Aug. 18, 2001
COLUMBIA, Mo.- The Missouri Tigers football team returned to Columbia and completed its second preseason scrimmage at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Head Coach Gary Pinkel felt the Tigers cleaned up the penalties from Thursday's scrimmage and were much more efficient both offensively and defensively.
Senior kicker Brad Hammerich continued his impressive preseason by connecting on field goal tries of 25, 36 and 32 yards. He was also perfect in PAT attempts and was also solid in the kickoff department, booting nearly every kick deep or out of the end zone.
Junior quarterback Darius Outlaw led the Tigers No. 1 offense on an impressive scoring drive during the second series of the scrimmage. After a 14-yard run by Zack Abron, Outlaw completed a 16-yard pass to Tay Jackson, and then a 13-yard pass to tight end Joe Chirumbolo. The drive was capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run by tailback Zain Gilmore.
Freshman quarterback Brad Smith also led a scoring drive, completing a 32-yard pass to Sean Coffey and a 7-yard completion to Chris Crosby. That set up freshman tailback Tyrone Roberson, who did all of the work inside the red zone. Roberson found the corner for a 7-yard pickup, and then broke free for a 9-yard touchdown run.
The Tigers defense looked much better on Saturday as well. Defensive tackles Keith Wright and Chris Ryan both came up with big plays. Ryan came through the line for a tackle in the backfield, and then on the same series, deflected a pass thrown by Outlaw. Wright recovered a fumble by wide receiver Thomson Omboga down field for the only turnover of the scrimmage. He also had a quarterback sack on the afternoon.
Outside safety Tauras Ferguson broke up a number of pass plays for the Tigers defense. On the other side, Kevin Johnson, playing the whip position, had a couple of bone-crunching tackles.
Wide receiver Justin Gage was quiet throughout the scrimmage until the final few minutes when the Tigers went to work on the two-minute drill. Outlaw connected with Gage on three consecutive pass plays for 46 yards. That performance drew a huge ovation from the crowd. Later in another series, Gage made an outstanding catch on a pass that was thrown behind him.
The Tigers get down to business this week as school begins at the University of Missouri. In just two weeks, the Tigers will host Bowling Green in the season opener on Sept. 1 at Memorial Stadium.