Oct. 29, 2007

Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening statement:
"Pig Brown had surgery yesterday morning on his Achilles tendon and he's doing well. He's out of the hospital now after overnight tests. Pat Smith did the surgery. I think he's one of the best surgeons in the country and he certainly did a great job on Pig. Pig's spirits are good. He'll travel with the team. He's a captain and a leader and we're certainly going to need his leadership. Hopefully now we will get Justin Garrett back, he had a hyper-extended elbow last week and we missed him, he did not play. It will be critical for us as he has developed into a very good football player. Tony Temple we expect to be 100 percent, and he will not be in any kind of a red pullover or have any restrictions at all in practice. Other than that, we are healthy. People just have to step it up. That's the name of the game. We still have the same goals. We still have the same vision of what we want to accomplish. What that means, you lose a great player like Pig, the other defensive players have to play at a different level and the offense has to play at a different level than everybody around them."

On replacing Pig Brown:
"Del Howard played last week quite a bit and he did a very good job. Del Howard will be in there. We'll also look at a safety, Kevin Rutland, who we moved into corner a couple weeks ago. Hardy Ricks also, he's played a lot of corner but he's been in parts of our nickel package, so we're kind of adjusting things a little there. I think sometimes when you lose a player like that you have to do that. We feel good about it and we'll continue to work with those guys and see what happens."

On Colorado:
"Colorado is a very good football team. They came off of a really good win down at Texas Tech and I think they are playing well. I expected a year later in the program that they would be significantly better, and they are. They're playing good defense, very good defense. Cody Hawkins is the son of Dan. Generally in my experiences, children of coaches that end up playing generally have something special. That's why he can play like he's playing. There's something about him. He does a lot of good things and he's playing better each and every week. He's got good people around him. Hugh Charles at tailback is outstanding, his league average is 110 yards a game and he's certainly playing well. That being said, we have to focus on ourselves, try to play our best game. It's an exciting time, an exciting position to be in and we're looking forward to it."

On having Pig Brown on the sideline:
"One of the great things about him is that he's not only a great football player and he makes a lot of plays, but is his personality. You all know, he's got a great attitude. He's positive, he's upbeat, he's a team player, he's always giving congratulatory things toward his teammates, it's always about everybody else. He'll be with the team on Friday night and that's an important time for us in our preparation and obviously I think on the sidelines he'll do a good job. I certainly think he'll be an inspiration."

On having to win every game to have a shot at the Big 12 North title:
"It's kind of where you want to be at this point. It's not real complex. If you want to win a championship, the teams that win championships win on the road, win at home, they win where they have to win, and that's exactly where we're at. I can't say it any more simply than that. That's the way it is. We think we've done things in our program, we've matured, we've grown up, we've been disciplined. I think we have, and all that kind of lends itself, and the bottom line is we'll wait and see. I really believe in our team, I believe in our kids, in our coaches, we're real excited about being in this position, now what are we going to do with it?"

Player Quotes
Chase Coffman
On jumping over tacklers:
"I begin to see [defenders] duck down and dive at my knees, so that's pretty much how it works. You either try to cut or jump over them."

On if there's more motivation in seeing Kansas win:
"No matter what they do, we're just going to keep trying to do the same thing we do week-in and week-out. Whenever we get there it'll take care of itself."

On controlling your own destiny and not worrying about other teams:
"We control our own destiny now, and as long as we keep on playing well, we can still do that."

On realizing a positive change in Martin Rucker:
"This fall he really stepped up. He started being more of a leader than he already had been. He's just going out there with a lot more enthusiasm. I guess the difference is perspective because he's a lot more physical. He is a great player and he's just getting better.

Lorenzo Williams
On Colorado's offense:
"They do a lot of weird stuff on offense, so they do a lot of different formations. Hugh Charles is definitely a great running back. Their offensive line is real good. I watched about five of their games today on tape, so my eyes are little bloodshot now. I'm definitely over-preparing for this week."

On the condition of Pig Brown:
"I went to see him at the hospital yesterday. He's in great spirits. When I first walked in, he asked me how I could have dropped that interception [on Saturday]. I didn't even know that he had seen that. We talked for about an hour-and-a-half."

Sean Weatherspoon
On losing Pig Brown and his new role on the sidelines:
"Oh, it's definitely a big blow when you lose a guy like that. I feel like the team has become much closer. He can definitely help us by pumping us up on the sideline and on the field. We can definitely use him on the sideline coaching."

On Colorado's offense and running back Hugh Charles:
"They have a pretty good defense. Hugh Charles is a real good running back that's been there for a while. Their quarterback [Cody Hawkins] knows their offense real well. They're just a good team, so we have to go out there and compete in every play, take care of the little things, and we'll see what happens."

Chase Daniel
On getting Tony Temple back at full strength:
"It's been a while since he's really had a whole game to do anything. It was good last week to get him knocked around and get him a touchdown to get that confidence back. To go out there and have the game he had, carrying the ball well showing some of the Tony Temple of old, was great."

On whether it matters where you win:
"It doesn't matter because like I said, a win is a win. You take one anywhere and anytime you can get it. [Colorado] is going to be a tough environment to play in. They beat Oklahoma there, and everyone knows it. It's not a secret, but we know that it's going to be a tough test for us."

On the Kansas Jayhawks football team:
"I follow Kansas because I'm a football fan and not just because I have to. I follow most of the `Top 25' teams. That's four weeks down the road though and we could both be unranked by that time, so that game could mean nothing. Right now, our task at hand is at Colorado."