The first game week of the season is an exciting time for all teams, but perhaps none more so this season than for Missouri.
The Tigers simply need the distraction of playing a game.
The death of freshman linebacker Aaron O’Neal on July 12 placed a cloud over the program that has been slow to dissipate. Coach Gary Pinkel said the revelation that O’Neal’s death was not football-related, but because of meningitis, helped a little.
“After the coroner’s report came out, within the next two days after that our team has been focused,” Pinkel said on the Big 12 coaches’ conference call Monday. “Every day, it gets a little bit better.”
Missouri opens its season Saturday against Arkansas State at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Pinkel said the upperclassmen have kept the team from spiraling downward.
“The leadership of our seniors, I cannot tell you enough of how remarkable they have been at a very, very difficult time,” Pinkel said. “There’s no question of our players’ focus. Game week is something that they are excited about.”
A room inside Missouri’s planned $16 million athletics training center will be named after O’Neal, one of a series of permanent remembrances announced Monday. The Tigers’ first two games will include a moment of silence. Tigers players will line up at their 25-yard line in honor of O’Neal’s uniform number. They will wear his number on the back of their helmets, display No. 25 on two grassy expanses inside Memorial Stadium and keep his locker vacant until 2008, the year the redshirt freshman was scheduled to graduate.
No-names
First-year Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is another in a growing list of coaches to remove players’ names from the back of jerseys. Kansas State coach Bill Snyder also did so recently.
Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione did the same last year, and liked the results.
“I’m a firm believer that one of the pivotal parts in having success is to have a team concept,” Franchione said. “We made a tremendous jump in that last year. There may be a day that we put names back on the jerseys. But we’re not going to put (the names) back on this year.”
Two is enough
In an attempt to keep the focus of his team where he wants it, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is allowing only two players to be available to the media all season long – quarterback Cody Hodges and defensive back Khalid Naziruddin.
“Coach Leach’s decision to do that is in the best interest of our team to keep them focused,” said assistant coach Ruffin McNeill, who filled in for Leach on the conference call. “Last year, we don’t think the players handled (publicity) well.”
Hopefully, two is enough
Two teams, Kansas State and Oklahoma State are in two-quarterback territory.
For K-State, it will be a repeat of last season when Dylan Meier and Allen Webb each started six games. Webb has been named the starter, at least for now. For Oklahoma State, it is new territory. Donovan Woods started every game as a freshman. Bobby Reid has played well enough in practice to warrant playing time, and Gundy isn’t thinking of just alternating them at quarterback. How about one at running back? Or wide receiver?
“We may put Donovan Woods and Bobby Reid on the field at the same time,” Gundy said. “They both run 4.5 in the 40, and they’re talented athletes.”
Gundy named Woods his starting quarterback for the opener against Montana State.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
