10 departures and one unexplained death for Tigers
The University of Missouri football team faces its biggest challenge of the season this weekend when the No. 2-rated Texas Longhorns pay a visit to Columbia.
Or is it ?
It seems fitting that a group from Texas is coming to town this weekend, because the Mizzou football program has been circling its wagons for the past year. What can go wrong has gone wrong for coach Gary Pinkel’s program in their quest to find that elusive respectability in the rugged Big XII Conference.
There is great unrest around the state as the Tigers enter the Big XII portion of their schedule. The challenge for Pinkel to get Mizzou back on the right track may be much greater than the one that Vince Young and his band of Longhorns will present on Saturday.
That latest gut-punch came over the weekend when linebacker David Richard left the team. The former Hazelwood East standout was a part-time starter at linebacker at Mizzou after his transfer from Michigan State, where he was a starting tailback in 2003. His desire to return to the offensive backfield is what prompted his departure from the team. He plans to transfer at the end of the year to a school where he can play running back.
Richard’s sudden departure brings the alarming number of players who have left the program to 10 since the end of spring practice. That’s virtually an entire starting unit gone from the program in just a matter of months.
That number does not include former Parkway North linebacker Aaron O’Neal, who died tragically after a summer workout session. The events surrounding O’Neal’s collapse and eventual death and supsequent lawsuit filed by the family have cast a huge, dark shadow over the football program. One that it really didn’t need.
The program was already reeling from last year’s underachieving 5-6 season in a year when many expected the Tigers to challenge for the title in the suddenly-mediocre Big XII North Division. Instead of taking over the North Division, the Tigers stumbled while key players left school early (Damien Nash) and top recruits changed their minds to attend rival schools after originally comitting to Mizzou (Chris Brooks). A two-year losing streak to arch-rival Kansas has added to the growling of Tiger fans across the state.
Area recruiting is also on the downswing early in the game as only one St. Louis player of the 10 who have already give verbal commitments is coming to Mizzou. He is Francis Howell Central defensive end Bart Coslet.
Gary Pinkel needs something positive to happen to his program and in a big way. An upset of mighty Texas would be huge, but that is asking a little too much. A winning record and another bowl game appearance are clearly attainable, especially with Brad Smith at the controls. And of course, a win at Kansas in three weeks would help. Another early-season loss to an unheralded opponent (New Mexico) means that the Tigers will have to pull off an unexpected win to make up for their annual early-season boo-boo.
Most important, the program needs to find some stability, especially with Smith graduating after this season. As of now, Pinkel is following the path of his predecessor Larry Smith. Smith got the Mizzou faithful stoked with two consecutive bowl-game appearances, only to see everything unravel in the face of a number of humiliating losses, local recruiting failures and ultimately an ugly scene in his last game where his wife was cursing out players on the sidelines during a blowout loss at Kansas State.
Time is of the essence.