2008 Missouri Tigers Preview

The Missouri Tigers went from unranked in the preseason last year to one win away from playing for the BCS championship. The Tigers won’t likely have to climb as far up the national polls this season to return to the No. 1 ranking that they briefly held for the first time since 1960 before suffering the season’s second loss to Oklahoma, this time in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Tigers

Considering all of the explosive pieces returning on offense and the wealth of experienced starters back on defense, the Tigers fully expect to improve on last year’s historic season. A Big 12 championship and BCS berth are certainly on the Tigers’ list of things to do, but there are some potential stumbling blocks on the schedule. Just as they did last year, the Tigers begin and end the regular season with rivalry games at neutral sites. The opener against Illinois in St. Louis and finale against Kansas in Kansas City could offer the Tigers two of their toughest tests. Oklahoma — the only team to beat Missouri last year — is off the regular-season schedule, but the Tigers will have to travel to Texas in October. Who the Tigers play shouldn’t be an issue, though. Missouri proved last year it has the talent to match up with anyone. With a Heisman Trophy finalist at quarterback (Chase Daniel) and two sure-fire NFL Draft picks to throw to in receiver Jeremy Maclin and tight end Chase Coffman, the offense shouldn’t miss a beat. Led by returning All-America free safety William Moore and All-Big 12 linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, the defense is also loaded with playmakers. An injury to one or two key players appears to be the only thing that could derail the Tigers.

Returning three All-Americans, including a Heisman Trophy finalist in quarterback Chase Daniel, Missouri should start the season near the top of the polls and appears poised to improve on last year’s historic campaign.

“Hopefully going through that experience last year will carry over to this year, and if we’re way up in the rankings, we use that the right way,” MU coach Gary Pinkel says. “I feel good that we’re in a spot to do just that.”

Entering his eighth season in charge of the Tigers, Pinkel has several reasons to feel good about his team.

Fifteen starters — including nine on defense — return from a squad that won its first-ever Big 12 North Division title and played in its first New Year’s Day bowl since 1970. Facing Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl after being snubbed by the BCS selection committee, the Tigers took out their frustrations in a 38–7 romp that clinched their school-record 12th win and their highest finish in the final Associated Press poll.

Missouri intends on leaving no doubt about its place in the BCS this season.

“We accomplished a lot last year, but we didn’t accomplish our ultimate goals,” Pinkel says. “So, we’ve got a lot to prove.”

Quarterbacks

Missouri’s national title hopes begin and end with the accurate right arm and five-star generalship of Daniel. In his second year as a starter last year, the 6'0" senior led an offense that ranked fifth in the nation in yardage and eighth in scoring (39.9 ppg). Daniel was nearly flawless in the Tigers’ victories but stumbled at times in Missouri’s only two losses — both to Oklahoma. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year passed for 4,306 yards and 33 touchdowns to break his school records from the previous year and finished fourth in the final Heisman voting. Behind Daniel will be fellow high school Elite 11 Quarterback Camp alums Chase Patton and Blaine Gabbert. Patton, a hometown hero and fifth-year senior with arguably the strongest arm on the team, has been stuck behind Daniel on the depth chart since his redshirt freshman season. Gabbert, considered by some to be the nation’s top high school quarterback recruit, will be groomed to be Daniel’s heir.

Running Backs

Lost in the glitter of Daniel’s prolific passing numbers were the back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing campaigns produced by the now-departed Tony Temple. Replacing Temple’s steady production could fall to a trio of tailbacks. Senior Jimmy Jackson will likely get first crack at the starting spot, but sophomore Derrick Washington showed flashes of big-play potential playing in 12 games as a true freshman. Jackson holds a decided edge in experience — he’s a veteran of 38 college games with 636 yards and 10 TDs in his career — but Washington brings a little more size and versatility to the position. The Tigers often rotate a third back into the mix, and that could be redshirt freshman De’Vion Moore, with senior Earl Goldsmith beginning to take more snaps at receiver.

