Following their 42-0 victory over Southwest Texas State, tragedy struck the Minnesota Gophers. Backup defensive lineman Brandon Hall was shot and killed outside a bar in downtown Minneapolis. The shooting resulted from a disagreement between teammates and three other men, one who pulled a gun and shot and killed Hall. This announcement sent shockwaves not only through the Gophers, but through all of the Big Ten.
For the second time in two years, tragedy has struck the Big Ten. Last year, Northwestern senior safety Rashidi Wheeler died during voluntary summer workouts.
Northwestern coach Randy Walker, who had to help his players through the season, said, “You can’t minimize how dramatic it is. It’s more than you just lost a friend, a brother; it’s so many things.”
Every coach in the Big Ten expressed support for the Gophers players and coaching staff and Hall’s family. Each coach also said the loss or injury of a player was not only their greatest fear, but also the most dramatic event that can happen to a team.
“I think you get through it day by day,” said Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo, who has twice dealt with the death of a player. “It’s really sad to see the families endure. It rocks all of our worlds. Obviously, it is hard to move on, but on the other hand, it puts the game in perspective.”
As it is such a scary occurrence, many teams take steps in order to prevent such situations. “We try to be very proactive, which we have done on an annual basis,” Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz said. “Throughout the preseason, we bring a lot of speakers in to visit with our players; it is probably more effective than hearing the same old, same old from us week in and week out.”
Many teams employ such strategies and are looking to expand these programs for the entire year. The Wisconsin football team enlists a police liaison with both the Madison and campus police.
Players are also students and enjoy the nightlife, where most problems happen.
“We always tell our players nothing good happens past 10,” said Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. “The incidents and problems go way up after the late hours in the evenings. The incidents and problems go way up when alcohol is a part of the scenario and when drugs are a part of the scenario, and perhaps poor company choices are part of it.”
Lloyd Carr, who had two players who received non-fatal injuries as a result of a shooting last year, echoed this sentiment. “It was no question the most serious situation in terms of the health and welfare of our players since I’ve been the head coach,” Carr said.
“Only two ways you migrate through this: it takes time, it takes prayer,” Walker said. “That’s all it comes down to because there is no easy formula; there’s no easy way. To say there is a plan or a there is a way to do it, I don’t think there is.”
New additions
It is difficult to replace a collegiate starting quarterback. In the Big Ten this season, it is proving even more difficult to replace a premium kicker. Wisconsin fans have known how hard it can be to replace a top-flight kicker. John Hall, Matt Davenport and Vitaly Pisetsky had spoiled fans for eight years before UW was forced to use an inexperienced kicker last year.
Nowhere were the struggles of a new kicker more evident than in the Michigan-Washington game this weekend. Michigan kickers missed field goals of 27, 36, and 42 yards before walk-on Phillip Brabbs hit a game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired. No rookie player is perfect from the start, but kickers get so few opportunities that their progress is often judged on a different scale.
“Kickers’ mistakes are more magnified,” said Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo, whose top kicker is a walk-on. “There’s so much focus on them that through their eyes and through other players’ eyes, it is more difficult and more critical to replace them.”
