Missouri Football Press Conference
8/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 25, 2003
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
On the atmosphere of the State Farm Showdown
"The emotion of this game last year, in the dome, surprised me. It was really a bowl-type atmosphere. When you have a packed house and a significant number of fans representing each team, it's real exciting. We'll have to watch some of our younger players and those that haven't played a lot. They have to be able to maintain their poise and focus even with all the excitement and energy."
On the recruiting impact of the Illinois game
"Initially, if you win the game it's a big splash for you in a city where we work so hard for recruiting, as do Illinois and many other top universities. But ultimately, I hope the players are sitting down and evaluating the programs, how they would fit in, where they think the team is headed, before making a decision. I hope they're not just saying, 'Missouri won the game so I'll go there.'"
On the University of Illinois
"We will see a great football team. Their quarterback (Jon Beutjer) is terrific - at the end of last year he was throwing almost 60 percent completions. He's a great thrower, and they probably feel very good that they have an established, high-level quarterback. Their offense is very experienced - they were in the top 15 in the nation last year in total offense. Defensively they play a pressure, man coverage, attacking style. So the challenges are certainly there for us.
On new faces in the defensive secondary
"We had some severe issues on defense when (the coaching staff) got here. The numbers were such that we're still digging out of them. If you look at the back end of our defense (safeties and corners) we have different players than there were a year ago, and that's good. We thought Calvin Washington had great potential last year, but we redshirted him and now he's starting at corner. Shirdonya Mitchell has a chance to be an outstanding corner. We have two new safeties in Nino Williams and David Overstreet. Dedrick Harrington was a highly recruited player who didn't play last year because of injuries, but now he's starting at rover. The athleticism over there is significantly different that what it's been in the past, and that's good."
Missouri Quarterback Brad Smith
On preparing for facing Illinois
"We're not going to do anything differently than what we do every week. We have to prepare ourselves as a team, and go out and do what we do. We're not going to change us, we just have to make it happen no matter what other teams do. Our focus is on us, and what Missouri can do to win the game."
On his performance against Illinois last year "I expected to do well - I always expect to do well - so that wasn't a big surprise to me. I just wanted to go out and win the game, first of all, and then some good things happened to us and me."
Missouri Cornerback Michael Harden
On starting the season against Illinois
"We've got to step up to the challenge. Where we're trying to go, we're going to have to play a lot of great teams. So it's good to start off with a big challenge, facing a good team like Illinois. To be the best you have to beat the best, and we've got to be ready to go out and be prepared for anything."
On the secondary facing a big challenge
"I like the pressure. We're going against a team that's going to come out and pass a lot, and that will allow our secondary to try and redeem itself from last year. This is a new year, we're ready, and I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Missouri Tailback Zack Abron
On his health
"I'm feeling really good. The training staff did a great job working on me, I feel good now and I'll be ready to go come Saturday."
