March 24, 2011
Columbia, Mo. -
The Missouri Tigers wrapped their final practice before spring break today inside the Dan Devine Indoor Pavilion. It was practice as usual for the first half while the Tigers spent the second half scrimmaging. Former Tiger standouts Kevin Rutland and Blaine Gabbert were in attendance at todays practice. Gabbert stood on the offense's sideline and Rutland on the defense, showing where their allegiances still lie.
The scrimmage was about as even as it could be, with the offense and defense standing tied, at 6-6 at the end of the day. A sudden-death tiebreaker was instituted by Head Coach Gary Pinkel, and he decided upon a 45-yard field goal try by PK Grant Ressel. If he made it, the offense would win, if it missed, the defense would be victorious.
The dependable Ressel calmly sailed the kick through the uprights for the game-winning kick. But ironically, the kick was costly for Ressel, because he always wears the same color jerseys as the defense, and the losing side always has to do five fun-natured “up-down” penalties for losing. That meant Ressel's game-winning kick for the offense forced him to do the penalty exercises – in essence, he made a game-losing field goal.
Throughout practice the quarterback battle continued to heat up. All quarterbacks were in orange jerseys meaning that they could be hit above the waist. To start the scrimmage Tyler Gabbert showed off for his big brother by completing his first 12 passes of the day with most of them coming against the number 2 and 3 defense. In another series Gabbert again worked with the number 2 offense, but this time the number 1 defense got the best of it, getting a sack and three incompletions. Gabbert's final stat line for the day was 16-of-21 passing for 211 yards.
Ashton Glaser went 17-of-28 on the day, with 167 yards. However, Brad Madison continued his outstanding spring camp on the defensive side of the ball by grabbing an interception from him and running for a 43-yard touchdown. Reserver linebacker Denzel Martin was also grabbed an interception later in the scrimmage.
James Franklin completed 13-of-20 passes for 89 yards and also rushed for 18 yards in 3 carries. The lone offensive touchdown of the day belonged to running back Kendial Lawrence, when he went around the right side and made one man miss before cutting back against the grain to burst free for a nifty 41-yard touchdown. The top receiver of the day was Gahn McGaffie, who grabbed 4 passes for 64 yards.
Pinkel has found himself spending a lot of time watching the quarterbacks. After practice he said, “I think I always do that, that's just what I do. I coached quarterbacks when I was at Washington. That's always an interest level when I'm out there, but that's the way football is too, that's where you start following the ball. I've certainly had an awareness always of how the quarterbacks are playing or how they're doing. I'm very aware of everything they do good and everything they do poorly.”
Two players sustained minor injuries today during scrimmage. Wide receiver Rolandis Woodland and cornerback Xavier Smith both with left ankle injuries. Pinkel said after practice of injuries, “We have several players in red. We're going to get a bunch of those guys back, they're going to be approved by our medical staff to come out and practice when we get back in April. But all of those guys, Rex Sharp and our medical guys have worked out that wherever they are going, they have treatments set up where they're at. That's worked out really good. They have responsibilities they have to take care of.”
Here's a look at today's scrimmage statistics...
MIZZOU FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
March 24, 2011 – Faurot Field
Final Score – Offense 7, Defense 6
Scoring Plays
· Brad Madison 43-yard interception return
· Kendial Lawrence 41-yard run
· Grant Ressel 45-yard field goal
Passing
· James Franklin – 13-of-20, 89 yards
· Ashton Glaser – 17-of-28, 167 yards, 2 INTs
· Tyler Gabbert – 16-of-21, 211 yards
Rushing
· Kendial Lawrence – 4-49, 1 TD
· De'Vion Moore – 2-26
· James Franklin – 3-18
· Henry Josey – 3-10
· Tyler Gabbert – 3-4
· Jared Culver – 2-5
· Greg White – 1-5
· Marcus Murphy – 1-4
· Kellen Wright – 1-2
· Ashton Glaser – 1-0
Receiving
· Gahn McGaffie – 4-64
· Michael Egnew – 4-46
· Bud Sasser – 4-35
· Jimmie Hunt – 4-33
· Greg White – 3-56
· Jaleel Clark – 3-31
· L'Damian Washington – 3-25
· Marcus Murphy – 3-25
· Andrew Jones – 3-13
· Eric Waters – 2-32
· Marcus Lucas – 2-25
· Henry Josey – 2-20
· T.J. Moe – 2-18
· Wes Kemp – 2-11
· De'Vion Moore – 2-7
· Wesley Leftwich – 1-20
· Jerrell Jackson – 1-6
· Brandon Gerau – 1-0
Defensive Highlights
· Interceptions
o Brad Madison – 1-43 (TD)
o Denzel Martin – 1-15
· QB Sacks
o 1 – Kony Ealy, Terrell Resonno, Robert Steeples
· Tackles For Loss
o 1 – Brad Madison
· Passes Broken Up
o 1 – Kony Ealy, Lucas Vincent
Field Goals
· Grant Ressel – 3-of-3 (Made: 44, 25, 45)
· Trey Barrow – 3-of-3 (Made: 44, 25, 40)
· Blake Owens – 2-of-2 (Made: 44, 25)