Football: What Kansas is saying about Gill

“It's important to recruit Texas, and it's important that Turner is from Texas. If he can get kids from Texas to go to Buffalo, I'm sure he can get them to come to Kansas. And that's no knock on Buffalo, it's just closer to home here, and a little warmer. He's a players coach, I thought that was important. At the end of the day, he wanted to be at Kansas.”

— KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins on the things that makes Turner Gill a good fit at KU

“We were looking for somebody who has passion for the game of football, we were looking for somebody who has passion for people, we were looking for somebody that knows the Big 12, and somebody who can recruit Texas and Oklahoma and all of the places that we want to recruit. But also the fact that he can recruit nationally. I personally believe that Turner can go into any home and get any player.”

— Perkins on some of the qualities he was looking for in a coach

“Recruit, beat Missouri, recruit, win the North, recruit, win the Big 12, and in most cases if you win the Big 12 then you're playing for a national championship. And then we're going to recruit.”

— Gill on his top priorities

“I knew if I had an opportunity at another institution, and I wouldn't say this 100 percent, but he was definitely on my radar screen as a top guy.”

— Gill on if he knew he wanted Chuck Long as offensive coordinator right away

“This is Turner Gill's day, as it should be. He called me up and said, `Hey do you want to come to the press conference, I'd love for you to come.' That's the kind of guy he is: very humble. I said I would love to come. I didn't hesitate to get on a plane. It says a lot about him and his humility because a lot of coaches wouldn't do that.”

— Long on Gill inviting him to the Monday press conference

“Transition is never easy and I know they have gone through some tough transition, so we're going to try to smooth that situation as quickly as possible tonight. We're anxious to meet everybody and see everybody. Tonight is going to be a step in that direction.”

— Long on starting work immediately

“I think he is still a disciplinarian. Practice is still going to be tough and our workouts will still be tough, but I like the fact that he is a very successful former player. He knows what it takes to win.”

— KU offensive lineman Brad Thorson on the different coaching style Gill will bring to Kansas.

“I've heard he is a motivator of his athletes and a players-first coach. He obviously shared that with us today and left an impression that he is really going to take this program to another direction and gain a lot of support and respect from his athletes.”

— KU running back Toben Opurum on his first impressions of Gill

“Just what the Buffalo players are saying, that he's a players coach, which is something that we haven't had really. That will be a big key because we'll be able to trust our coach a lot more. It's definitely nice to have a players' coach around, being able to build a relationship with him

— KU defensive back Chris Harris on what he knows about Gill

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