Tim Brewster addressed the media and hundreds of others at the McNamara Alumni Center this afternoon.

Brewster immediately set the bar very high: "My expectations from Day One is that we are going to win the Big Ten championship," he said. "We're going to take the Gopher Nation to Pasadena (the site of the Rose Bowl)."

Brewster will be taking his first head coaching job in 19 years, since leaving the high school ranks. He most recently was an NFL assistant for five years and before that was recruiting coordinator for Texas. He was asked if he had concerns about his lack of head coaching experience. "I don't have fear. I don't have anxiety. I have total exhilaration," he said in a mild Texas accent despite having been born in New Jersey. "If you aren't prepared, then you have anxiety. ... For 19 years I've been an assistant coach [and] I've always made great decision on who I worked for. ... What I chased was knowledge [rather than] what my title was."

Brewster, 46, was an all-Big Ten tight end at Illinois in the early '80s. He met the team early Wednesday morning and reported that each and every player was excited and energized to meet him as he was to meet them. Next on his agenda is passing an NCAA test to allow him to actively recruit and interviewing the staff that worked for former coach Glen Mason, who was fired December 31. After that, Brewster will begin actively contacting the recruits who have already verbally committed to Minnesota in advance of the February 7 signing day. He said

Tim Brewster (Gopher Sports photo)

he also intends to contact select Minnesota high school players who have verbally committed elsewhere.

While he said he is happy to be stepping into a solid, well organized program, with some talented players, he will aggressively sell the University in several ways:

- The U has a great academic reputation.
- The new stadium set to open in 2009 "will be the best in the nation."
- The football program has great facilities
- The Twin Cities area is a great, friendly place.

"As I researched the University of Minnesota, I became more and more excited [about accepting the job]," he said, commenting on the oft-cited fact that he is a great recruiter. "You're not going to be a great salesman if you don't have a great product. ... This is going to be an easy sell."

As to his philosophy on offense and defense, he said he needed to evaluate players and let them "do what they do best." In general, however, Brewster said he would "establish toughness" through the running game and have a passing game that complements it depending on the talents of the players. On defense, he said, he wants the team to be "fast." Brewster learned from Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan how an offense can dictate a game to the defense, and said he wants his defense to be able to turn that around and disrupt the offense by dictating the tempo. A neglected are is the special teams, he said, and he looks forward to improving that area.

U Athletic Director Joel Maturi said he selected Brewster after an exhaustive but brief search process. Maturi said he phone calls from respected colleagues recommending Brewster. "Quite frankly, I'd never heard of Tim Brewster," he said. But as he checked around "everybody had great things to say about Tim Brewster. Kids love to play for him."