Senior defensive tackle Brandon Kirksey has been through
some tough times in his four years with the Gopher Football program.
Kirksey was part of a 3-9 season in 2010, where he saw his
head coach dismissed mid-season. He was even suspended from the team for a week
after last year's 52-10 loss to Ohio State. But it sounds as though Kirksey has
learned from those experiences and is one of the guys the Gophers can count on,
even though times have been tough once again this season.
"It's a heavy burden," Kirksey said. "Last year, we didn't
do so good. I had to carry that burden. This year, we're not doing so good, so
it's still a burden. But it's a learning experience. You try to have a
short-term memory. You just get over the hump and continue to work hard."
Kirksey has clearly been listening to head coach Jerry Kill
when he talks about his philosophies in regard to adversity.
"You always find out who you have on your side in adverse
environments," Kirksey said. "When things are bad you find out who your real
soldiers are. That's even in life. Your family and friends ... when things are
going bad in life, you find out who your real family and friends are. That's
what we're dealing with now."
Coach Kill stated Tuesday that he's looking for a "fight-back
mentality." It sounded like he feels Kirksey is one of the guys giving him
that. Kirksey reiterated that when he talked about how he is dealing with
things so far this season.
"I just know there's light on the other side," Kirksey said.
"So I just continue to fight, continue to fight. I know a lot of guys look up
to me. So I choose to hide the bad that I feel about it and look at it as
optimistic about the good things that can happen. Continue to stress to them
that if we keep working, we can beat a team that we want to beat. It's just not
getting yourself down, not beating yourself up. Just have that short-term
memory and continue to play and practice."
Senior offensive lineman Chris Bunders agreed with that
mentality.
"Hopefully if we just stay on the course and keep going, we'll
be fine," Bunders said.
