Post Black and Gold Game Quotes
4/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 14, 2012
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Black and Gold Game Quotes
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement...
"We came through healthy, I think that's the most important thing. Certainly when you mix and match players a lot, there are things that you have to look at and evaluate. But for the most part, it was a good spring and a good experience for our first year players. We had 12 guys who didn't play in this game. Most of which will be in the depth. With the injuries, it was important that backup players got a lot of work in."
On the defense this spring
"I think they were okay. We mix and match a lot of people so it's hard to sit there and look at it. In many ways, what you saw this spring wasn't really our offense or defense with so many players out. I think we made a lot of strides. The most important thing is to get everybody back up on the depth chart and playing. We'll probably have about 27 practices before our opening game."
On James Franklin's injury
"James will be working out with the team all summer long and he will be doing rehab. As time goes on, he will be taking part in more things. His leadership will not stop or change in any way. I think that the sense of urgency that you always find out with injuries is that backup players have to get ready to play. Bottom line is that if you get hurt during the season, nobody cares. We all understand that and understood it during the season last year."
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Black and Gold Game Player Quotes
Justin Alderton - OLB
On getting to play in front of the first crowd this year...
"It was definitely great, just like Coach Pinkel said before the game it was the first time a lot of us freshman have been able to get out there and play since high school. We were excited it turned out to be a really nice day, with a really nice crowd too."
On the biggest challenges so far...
"Definitely learning the plays and learning the signals. The signals are the hardest part for me so far."
On the new jerseys...
"The jerseys are just swag, that's really all it is. They look really sharp. The white ones with the grey on top are definitely my favorite ones. I really like the helmet with the big tiger head on it--it'll give us some fierce edge on the competition."
On the new jerseys...
"My thoughts on the new uniforms are just absolutely amazing. I'm really glad the athletic department is choosing to go in a new direction with our new conference. It really builds on our tradition, and sometimes change is good. My coaches used to tell me all the time, `Look good, feel good, play good.'"
On the new uniforms...
"I like these a lot more than the ones we had last year. They weren't nearly as tight, so now I'll have more flexibility throwing the ball. I think they look really cool, but I'm mostly excited about how loose they are so we all will have more mobility."
On all the different uniform combinations...
"I think, for the most part, the seniors have a big word for which ones we pick. It's also mostly Coach Pinkel's decision, but I think the seniors have a major part in that."
On which combination is his favorite... "I don't really care. As long as we get to wear the jerseys, I'm happy."
On the recovery from his surgery... "It's really good. I'm out of the sling now, and it's feeling good. I'm thinking about actually throwing the ball up tomorrow, possibly. It's feeling good, and it's moving along very fast. I'm excited. But I don't want to push it too fast because I've heard a lot that whenever it starts to feel good, that's when it's most dangerous. So I'm just playing it safe for now."
On the new uniforms... "You guys saw them, didn't you? They look pretty nice. I actually got to see them on Thursday. The gold one is the one I wore, and that's my favorite."
On wearing the new uniforms in the SEC... "Well, I think people are excited about it. It's kind of a whole new thing as it's my senior year. We're getting a whole new field and we'll have new turf. We'll have new uniforms and a new conference, so we're starting over.
On the feel of the new uniforms... "They're a little bit lighter. I mean, it's really the highest technology and Don Barnes has really put this thing together. It's been about 18 months and progress has happened here. He's really excited about it. No one has been able to wipe that smile off his face for about a week."
On taking off the "M" and moving to a tiger logo... "I think it looks better now. Tradition is tradition. We still have the stripe on there."
On the spring game... "I thought we did well. We had some big plays. Really, it's just kind of a showcase. I only got to play about a quarter of it, so it's more for the fans. We're not calling a lot of plays and things we'll be doing during the season. We don't game plan for this. But it's a lot of fun for us. We get to come out here and interact with everybody."
On getting back out on the field... "It felt really good. It's always good to get into a game-type situation. It felt good to be out there with all our teammates and just competing. That's the main thing we did today: just have fun and compete."
On his favorite combination of the new uniforms... "I mean I like it all. I liked everything that we modeled. I'm a black-on-black kind of guy. I loved it whenever we did it last season, so that's going to be something I'm kind of pushing for to play in our first SEC game against Georgia. That would be nice."
On the start of next season in the SEC... "Once we get everybody healthy and get everything going, I feel like we have a pretty good shot at getting things rolling."
