April 2, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo.- The Missouri football team went through perhaps its' toughest and most intense practice of the spring on Tuesday afternoon inside the Devine Pavilion. The Tigers, equipped in full pads, practiced for close to three hours. More than half of the practice was devoted to skill work, while the rest was spent in a scrimmage setting. Head Coach Gary Pinkel doubled the time of the "team period" in order in get more repetitions for his players.
Tuesday's practice was the first since March 21 before the team broke for Spring Break. Tuesday also marked the return of All-Big 12 wide receiver Justin Gage to the gridiron. Gage has spent the last four months competing for the men's basketball team who advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. Gage was in full uniform on Tuesday, and went through every period but the team period. Pinkel said Gage will be brought along slowly this week, and that it is unlikely that Gage will be part of Saturday's scrimmage.
The Mizzou defense had a very good day of practice. One point of emphasis this spring is being able to create turnovers. The Tigers' "D" did plenty of that on Tuesday. In 7-on-7 drills, Missouri's defense intercepted five passes. Senior cornerback Antoine Duncan picked two passes off, while free safety Marcus King, outside safety Marcus Caldwell and linebacker James Kinney, all intercepted passes that were either tipped or not handled by Mizzou's receivers.
It was not all bad for the Missouri offense. Redshirt freshmen Chris Crosby and Sean Coffey continued to make progress at wide receiver, while juniors Shirdonya Mitchell and Brandon Severino also made several difficult grabs.
In the trenches, the offensive and defensive line had plenty of battles on the day. Sophomore Joe Gianino stood out on the offensive line, enjoying perhaps his best practice of the spring, while redshirt freshman C.J. Mosley continues to impress on the defensive side of the ball.
The Tigers are off on Wednesday, and will return to practice on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.