill interviewed for the Missouri head coaching vacancy that eventually was filled by Pinkel, who struggled to a 29-30 record from 2001 to 2005. Since the start of 2006, however, the Tigers are 23-6 thanks in large part to Pinkel’s savvy decision to switch to a spread offense following a 5-6 finish in 2004.

 

“You can see they’re very, very comfortable in what they’re doing offensively, defensively and special teams,” Gill said. “They execute very, very well.”

 

“We feel like we have a pretty good football team, too,” he added. “But we’re going to have to play almost a perfect football game to have a great chance to win.”

 

The excitement in Buffalo’s program comes with a price. It means seeing Gill constantly get thrown into discussion about job openings. He interviewed for the Nebraska job last year and he’s already being mentioned as a potential successor to Greg Robinson at Syracuse. It’s all speculation and hearsay, Gill said.

 

But Gill suddenly seems destined to land a BCS job.

 

“Obviously, I’m thrilled that somebody mentions my name here and there, but I have to do my job here, and that is to coach these guys, help them get their degrees and become better men.”

 

Playing in places like Missouri should help his players grow stronger as a unit.

 

“They have a good, rowdy crowd (in Columbia),” Gill said. “I know it’s going to be loud.”

 

He knows from experience.

 

http://huskerextra.com/articles/2008/09/17...9a683663215.txt

[OmahaPlaya]

I wish Turner luck this Saturday.