Mizzou Football Media Day Quotes - Nov. 24
11/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
HEAD COACH, Gary Pinkel
Opening statement...
"Good afternoon everybody. We're trying to merge Sunday, Monday and Tuesday altogether into one day. We're practicing today, and for our players it's really a Tuesday for them. A nice thing about it too is that they don't have any classes. That really helps us in our preparation. Our preparation is called the `short week schedule.' We're preparing for Arkansas. Obviously they've had two great wins. Really, if you look at how they've played all year, they've been playing everybody close. They're a very good football team. What we see now with their success doesn't surprise me. They've done a great job building that football program."
"This week is real important for us and me personally, because this (Friday) is Senior Day for all of our senior players. All these kids have made such big sacrifices to be student-athletes and a commitment towards the University of Missouri. The success they've been a part of, I'm indebted to them. This is an emotional day for me. Hopefully we can play well for them."
On the annual contest with Arkansas becoming a rivalry game ...
"It will be. Our players are competitors and they certainly have great respect for Arkansas. I compare this a little to the Kansas rivalry. It didn't happen overnight. It happened over time. It's a great rivalry and they (Arkansas) have a great university. They're adjacent to the south of us, and it presents itself to be a very good situation. For our fans, it will most likely be either every Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving."
On stopping the Arkansas running attack...
"We've done a pretty good job (stopping the run) and it starts up front with our rush defense. This is going to be a challenge for us. They present a lot of formational problems with personnel. They do a lot of unusual types of things. They're very good at what they do."
On the challenges of facing Arkansas' big offensive line...
"I think they may be the biggest offensive line in the NFL or college. They're very big and physical. That's his (Head Coach Bret Bielema) background as he did it at Wisconsin also. Their running backs are good players. They can turn short gains into big plays. It's going to be a challenge. We've played some big people before, but they really have some great size."
On focusing the team with a short game week...
"It has happened so fast that you have to keep them focused. Everything has changed. Yesterday (Sunday) at the team meeting I mentioned that it's now Monday night to them. That's the mode you have to get on. `Game week mode.' All your preparation has to be consistent as you normally do to play your best. This obviously is a very big game, but it's still about how we play."
On this year's senior class...
"These seniors came off a really good season a year ago. Their challenge was if you could compete at a high level two years in a row. Their leadership by example and vocally has been very good."
On redshirt freshman Anthony Sherrils' contributions to the team...
"He's really doing well. He's a young player whose upside is tremendous. He's getting a lot of special teams work and he'll be competing for a starting job next year. He's a really good student and has exceptional athleticism. Now, he just has to become a real good football player. He'll work very hard and he has the potential to be as good as there is."
On cornerback Kenya Dennis' progression...
"He's doing a lot of good things. He has really matured so it's neat to see that. He's so dedicated and he loves this program so much. It's really neat to see him playing at the level he's playing. He's a great competitor and team player."
