Aug. 12, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri Tiger football team went through day four of pre-season camp on Thursday with a two-hour and 15-minute workout at Memorial Stadium. Weather conditions continued to be remarkably un-August like, with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees. Thursday's workout was held in shoulder pads and shorts, and hitting picked up a little bit, in anticipation of Friday morning's practice, which will be the squad's first in full pads. Big news for Head Coach Gary Pinkel came late Wednesday night, as his daughter Erin gave birth to Pinkel's first grandchild. Madison Aileen Hendershott was born in Toledo, Ohio on August 11th at 9:34 p.m. (Eastern) to Erin and Josh Hendershott. Madison weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 21 ¼ " long. Everyone is doing very well, and Coach Pinkel has made plans to make a quick trip up to see his new family member Saturday night, and return in time for Sunday morning practice. In practice Thursday, the Tiger passing attack made some big plays. Junior quarterback Brad Smith made several long connections during various stages of the day. He hooked up with senior wideout Thomson Omboga on a nice timing pattern on the right sideline for a long gainer. He later hit sophomore receiver Brad Ekwerekwu on a big play and followed by connecting with junior wide receiver Sean Coffey twice on big gains over the middle. Sophomore signal caller Brandon Coleman had some nice completions on the day, as well, as he hit redshirt freshman tight end Josh Barbo on a long play that went for a score over the middle, and later connected with freshman receiver Jerrill Humphrey for a nice gain, as Humphrey made an outstanding leaping grab. Defensively, standout plays were turned in by senior linebacker James Kinney, who made a big hit over the middle on freshman wideout Will Franklin after he made a short catch. It was one of those "Welcome to camp" shots. Also, freshman defensive back Steve Redmond had a pass broken up and also intercepted a pass near the right sideline later in the day. The 2004 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List has released its latest update, and Mizzou is represented on the list by senior linebacker James Kinney. He is also on the pre-season watch list for the Butkus Award, and is joined by his fellow Tigers on other prominent award watch lists by quarterback Brad Smith (Davey O'Brien Award) and tight end Victor Sesay (John Mackey Award). The NCAA has updated its quarterback rushing records to include the 2003 season, and our very own Brad Smith now enters the 2004 season ranking 19th on the NCAA career rushing yardage chart for QBs, with 2,435 yards. The active leader is senior Joshua Cribbs of Kent State, who ranks 10th overall with 2,777 yards. The NCAA record holder in the category is Antwaan Randle El of Indiana, who amassed 3,895 yards from 1998-2001. MU is also represented on the list by former great Corby Jones, who currently ranks 17th on the career list with his 2,533 yards. Smith's 2003 rushing total of 1,406 yards ranks as the 4th-best single-season rushing total for a quarterback in NCAA history, behind only Beau Morgan of Air Force (1,494 yards in 1996), Stacey Robinson of Northern Illinois (1,443 in 1989) and Jammal Lord of Nebraska (1,412 in 2002). That's it for today, be sure to stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for more news and notes on your Missouri Tigers.