Aug. 17, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri Tigers continued preparations for the 2004 season Tuesday with a scrimmage that consisted of approximately 140 plays, or around 35 plays from scrimmage from each of the first four units on each side of the ball. Here were some brief highlights from the scrimmaging... Overall, the Tiger defense seemed to have the upper hand for most of the day, but big plays were turned in by many contributors... Senior punter Brock Harvey had a good day, as he boomed the majority of his punts deep and high in punting situations... The Tiger placekickers made some nice kicks on the day. All four kickers in camp - Alex Pettersen, Adam Crossett, Joe Tantarelli and Scott Russell, made their initial kicks from 40 yards out. Pettersen later connected from 48 yards out. He and Tantarelli also made kicks from 22 yards away, while Crossett and Russell later were good from 41 yards out... Linebacker Marcus Bacon set the tone early for the defense with a big hit over the middle on tailback Damien Nash, just as Nash caught a short pass over the middle... Defensive lineman Fabian Bean had a tackle for loss and teamed with fellow line mate Lorenzo Williams on a QB sack in a span of three plays... Freshman QB Chase Patton and redshirt freshman TE Martin Rucker teamed up on nice consecutive pass completions early on in the scrimmage. Patton later hit WR Chris Crosby on a nice 20-yard completion, and he showed his mobility by scrambling for a first down on a 4th-and-2 situation... Senior tailback Tyrone Roberson showed that he is feeling good following a spring that saw him recovering from knee surgery, as he ripped through the line on one rush and went 60 yards, all the way down to the 3-yardline... The Tiger defense in turn stood up to the goalline challenge, as they held the offense out of the endzone on consecutive rushes, and then safety Justin Scott made an interception in the endzone on third down to thwart the scoring threat... Sophomore QB Brandon Coleman connected with WR Arnold Britt for a pair of nice completions that both went for first downs... Junior defensive lineman C.J. Mosley had a huge play, when he picked off a screen pass while fighting off a block by an offensive lineman. Mosley later notched a QB sack on a 3rd-down situation... Safety Nino Williams followed suit shortly after that by forcing a fumble that was recovered by the defense on the next series. Williams later had a big hit over the middle that broke up a pass attempt... Freshman linebacker Van Alexander made his presence felt, as he broke up two passes and had a tackle for loss in a span of about five plays... Fellow freshman Stryker Sulak had a nice QB sack from his defensive end position not much later... Freshman QB Darrell Jackson connected with fellow rookie TB Jimmy Jackson on a screen pass on a 3rd-and-long situation that went for first down yardage. Jimmy Jackson later showed his rushing skills by going for gains of 25 yards and 10 yards on consecutive plays... Junior QB Brad Smith and sophomore WR Brad Ekwerekwu connected on the biggest pass plays of the day. Ekwerekwu made a nice grab on the left sideline midway through the scrimmage for a 40-yard gain, and Smith later found Ekwerekwu alone in the secondary and hit him for a 45-yard score. Smith also hooked up with senior TE Victor Sesay on a nice gain that went for about 20 yards and a first down... Freshman QB Mack Breed hit WR Greg Nutter and Nutter took it for a nice 30-yard gain... Freshman DB Aaron O'Neal had a fumble recovery late in the scrimmage... Cornerback Marcus King and A.J. Kincade and safety Jason Simpson all had pass break ups in one sequence of plays... Senior defensive lineman Atiyyah Ellison turned in a QB sack, as did safety Quincy Wade... Linebacker Emmett Morris Jr. picked off a pass late in the scrimmage and returned it 15 yards... Freshman TB Marcus Woods had a nice 20-yard run late in the scrimmage... Tailback Lee Ewigman had a big 25-yard run to cap things off... That's it for Tuesday's report, be sure to stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for more practice details. Wednesday is another two-a-day for the Tigers, with workouts set for 8:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. Tiger fans in St. Louis and Kansas City, be sure to listen to the radio on Wednesday, as ESPN Radio (1380 AM) in St. Louis and KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City are bringing their shows to Columbia. The 1380 crew of Jeff Gordon and Dave Greene will be hosting their morning show from the pressbox, and later in the day, Malcolm Briggs will also host his afternoon show from there. Also making an appearance, from the other side of the state, is Jason Whitlock and Scott Cruce, who will host their daily afternoon show for KCSP from the pressbox, as well.