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Thursday, July 5 Missouri football preview By Mel Kiper ESPN.com After garnering a great deal of national recognition for the outstanding job he turned in at Toledo, Gary Pinkel was brought in to replace Larry Smith as Missouri's new head coach. Smith, who in '97 was able to lead the Tigers to their first winning season and bowl appearance in 13 years, had to endure his second straight losing campaign in 2000. What really hurt was the injury loss of starting QB Kirk Farmer in just the fourth game of the season against Nebraska. At the time he went down, the Tigers trailed Nebraska by just four points. They went on to lose the game 42-24, then proceeded to win just two games the rest of the way, finishing with a record of 3-8.
Offensively, the key is Farmer. He has all the tools, but the jury is still out on whether the 6-foot-4, 213-pound junior can remain at full strength for an entire season as the Tigers' No. 1 signal caller. The backup is Darius Outlaw, who completed just 46.7 percent of his passes and tossed 16 interceptions while filling in as a starter on seven occasions last season. In the Tigers' one-back set, sophomore Zack Abron has the slight edge over senior Zain Gilmore for the starting job. In the end, though, look for Abron and Gilmore to split time in the backfield. Abron, who must secure the football better, reportedly showed dramatic improvement in this area during spring practice. He didn't fumble the ball once, while also showing increased quickness with his weight down to 220. Last year Abron checked in at around 235. Gilmore also dropped his weight from last season, going down from 227 to 215. Operating as the FB/TE will be versatile junior Joe Chirumbolo, a 6-2, 235-pounder who excels as a pass-receiving option and a blocker. Pinkel has to feel fortunate to have such an outstanding go-to receiver in converted QB Justin Gage. A gifted athlete, the 6-4, 200-pounder earned Missouri offensive MVP honors last season, averaging 16.1 yards on 44 receptions. He was also a key contributor on the Tiger basketball team. Opposite Gage figures to be sophomore Marcus James, an exciting 5-8, 170-pounder who reportedly caught everything thrown his way in the spring. James is also a track star, excelling as a pole vaulter. With the TE a vital part of Pinkel's offense, look for physically talented senior Dwayne Blakley to have an outstanding final campaign in Columbia. The 6-4, 255-pounder can provide matchup problems with his speed. All five starters return along the offensive line, making this the most experienced area on the Tiger squad. The headliners are their senior guard-tackle tandem of Mike Hayes and RT Justin Bland (6-6, 340), but the line is anchored by a potential future All-American in center A.J. Ricker. The third-year sophomore checks in at 6-4½, 280 pounds and is coming off a 2000 season that saw him rank as one of the more consistent and technically sound centers in college football. A starter in every game last year, Ricker was never flagged for a penalty. DEFENSE Defensively, the Tigers will attack out of a 4-4 base that features two inside linebackers and two combination outside linebacker-rover types. Along the front four, the loss of Justin Smith to the NFL really hurts. In order to compensate, the Tigers need big seasons from junior NT Cedric Harden and former JUCO transfer Keith Wright, who was brought into the program last season by Larry Smith. Last year, Harden recorded 65 tackles, but only two sacks. A drop in weight from 311 to 300 should allow the cat-quick NT to become more of a destructive force behind the line of scrimmage. Wright has been switched from DE to DT where his technique and athleticism could allow the 6-4, 255-pounder to work effectively with Harden. The Tigers have some depth at LB, but need a productive year out of senior ILB Jamonte Robinson. He battled an ankle injury last season, but with his weight up from 210 to 222, he could be one of the top players at his position in the Big 12. At the new outside safety spot or rover position, watch out for Taurus Ferguson. One of the top JUCO RBs in the country last year, Ferguson was switched to defense in the spring and proceeded to turn some heads. The 5-11, 200-pounder can really fly around the field with his 4.40 speed. However, the other outside safety spot is a major concern heading into the fall. In the deep patrol, the Tigers are extremely thin on paper in terms of proven, experienced performers. But they were provided a major boost in the spring from R.J. Jones, a transfer from San Francisco City College where he was regarded as one of the nation's top JUCO cover men. Junior Antoine Duncan, who intercepted four passes last season despite a nagging knee injury, reported to spring practice in great shape and saw more work than originally anticipated. Also in the equation at CB will be freshmen Marcus King, A.J. Kincade (regarded as one of the top CBs in the Midwest), Quincy Wade and Arnold Britt. At FS, senior Clarence Jones is regarded as one of the defensive leaders. SPECIAL TEAMS PK Brad Hammerich has missed only one FG inside of 40 yards during his college career. While his spot is set, the punting situation changed in the spring while incumbent Jared Gilpin was sidelined with an injury. Redshirt freshman Brock Harvey now enters the fall as the No. 1 punter, with Gilpin will now be forced to try and win back the job. OVERVIEW While Larry Smith enjoyed two solid seasons in '97 and '98, the Missouri program has lacked consistency since back in the mid-'80s when the decision was made to replace Warren Powers as head coach. With Powers in control from 1978 through 1984, the Tigers enjoyed six straight winning seasons, until slipping to 3-7-1 his final year. During that stretch, Powers led the Tigers to bowl games in five of those years, winning three and losing two. That's pretty good, even though some may not have been satisfied that he was 3-11 during those years against Nebraska and Oklahoma. So instead of going from 7-5 or 8-4, as had been the norm with Powers, to 9-3 or 10-2, the Tigers slipped to 1-10 in '85 and proceeded to string together 12 straight losing seasons. That included four straight losing seasons under Woody Widenhofer, five straight losing campaigns under Bob Stull, and three straight losing seasons under Smith before he was able to enjoy a turnaround year in '97 and followed that up with an 8-4 season in '98 that included a victory over West Virginia at the Insight.com Bowl. Now, Pinkel will try to bring back a measure of consistency over a period of years. Based on his track record of success as offensive coordinator and QB coach under Don James at Washington and while running the program at Toledo over the last 10 years, all indications are that Pinkel is the right man for the job. In order to immediately right the ship, Pinkel will need a big year from talented, but injury-prone signal caller Kirk Farmer. If he can remain at full strength, Farmer will benefit from a supporting cast that includes two very capable RBs in Abron and Gilmore, a blue-chip go-to WR in Gage, a quality senior TE in Blakley, and a veteran offensive line that is led into battle by a top-flight sophomore pivot man in Ricker. Defensively, Harden has to take his game up a level and create a steady disturbance along the interior, while Robinson has to re-establish himself as one of the top linebackers in the Big 12. Ferguson has a chance to be a force at one of the new outside safety spots, and Jones provides a boost at CB after enjoying an excellent JUCO career. They'll also need major contributions from at least one of the four incoming freshmen on the corner, since proven CB depth is a problem.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent storiesCopyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Ventures. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy applicable to this site. |