Receivers

Six of the team’s top eight pass-catchers return, including sophomore Jeremy Maclin. The All-American set an NCAA single-season freshman record for all-purpose yards (2,776), which included a team-leading 1,055 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Junior Danario Alexander, who caught 15 passes as a true freshman when Maclin was sidelined by a knee injury, is hoping to bounce back like his teammate after having knee surgery in December. Alexander offers starting experience along with senior Tommy Saunders, a former walk-on who enters the season with a string of 27 straight starts. With Jared Perry the only other Tiger offering much experience at the position, Goldsmith and former cornerback La’Roderick Thomas were moved to receiver in the offseason. After splitting time with graduated All-American Martin Rucker the past three years, senior tight end Chase Coffman has the position all to himself. The sure-handed 6'6" athlete could end up breaking Rucker’s receiving records at MU.

Offensive Linemen

Three starters return, but two four-year starters and two key reserves have graduated from a unit that protected Daniel quite well. Colin Brown and Kurtis Gregory will again anchor the right side of the line at tackle and guard, respectively. Senior guard Ryan Madison is the lone returning starter on the left side. Unproven junior Dain Wise is the frontrunner to protect Daniel’s blind side at left tackle, and sophomore Tim Barnes will likely land the all-important center position in MU’s shotgun spread formation after playing in eight games as a reserve.

Defensive Linemen

The line returns three of its top quarterback rushers. In his third season rotating at end, Stryker Sulak’s six sacks and 11 tackles for a loss at end barely edged out the production of returning starters Tommy Chavis (end) and Ziggy Hood (tackle). The emergence of redshirt junior college recruits Jason Townson and Andy Maples on the inside could hold the key to the line’s production. Redshirt freshman Terrell Resonno had a solid spring and could offer depth on the interior. Michael Keck, considered the crown jewel of Missouri’s 2007 recruiting class, is playing end this year after starting his college career at linebacker.

Linebackers

Sean Weatherspoon’s first season as a starter couldn’t have gone much better. Manning the weak-side position, he led the Tigers with 130 tackles and was named All-Big 12. Senior middle linebacker Brock Christopher is entering his third season as a starter after making a career-high 106 stops. Van Alexander hopes to avoid the injury bug that has hampered his career. The Columbia native made eight starts on the strong side and was in on 60 tackles. Luke Lambert offers depth at any of the three positions, but the linebacker depth took a hit in the spring with the loss of backups Marquis Booker and Connell Davis. Booker was kicked off the team after an arrest, and Davis, originally recruited as a running back, left the team before the end of spring practice.

Defensive Backs

All-America free safety William Moore missed all of spring drills recovering from shoulder surgery, but he’s expected to be healthy and back to his playmaking self in the fall. The senior, who considered entering the NFL Draft a year early, tied for the national lead with eight interceptions. Four other Tigers return with starting experience in the secondary — including cornerback Carl Gettis, who started 10 games as a true freshman. Watch out for redshirt freshman Gilbert Moye. The heralded high school quarterback out of Texas nearly saw the field last year at safety. “We’ve got a lot of players coming back — probably some of the best as a group that we’ve had here,” Pinkel says. “Depth is always an issue, but we’re certainly excited to have (nine) returning starters on defense. That gives us a real good foundation.”

Specialists

Senior kicker Jeff Wolfert returns for his senior season to continue his remarkable transformation from competitive collegiate diver to all-conference football player. Wolfert has solidified an often-troublesome position for the Tigers over the years by making 151-of-157 kicks (extra points and field goals combined) the past two seasons. He has never missed a kick in Big 12 play (26 field goals and 64 PATs). A replacement at punter for three-year starter Adam Crossett is needed, but the return game should be in good hands with Maclin coming off an All-America campaign in which he returned three kicks (two punts and a kickoff) for touchdowns.

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