Missouri Football Media Day
10/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 22, 2007
Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Injury Update:
"Tony Temple, honestly a week ago at this time I thought he would play. Wednesday he was looking pretty good in practice and then on the same foot that he had sprained, he got hit on somebody's knee and he bruised that ankle. He's obviously was very upset about it, but it's something that happens. He was walking around pretty good yesterday so I would suggest that he's probable. We'll let you know at the end of the week how that comes out. Jeremy Maclin had a bruised shoulder, a contusion in his shoulder, he's probable. Justin Garrett is the one player we listed as doubtful, that could take a turn for the good side too, but for right now we're considering him doubtful and we'll let you know how that turns out."
On fan support:
"We're real excited this week about playing back in `The Zou.' The fans have been outstanding. We're appreciative of the atmosphere, it's electrifying. We need to keep it going, hopefully we'll get 65,000 and I don't know why you would not come to the game and get involved and be a part of us. That's our goal, we had 64 last week, and we need 65 this week. We appreciate what you do and how you help us win. I want to get that word out there, I also want to mention that you should wear gold, gold does look good."
On Iowa State:
"Bret Meyer, their quarterback, is an exceptional athlete. I've seen him play the last four years and he's certainly an outstanding player. Todd Blythe, I'm tired of seeing him, I've seen him so much and he's made so many plays against us, he's a great football player."
On getting better every week:
"As I mentioned after our game last week, I feel like our football team is preparing well. What we're trying to do is we're just trying to get better every week and I think we're making progress there. That's fun coaching a team that improves every week. That's what we're going to try to do, we're going to come out tomorrow and try to master the plan, and improve fundamentally."
On Pig Brown and William Moore:
"I haven't seen him yet, but congratulations to him [Pig Brown] for being named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. That's quite an honor. He's continuously getting better and better. I think hitting becomes very contagious, not only with the safety position, I think they try to match each other a little bit to take the big hits. We feel like the hitting is contagious. Pig is certainly one that has raised the bar, and I think he's raised it among all defensive players. We're very pleased with him and how he's playing. William Moore obviously had some great hits also. I think we're playing much more physical now than when we were playing a month ago. Certainly those two players are right there on top."
Missouri Player Quotes
Darnell Terrell
On a turning point for the defense:
"I think that we just prepared ourselves better. We began playing with some more intensity and we stayed that way for the entire game and not just the first half. That was the key for us, and that's why we're playing so well right now."
On the effect of Pig Brown:
"Pig [Brown] is the leader on the field, and he's a leader in the locker room. A lot of people that make mistakes and that get down on themselves, he'll talk to them by maybe making a joke, but he just makes them feel good. That's real positive for a lot of people."
On giving up a lot of yards:
"For the most part, we have given up a lot of yards, but when you think about it, the most important stat is how many points the other team scores. Texas Tech was going to put up a lot of yards, but keeping them from scoring was the most important thing."
On the amount of dropped balls by Texas Tech:
"If you think about it, having receivers drop balls is a good thing because that let's you know that the defense has been hitting well the whole game. The receivers are looking up field seeing were the defenders are, instead of looking the ball in, so that's just the defense going out there intimidating people."
Jeremy Maclin
On whom the scariest teammate is:
"That is probably Ziggy [Hood] because the guy is such as beast on the field and in the weight room. He's just a huge guy."
On the team attitude:
"We just have a lot of unselfish guys on this team. The guys know that everyone has a role and position (to fill) in order for us to be successful in the game, and that's what everybody wants to get accomplished."
Lorenzo Williams
On the safeties hitting too hard:
"They don't even care about their bodies. They just jump in there and go crazy, but it is great."
On the defensive line's performance last weekend:
"Last week, people were interviewing me asking how we were going to get in there and make the plays we did. I just told them that we would just have to throw the kitchen sink at them as far as pass rush moves, blitzes, stunts, and all that stuff. That's what we did."
On defensive adjustments made during games:
"We feel that if we can play as hard as we can, then that kind of play can wear down teams. We weren't really doing anything different from the first half. Their offensive line might have start wearing down a little more, the receivers start wearing down from getting hit so much, so that just gives us more opportunities to keep on going."
Chase Daniel
On offensive improvements:
"It's just executing our offense. I think we lead the nation in third down conversions, so its money when you convert on downs like that. Fifty percent is even a high percentage, and we're at fifty-seven."
On having depth at the running back position:
"The running back by committee definitely works for us. We know that all those guys can play, and they're starting to play at a high level at the perfect time."
