Saturday, September 14, 2013

Minnesota Gophers football coach Jerry Kill carted off the field after epileptic seizure

Minnesota Gophers football coach Jerry Kill was taken away on a stretcher at halftime of his team’s game against Western Illinois Saturday afternoon.

Kill has epilepsy, and he has a long history of game-day seizures. He was lying on the ground, writhing back and forth with medical staff surrounding him, right after the Gophers left for the locker room at TCF Bank Stadium.

David Benedict, Minnesota’s deputy athletic director, updated Kill’s status early in the fourth quarter from the Big Ten Network booth. Benedict said: “Coach is resting comfortably at an area hospital now,” and added that his vital signs are “great.”

Benedict said the condition is not life threatening.



“It’s really more of a precautionary measure that he’s at the hospital right now,” Benedict said.

Defensive coach Tracy Claeys served as head coach in the second half.

Kill has worked with doctors to bring his seizures under better control with medication, rest, nutrition and exercise, but the stress of a game day is hard to avoid. Kill suffered a seizure in the locker room at halftime last November against Michigan State, his third documented episode during a game at Minnesota since taking over in 2011.

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