Missouri Football Holds First Day of Full Practices
8/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 10, 2002
With exactly three weeks until the Missouri football team takes the field in the season opener against Illinois, the Tigers held their first full team practices today. Head Coach Gary Pinkel put his team through an 8:15 morning workout followed by a 3:45 afternoon practice.
"I thought it was a first good day," Pinkel said. "Now we just wake up tomorrow and start over. I'm pleased with the effort and work ethic, but we've got 27 more (practices) to go and we just need to keep getting better."
Both practices were full of energy and intensity as the players seemed eager to be back on the field. The team practiced in shorts, with shoulder pads and helmets. However there were still several hard hits put on the ball carriers by the Tiger defense. The defense also shined during the seven-on-seven drills as they had three interceptions in the morning practice and four more in the afternoon.
On the offensive side, wide receiver Sean Coffey made a pair of impressive catches in the morning practice, working with both Kirk Farmer and Brad Smith as quarterback. Wide receiver Justin Gage also made some athletic plays in the afternoon.
"We've worked hard to get here today," Pinkel said. "It's good to get out here on the field and be able to continue to focus on becoming a better football team."
The Tigers will have one practice on Sunday morning as they count down to the kickoff to the season against the Fighting Illini in St. Louis on Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m.
