Aug. 11, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri Tigers worked out Wednesday afternoon in shoulder pads and shorts for the first time, as pre-season camp continued. The workout was held at Memorial Stadium for the third consecutive day, and the temperature was an incredible 69 degrees. Action continued to be mostly drills and 7-on-7, as contact is limited until full pads are put on for the first time Friday morning. Despite that, many Tigers had solid performances Wednesday afternoon. Offensively, sophomore WR Brad Ekwerekwu ("Ek" to most broadcasters) made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch from freshman QB Darrell Jackson that went for a 40-yard TD. Other offensive highlights included TE Victor Sesay, who made a nice one-hand grab in the flat and hauled it in as he rumbled for a long gain down the left sideline. Also, freshman wideout William Franklin made a handful of nice plays on the day. Defensive standouts included redshirt freshman Alex Woodley, who made a very nice diving interception, and junior defensive back A.J. Kincade, who made an excellent read and break on a ball to nab an interception of his own. Additionally, junior college lineman George Lane pounced on a loose ball late in the practice to get a turnover for the defenders. Freshman tailback Tony Temple did not practice Wednesday, and will be held out indefinitely, due to an issue with the NCAA Clearinghouse. Mizzou has appealed to get him reinstated, but there is no timetable on the situation. An interesting sight at today's practice: A group of around 20 Chinese nationals visited practice for about 30 minutes. The group has been touring America for several months, and made a stop at practice to see their first-ever football action in person. The group was very excited to see a sport that few of them had any knowledge of, and many were seen taking photos on the edge of the field with footballs in hand and big smiles on their faces. The media relations office received word today of several new rules changes that will take effect for the 2004 season. The most interesting one involves the calling of penalties by referees. The new rule (Rule 11-2-1-d in case you're keeping score at home) states that if the ref is equipped with a microphone, he will announce the number of the player committing the foul. This obviously won't impact how the game is played, but it will be interesting for fans, because the college game has always been hesitant to single out players in this way before. On the media front, Mizzou fans will have a ton of new names making up the bylines as they read about their Tigers in 2004. Longtime MU beat writer, and MU grad Bill Coats has been switched to the St. Louis Rams beat after covering Mizzou for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for many years. Coats is being replaced by another MU grad, Graham Watson, who was an MU soccer player for awhile in the late 1990s. Change also has occurred at the Columbia Daily Tribune, as Rus Baer takes over for Dave Matter, who covered the MU football beat for several years. Baer has been with the Tribune for quite awhile, covering the high school beat primarily. Lastly, Mike DeArmond, a crusty old veteran if there ever was one, will be absent for the first few games of the year for the Kansas City Star, as he is covering the Athens Olympic Games this August. Star writer David Boyce will be filling in for DeArmond in his absence, and we're told that Mike is expecting to be back in time for the Ball State game on Sept. 18th. Practice continues Thursday with an afternoon session at Memorial Stadium. Gary Pinkel's squad will have its first full pad practice Friday morning at 8:15 a.m., and will follow that with its first two-a-day sessions, on Saturday (8:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.). That will be followed by the 2nd annual Fan Day on Sunday, which runs from 4-5:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.