Aug. 7, 2002

Columbia, Mo. - The second day of two-a-day workouts for the Tiger Football newcomers concluded this afternoon in unseasonably cool Columbia. Despite the calendar reading August, the temperatures today read just 72 degrees in the morning, and 82 degrees in the afternoon.

The same 26 newcomers that took to the field on day one, returned for more of the same in day two. As the day before, the team took to the practice fields wearing shoulder pads and shorts, and worked mostly in drills and conditioning exercises.

Freshman tailback Mario Whitney continued to impress those in attendance. The 6-foot, 185-pound freshman showed his speed on the outside in many instances, as well as some nice moves running on the inside. Fellow freshmen TE DeQuincy Howard and walk-on WR Alex Mackey caught the lion's share of passes during the day from the QB trio of Brandon Coleman, David Overstreet and Josh Hibbets.

This marked the last day of practice for the newcomers by themselves, as they'll take Thursday and Friday off in preparation for the first full-squad practice, at 8:15 a.m. Saturday.

NOTES *-Former Tiger standout Demetrious Johnson will join the Tiger Radio Network this year as a halftime analyst. Johnson, who lettered at MU from 1979-82 and as a senior was part of an MU defensive backfield that led the nation in pass defense, will join KOMU Sports Director Chris Gervino on the halftime show.

*-In other radio news, MU's Gary Link will join Jerome Sally and Corby Jones on the Tiger Radio Network pre-game and post-game shows for the upcoming football season. Link, a former Tiger basketball standout, is a special assistant to the athletic director at MU, and has called Tiger basketball games as a color analyst for the past six seasons. Sally, a three-year letterwinner at MU, played eight seasons in the NFL and was a member of the 1986 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Jones led the Tigers to consecutive bowl games in 1997 and 1998, and is still MU's alltime leading scorer in both points and touchdowns.