Huskies coach Jerry Kill hospitalized

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Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill remained hospitalized Tuesday in Chicago with an undisclosed illness, and his status for this weekend's game against Illinois is uncertain.

Kill was hospitalized in DeKalb early Sunday morning because of dehydration and since has been transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Team spokeswoman Donna Turner said Kill is conferring with his personal physician and undergoing further evaluation.

The dehydration was related to surgery Kill underwent for unspecified reasons on Sept. 3. Kill did not get into specifics about his illness last week, but did say it was not cancer-related.

Still, after his team's 23-17 victory over North Dakota on Saturday, Kill acknowledged it was a "tough week" for him.

In 2005, Kill was diagnosed with kidney cancer while coaching at Southern Illinois.

Northern Illinois defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said during Monday's MAC conference call that the staff and players were handling Kill's hospitalization as well as possible. He said they hoped to know more about Kill's status in the next 24 to 48 hours.

In terms of the impact on the coaching staff, Claeys said: "Everyone has their responsibilities. As long as everybody takes care of their own responsibilities, we'll be prepared and ready to go. [We'd] love to have him back and hope he's back. If not, we're prepared to go down that road."

Andrea Adelson is a national college football blogger for ESPN.com.

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Andrea Adelson | email

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• ESPN.com Big East/Nation blogger
• Joined ESPN.com in 2010
• Wrote for The Orlando Sentinel