Missouri 2007 Preview

Is this the year the Missouri Tigers finally break through on a national level? Well … that depends. One look at all of the proven offensive talent returning, and the answer would appear to be an unequivocal, “yes!” Of course, if the Tigers have to rely on a rebuilt defense that struggled on several occasions last year stopping the run, the prognosis would probably be less optimistic.

Entering its seventh year under head coach Gary Pinkel and coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1997 and ’98, Missouri appears to have enough offensive firepower to compete with anyone in the country. Nine starters — including quarterback Chase Daniel, 1,000-yard rusher Tony Temple and All-America tight end candidates Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman — form the core of an explosive unit that returns 98 percent of its 5,533 total yards from scrimmage last season.

It’s Missouri’s unproven defense, however, that will likely decide how much of a dent, if any, the Tigers make on the national scene.

Quarterbacks
Taking over for MU icon Brad Smith, Daniel directed an offense that ranked eighth in the country by averaging 425.6 yards per game. The cool and confident junior will be looking to improve on last year’s single-season school records for passing yards (3,527), touchdowns (28) and total yards (3,906). “Now that we have a guy in Chase Daniel, who has been in the heat of battle before — along with a majority of our starters coming back — the challenge will be to be better in 2007 than we were in 2006,” Pinkel says. Keeping Daniel healthy will be imperative, considering none of his backups has ever thrown a pass in college. Entering his fourth year in the program, hometown high school hero Chase Patton is the frontrunner for the No. 2 job. Considered the heir apparent to Smith when he was recruited, Patton has struggled with consistency in practices throughout his college career.

Running Backs
After splitting time with Marcus Woods in 2005, Temple separated himself from a deep group of tailbacks last year by rushing for 1,063 yards and seven touchdowns. His breakout performance in the Sun Bowl — in which Temple rushed for a career-high 194 yards on 20 carries — made him the first Missouri running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2003 and makes him the Big 12’s top returning rusher entering this season. Jimmy Jackson emerged as Temple’s primary backup late last season and has proven to be dependable in limited opportunities. In 69 carries the past two years, he’s averaged 4.4 yards a pop.

Receivers
The Tigers have no shortage of receiving weapons, especially with their two tall tight end targets. Although they share the same position, Rucker and Coffman found themselves on the field at the same time in several situations last year to combine for 111 catches, 1,149 yards and 14 touchdowns. Coffman led the Tigers with 58 receptions and nine touchdowns. His 638 yards receiving edged Rucker’s total of 511 for second on the team. Will Franklin led the Tigers in receiving yards (829) despite missing the final two games with a shoulder injury. Franklin’s injury opened a starting spot for true freshman Jared Perry, who led all Big 12 freshmen with 37 catches for 429 yards. Danario Alexander (15 receptions) was another true freshman who played last year, and heralded 2006 recruit Jeremy Maclin could contend for playing time after missing all of last season with a knee injury. Former walk-on Tommy Saunders started every game last year and is among five returning Tigers with at least 25 catches.

2007 Schedule
S. 1	#Illinois	W
S. 8	at Ole Miss	W
S. 15	Western Michigan	W
S. 22	Illinois State	W
O. 6	Nebraska	L
O. 13	at Oklahoma	L
O. 20	Texas Tech	W
O. 27	Iowa State	W
N. 3	at Colorado	W
N. 10	Texas A&M	L
N. 17	at Kansas State	W
N. 24	%Kansas	W
	#St. Louis, MO
	%Kansas City, MO
Games in bold represent swing games. W or L indicates a projected win or loss.

Offensive Linemen
Four players return with starting experience, led by three-year starters Adam Spieker and Tyler Luellen. Spieker has not missed a start in 36 career college games. Luellen has started 26 consecutive games at left tackle. Joining Luellen on the left side is guard Ryan Madison, who is coming off a solid first season as a starter. With Monte Wyrick, a part-time starter last year, expected to handle the other guard position, a battle for the right tackle spot could come down to 300-plus pound behemoths Kurtis Gregory or Colin Brown. Gregory missed all of spring practice recovering from shoulder surgery, and Brown is a 6'8", 325-pound athlete who was once the MVP of a high school basketball all-star game. Dain Wise leads a list of unproven sophomores and redshirt freshmen waiting in the wings.

Defensive Linemen
What was arguably the strength of last year’s defense is now a major question mark. The Tigers rotated a quality group off eight players at their four line positions, but half of that unit — including starting ends Xzavie Jackson and Brian Smith — has used up its eligibility. Missouri already got a taste of what it would be like playing without Smith, the school’s all-time sack leader, when he was lost for the final five games of the season with a hip injury. The Tigers lost four of their final five games without their primary pass-rusher. Tackle Lorenzo Williams has made 25 straight starts on the defensive line since moving from defensive end. Ziggy Hood was displaying All-Big 12 potential until a foot injury slowed him down late in the year. Williams and Hood are the only proven interior players on a defensive front that struggled stopping the run. The Tigers ranked seventh in the Big 12 against the run, allowing at least 160 rushing yards in all but one conference game. “There’s no question we have to get better against the run,” Pinkel says. End Stryker Sulak is a proven playmaker with starting experience, and Tommy Chavis was a versatile reserve, but the Tigers don’t appear to have the same depth on the line as they’ve had in the past.

Linebackers
The Tigers return 11 games of starting experience at this position, and junior Brock Christopher has every one of those starts. With the graduation of three-year starters Dedrick Harrington and Marcus Bacon, Missouri is dangerously thin at linebacker. So much so, sophomore running back Connell Davis — who drew comparisons to former Oklahoma superstar Adrian Peterson when he was recruited out of Texas — was moved to linebacker in the spring. With three unproven scholarship players among the top contenders for the two remaining starting spots, true freshmen Michael Keck and Luke Lambert will be given every opportunity to provide an immediate impact. The two Missouri natives both participated in spring drills after graduating from high school in December.

Defensive Backs
The defection of starting cornerback Domonique Johnson in the offseason also leaves the secondary thin in returning experience. Cornerback Darnell Terrell is the only returning Tiger to start every game last year. He’s a long, lean senior who has the physical tools to become one of the best in the Big 12. Although MU’s two starting safeties graduated, the Tigers might be in better shape with William Moore and Pig Brown moving into those positions. Moore is considered one the best athletes on the team and has played considerably the past two seasons. Brown, a junior college transfer, brought a swagger with him and some playmaking potential in the 11 games he played last year.

Specialists
Jeff Wolfert came to Missouri on a diving scholarship and by the end of last season was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. Coming out of nowhere to win the job last fall, Wolfert solidified an annually shaky position for the Tigers by making a school-record 18 field goals (on 20 attempts) and finished with 99 points. The emergence of Wolfert allowed Adam Crossett to concentrate on the punting duties. The senior will enter his third season as Missouri’s punter carrying a 40.9-yard career average.

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