Northern Illinois football coach Jerry Kill, who was released from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago late Thursday, attended the Huskies' walk-through in DeKalb Friday and accompanied the team to Champaign.
His exact role when NIU takes on Illinois Saturday was not immediately known. But defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, who was designated to serve as interim coach if Kill was unavailable, said earlier this week that he would be ``shocked'' if Kill wasn't involved in some capacity, either on the sidelines coaching or up in the press box.
Kill had been hospitalized since Sunday for dehydration. Shortly before the Huskies opened their season at Iowa State, the third-year NIU coach underwent what was described as minor surgery.
Kill would not reveal the nature of the surgery but said it was not related to the kidney cancer surgery he underwent in 2005 while coaching at Southern Illinois University. He has been in remission since and NIU Athletic Director Jeff Compher reiterated this week that his current health issues were not cancer-related.
(Thanks to my Sun-Times Media Group colleague, Rick Armstrong, who contributed to this report.)
His exact role when NIU takes on Illinois Saturday was not immediately known. But defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, who was designated to serve as interim coach if Kill was unavailable, said earlier this week that he would be ``shocked'' if Kill wasn't involved in some capacity, either on the sidelines coaching or up in the press box.
Kill had been hospitalized since Sunday for dehydration. Shortly before the Huskies opened their season at Iowa State, the third-year NIU coach underwent what was described as minor surgery.
Kill would not reveal the nature of the surgery but said it was not related to the kidney cancer surgery he underwent in 2005 while coaching at Southern Illinois University. He has been in remission since and NIU Athletic Director Jeff Compher reiterated this week that his current health issues were not cancer-related.
(Thanks to my Sun-Times Media Group colleague, Rick Armstrong, who contributed to this report.)
Herb Gould started with the Sun-Times in 1977 and has covered several teams, including the Blackhawks. He is a long-time beat reporter covering the Fighting Illini and the Big Ten for the Sun-Times.
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