April 14, 2007
Columbia, Mo. -
The University of Missouri football team was once again forced inside for Saturday's planned scrimmage at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field, and this time it was the Tiger defense that made the most of its opportunities. The scrimmage was shortened due to being inside, and Head Coach Gary Pinkel hopes to get the rest of the plays in outside Tuesday if the weather turns for the better, as the forecasters are calling for.
Tired of their offensive teammates earning most of the headlines, the defense today clearly won the day, as they consistently stopped every unit that took the field, from the first string down through the threes and fours.
Particularly stingy against the run today, Mizzou's defense made numerous tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and gave up only two rushes of 10 yards or more (an 18-yarder by Earl Goldsmith and a 17-yarder by Shawn Scott). Goldsmith was the leading rusher on the day, carrying four times for 23 yards.
The defense had three takeaways on the day, including two interceptions and one fumble recovery. Safety Mack Breed made the first big play when he intercepted Chase Patton and returned it 35 yards before being stopped. Later, fellow safety William Moore got in the act, as he made a nice diving interception over the middle on a ball thrown slightly behind the receiver by Chase Daniel - it was Daniel's first interception thrown in spring scrimmaging. Moore also had a tackle for loss, as did Jaron Baston, Pig Brown and new linebacker Connell Davis.
Junior college lineman Charles Gaines had several big plays, including a QB hurry on Chase Patton and he also broke up a pass, nearly intercepting it. Ziggy Hood got things started for the defense, when he sacked Patton in the endzone for a safety in the second series of the day. Junior college transfer Jaysen Corbett also had a big impact as he recorded sacks of J.P. Tillman on consecutive plays later in the scrimmage. Tommy Chavis and Stryker Sulak also broke up passes on the day.
Patton got some revenge later in the scrimmage as he connected with WR Jared Perry for a 39-yard touchdown on a beautifully-executed go route down the right sideline. It was the sole TD on the day for the offense. Patton ended the day with a scrimmage-high 132 passing yards on 7-of-14, with the one TD and one interception. Chase Daniel had limited snaps and completed 6-of-9 passes for 59 yards and one interception.
Reserves Dominic Grooms and J.P. Tillman had accurate days, as Grooms completed 11-of-12 passes for 51 yards while Tillman was perfect on all four attempts for 20 yards.
Redshirt freshman WR Jeremy Maclin had a big day as he caught a scrimmage-high five passes for 70 yards, showing nice moves, quickness and hands. He caught a 29-yarder over the middle from Patton where he went in the air to catch it, got sandwiched by two defenders, and hung onto the ball in spite of the hard hit.
TE Jon Gissinger caught four passes for 25 yards, while fellow TE Martin Rucker saw three balls come his way for 38 yards. Perry had two catches for 38 yards total, and WR Danario Alexander had two grabs for 27 yards.
Practice will resume Tuesday, with more scrimmaging to take place. Stay tuned to www.mutigers.com for scrimmage updates and stats as the Tigers prepare for the annual Black & Gold Game, set for next Saturday (April 21st) at 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. Admission for the game is $3 or three cans of food, which go to the Central Missouri Food Bank.
Scrimmage Stats:
Scoring
SAFETY - Ziggy Hood sacked QB Chase Patton in endzone
TOUCHDOWN - Jared Perry 39-yard pass from Chase Patton
Passing
Chase Patton - 7-14, 132 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT
Dominic Grooms - 11-12, 51 yds., 1 INT
Chase Daniel - 6-9, 59 yds.
J.P. Tillman - 4-4, 20 yds.
Rushing
Jimmy Jackson - 5-6
Tony Temple - 5-2
Earl Goldsmith - 4-23
Marcus Woods - 3-10
Chase Daniel - 2-3
Chase Patton - 2-2
J.P. Tillman - 2-(-13)
Shawn Scott - 1-17
Dominic Grooms - 1-5
Receiving
Jeremy Maclin - 5-70
Jon Gissinger - 4-25
Martin Rucker - 3-38
Lucas Null - 3-22
Jared Perry - 2-38, 1 TD
Danario Alexander - 2-27
Chase Coffman - 2-7
Jimmy Jackson - 2-7
Tony Temple - 2-2
Jason Ray - 1-16
Forrest Shock - 1-5
Marcus Woods - 1-5
Shawn Scott - 1-2
