Aug. 10, 2005
Columbia, Mo. -
The Missouri Tigers went through their paces this morning at Faurot Field in practice number three of fall camp. It was without question the most spirited practice held yet, as Head Coach Gary Pinkel's troops were enthusiastic, loud, boisterous and getting after eachother all morning long.
The defense seemed to have more big plays today, but the Tiger offense certainly had its big moments in scrimmage situations in a practice that ran around 2 ½ hours on the FieldTurf surface which was quite toasty in the hot Columbia sun today.
Here are just a few highlights of today's scrimmaging in 11-on-11 play...
- TB Jimmy Jackson had a nice gain of around 15 yards after eluding tacklers in the backfield...
- QB Chase Patton had a gain of around 10 yards on a keeper, and followed with a nice completion of 25 yards to WR Lucas Null (who was incorrectly identified yesterday as Adam Casey - sorry to both guys)...
- S Jason Simpson had a big stretch where he intercepted a deep ball, and later made a big hit to break up a pass...
- TB Marcus Woods had a nice looking run for over 10 yards around left end...
- DT Earl Stephens had a nice stop at the line of scrimmage after it looked a big hole had opened up for the offense...
- WR Tommy Saunders made several nice plays, one coming on a rush for over 10 yards, and another on a shovel pass that covered around 15 yards...
- WR Brad Ekwerekwu had a huge gain of around 40 yards on a reverse that nearly went the distance for a TD...
- S Justin Scott had an interception and subsequently returned it for big yardage before the whistle blew calling the play dead...
- LB Brock Christopher also grabbed an interception in scrimmaging and had a significant return before being stopped...
The offensive star could very well have been TB Tony Temple today, as Temple had at least three big plays in the major scrimmaging. He first took a pass from QB Brad Smith and turned it into about a 30-yard gain. He later took a pitch and made a knee-buckling cut to get to the sideline and raced untouched for around 35 yards. WR Coach Andy Hill gave major kudos to WR Jerrill Humphrey for a big downfield block thrown to help break Temple free. Temple later had another good-looking run that went for more than 20 yards.
News and Notes
All first-year players to the program go through a detailed academic orientation program the first week of practice. The program consists of two two-hour meetings and two one-hour meetings that began Tuesday and run through Friday. All first-year players attend, and are counseled by the Total Person Program. Academic Counselor Joe Scogin said that the sessions are a very valuable learning tool for the players, as they focus on teaching them the ins and outs of the academic side of university life. The sessions show the guys how to best go about making the most of the resources they have available to them and to help get them into good study habits for the fall semester.
Brad Smith, Marcus Woods and Tony Temple spent a few minutes after lunch today taking part in a photo shoot for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and photographer Chris Lee. Lee shot the trio together on the field at Memorial Stadium, and the shot, we're told, will be used for the cover of their college football preview tab that comes out soon. The shot looked pretty cool, so be sure to check it out when it comes out.
If you've never had the chance to visit a Mizzou football practice, you're really missing something if you've never listened to Jason Simpson chirp. Jason is absolutely one of the most entertaining players to listen to anywhere. If you've ever watched the NFL Films pieces where they have the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis mic'd, you're essentially getting the collegiate version of Ray Lewis in Jason Simpson. Every single play, he's riding someone on the offense, and you just know his sole purpose is to get into the heads of the guys across him from the line of scrimmage. Seems like it works quite a bit.