Gophers head football coach Jerry Kill took advantage of some down time in the off season to visit Preston, Minn. on Monday night, KAALtv reported.

Kill served as keynote speaker for the sixth annual Preston Area Community Foundation Dinner and Celebration in the Southeastern Minnesota town.

More than 180 local Gopher football fans showed up hours in advance to hear Kill talk about his childhood, his connection with Minnesotans and his struggles with kidney cancer and seizures.

“Ya know, I grew up in a small town and I feel like everybody's important. Every person,” Kill said Monday night. “And there's no way we're going to turn around the program unless we have the people behind us in the state of Minnesota.”

The dinner at the Branding Iron restaurant serves as a fundraisier for improving the Preston area community.

“I'm moving along pretty good and things have been going well,” Kill said. “And ya know, I'm in good hands. My wife's here tonight so she keeps me in line.”  

This is nothing new for the second-year coach of the Gophers; he had to seek clearance from the NCAA for his wife to travel with him to all of his recruiting trips this past offseason.