I sat down with Gophers AD Norwood Teague this morning to get his thoughts on the football program with spring practice in full swing. Teague has been understandably busy of late, replacing men's basketball coach Tubby Smith with Richard Pitino.

Asked what that move signifies for the football program, Teague said, "I think it shows we have high expectations, but when I look at football, I don't know if anybody on this Earth has higher expectations for himself or his program than Jerry Kill. I mean, he is relentless. So the basketball change was difficult, but I think something had to happen. But with football, I mean, let me tell you something: Jerry Kill runs 100 miles per hour every day, and he has high expectations for himself, no doubt."

Asked to describe his vision for a successful football program, Teague said it's a team that's "in the upper half of the league and competing for championships, and one that there's an incredible amount of hope each year for our success and people seeing improvement. Not only the way the program is managed, but seeing improvement in recruiting and also -- this is very big for football -- seeing improvement in player development, and also your retention."

Asked how excited he is for this fall, knowing Kill's track record for success in Year 3, Teague said: "I'm real excited, but I think we've all got to be careful about putting a number on how many games we think we should win to see progress. Building a football program is an art. And as long as I'm excited about what I see, which is what I am excited about -- his management of the program, his building of the program, doing all the right things behind the scenes, recruiting really well, developing our kids and making retention a big priority -- then we're growing."

Kill's recruiting classes at Minnesota have ranked toward the bottom of the Big Ten, but Teague said, "That does not cause me any pause. I follow recruiting quite a bit, and ... football kids develop. They grow. A lot of football is growing into your body. And I am so confident and so impressed with Jerry's group and how they evaluate. They trust their own judgment and I think that's tremendous."

Pitino's contract allows him to spend up to $50,000 per year on a private jet for recruiting. Will Kill have access to a private plane now, too?

"Yeah, we'll do that for Jerry moving forward," Teague said. "It won't necessarily be in his contract, but when appropriate, we'll use those planes. They provide a lot of logistical benefits more than any type of luxury. To get our coaches from one point to another quickly, to see multiple recruits in one day and get them back for practice is invaluable."