Sept. 22, 2003

MISSOURI HEAD FOOTBALL COACH Gary Pinkel
on the Kansas Jayhawks:
"We're obviously very impressed with their football team. There is a significant difference between them from last year to this year, which I had anticipated. They're doing a great job with that program."

on the significance of the Kansas rivalry:
"When I got here, the first 50 people I met said, 'How are you doing and beat Kansas.' So I figured it out real fast. I think it's important for the older players to explain the rivalry to the younger players, and to help them figure out the importance of the game. It's a very, very big football game because you're playing for a lot more than just yourselves. It's for the fans and alumni too, and we understand that."

on Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore:
"He's really playing well. He runs well, he has great quickness and great pocket awareness. He's one of those guys that everything can be collapsing around him, and all of a sudden he senses it and he's gone - not just in the sense of running the football, but also getting out onto the perimeter and making a lot of plays. They have a very good offensive scheme, they try to present lots of problems to you. It's a very well thought out offense."

on Brad Smith's block for Zack Abron during the Middle Tennessee game:
"I thought it was a pretty good hit. We have a big hit award that we give to our players, so we gave him one and told him I never want to give him another one for hitting."

on J.D. McCoy's fourth down catch during the game-tying drive:
"I've been in this business a long time, and I've been fortunate to have been around a lot of come-from-behind victories. I've seen a lot of 4th down catches made in the process, and that was one of the best 4th down catches I have ever seen. The ball was thrown behind him, so he was going the other direction and someone else was going through his knee. To hold on to it was a remarkable catch. He had the whole program in his hands, because if he drops that, it's all over."

MISSOURI SENIOR TAILBACK Zack Abron
on the Kansas Jayhawks:
"They're a great team. They're a team that's very much on the rise. They have a great quarterback and a great defense. It's going to be key for us to get out to a fast start and put up some points."

on Brad Smith's block during Abron's 64-yard run against Middle Tennessee:
"I didn't know it was Brad. I thought it was a wide receiver, but I really don't have time to look at numbers while I'm running. But I saw him lunge out and knock the defender down. I found out on the sidelines, everyone told me it was Brad. I thought it was a great block. He must be bringing out some of his high school linebacker skills."

MISSOURI SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK Brad Smith
on the Kansas rivalry:
"You figure out within a week of getting to Missouri how important this game is. It means a lot to everybody, including our team. We want to go out and win this ball game."

on the block he threw during Zack Abron's 64-yard run:
"I just saw the defender and knew that if I kept him away, then Zack could pick up a few more yards. On the sidelines, everyone was pretty excited. They were jumping up and down and they told me it was a great hit, so that felt pretty good."

MISSOURI JUNIOR FREE SAFETY Nino Williams
On preparing to face Kansas:
"It's just like preparing for any other team that we know is going to throw the ball. We have to put in some time studying film and working hard at practice, then go out and actually play like we practice."

on the defense's performance against Middle Tennessee:
"It was an eye-opener. It made a lot of us look with more perspective at where we need to be as a team. We know how much harder we have to work this week now, and we're going to take care of that."

MISSOURI SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK Calvin Washington
on the defense's performance against Middle Tennessee State
"If we would have been able to go out and execute our game plan, then there is no question that they would have scored a lot less."

MISSOURI SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER Marcus James
on facing Kansas:
"This whole state goes crazy. This game matters to every one who wore a black and gold jersey. Being from Kansas, I know both sides, and I now bleed black and gold."

MISSOURI SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN A.J. Ricker
on the KU rivalry:
"It is a big rivalry - once you get on the field you should not like anybody. It is my job to let the guys know how much this game means."

on Brad Smith:
"You love to block for a guy like that, because you know he will fight and scratch for you too. After an incomplete pass, when he comes back to the huddle he has that smile on his face and you know he has shaken it all off."