As the undefeated Tigers travel away from home for the first time this season, one member of the secondary will take advantage of his connections in West Lafayette. Sophomore cornerback Adam Sparks and Purdue wide receiver Jared Sparks, brothers from Geismar, Louisiana, will square off for the second time in their collegiate careers when Missouri travels to Purdue on Saturday.
The brothers' first matchup came nearly a year ago to the day on September 16, 2017, and although that game saw limited playing time from either brother, Adam Sparks is eager to take advantage of his starting role in the secondary and looks forward to being potentially matched up across from his brother.
"It happened last year but there wasn't really a pass thrown, it was kind of towards the end of the game, so everything was dialed down," Sparks said. "This year, it's definitely going to be completely different from the start of the game to the end of the game. There's going to be a lot of competing with him and I'm looking forward to taking him on with my team."
The Sparks brothers' paths split following their time together at Dutchtown High School in Geismar, Louisiana. Jared, a high school quarterback and 2016 graduate, took his talents to Purdue, choosing the Boilermakers over Southern Miss, Tulane, and Grambling State. A year later, following a decommitment from Vanderbilt, Adam eventually found his way to Columbia, choosing the Tigers over Purdue and Ole Miss among others.
Back in Geismar, the Sparks family has been looking forward to this day for years. Before Adam committed to Missouri, the Sparks family combed over the future Tiger schedules and pinpointed the home-and-home series between Missouri and Purdue as a potential date to take advantage.
"Ever since I committed," Sparks said of knowing the importance of the Purdue game. "We saw them [Purdue] on our schedule and we saw that we were going to have them again this year."
The 13 hour and nearly 900-mile journey from southern Louisiana to Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette is no match for the Sparks family. With the help of a charter bus, the family plans to bring a rather large crowd to witness the brotherly matchup.
"Probably about 50," Sparks said of the number of family members planning on attending. "They're taking a bus up there."
Regardless of the distractions that may present themselves come Saturday, Adam is confident that the Tigers will have what it takes to avenge the loss to the Boilermakers a year ago.
"I'm going to treat this game like any other game," Sparks mentioned. "Of course, my brother's on the team and that's always a fun thing to have, but at the end of the day we have to go compete against the whole entire team and come out on top."
Missouri will aim to knock off Purdue for the first time since head coach Don Faurot led the Tigers to a 14-7 victory in Columbia in 1953. Without acknowledging the implications of the potential outcome, Adam Sparks made sure to mention what the bond with his competitor and brother ultimately boils down to.
"We're always brothers," Sparks said. "After this, we're back on the same team."