Aug. 19, 2009

Columbia, Mo. -

The Missouri Tiger football team continued its preparation for the 2009 season opener with a full-pad practice Wednesday morning on Faurot Field.  The Tigers had another physical day that served as the last full session prior to tomorrow's scrimmage - the second of the fall camp.  Skies were overcast all morning, and just as the team got off the field, around 9 a.m., rain started pouring down in Columbia.

Prior to that though, the Tigers got in a good workout that saw the defense claim a victory for the third straight day.  The defense has now won all three practices since the offense claimed a win in last Saturday's scrimmage, so there's a lot of pride riding on the outcome of Thursday's results.

There was good news on the injury situation, as a couple of players who went down Tuesday, had positive results come out of MRI exams.  Sophomore RT Dan Hoch and sophomore WR Brandon Gerau both injured their left knees in practice Tuesday, and did not return.  Each had an MRI test done Tuesday evening, and neither showed major damage, with Hoch's injury diagnosed as a sprained knee, while Gerau's was classified as a bruised bone.  Hoch is expected to miss about two weeks, while Gerau is hopeful of returning sooner than that.

Here were some highlights from today's morning session:

• Freshman S Matt White had an impressive series early on during the day in 6-on-6 passing drills, as he grabbed an interception over the middle on one play, and shortly after that, he laid a big wallop on a receiver to break up a pass...
• When it went to 11-on-11 scrimmaging, some highlights included...
  • The #1 defense ruled the day going against the #2 offense ... DE Brian Coulter broke up an intended swing pass, nearly picking the ball off, followed by a couple of run stops, with an incomplete pass mixed in thanks to solid coverage in the secondary...
  • With the #1 offense and #2 defense squaring off in red zone work, QB Blaine Gabbert hit WR Danario Alexander on a 3-yard touchdown pass on a 3rd-and-goal play ... The defense won the other three plays though, forcing an incompletion and stopping runs by TB Derrick Washington and TB De'Vion Moore for short gains...
  • Lastly, the #1 offense and #1 defense went at it inside the 10 yardline for a series ... A pass from Gabbert to TE Andrew Jones in the flat was stopped for no gain, then S Hardy Ricks came up in run support to stuff Washington for no gain.  The offense got the last laugh, when Gabbert hit Jones for a 5-yard TD pass to end things...

Stay tuned to mutigers.com for details of Thursday's important scrimmage, plus all of the official stats and photos from the day.