San Antonio – Opponents could almost mark it on the calendar. In recent years, Missouri has faded like a cheap pair of blue jeans.
But a kinder, gentler Tigers coach Gary Pinkel hopes to avoid another collapse by keeping his players loose and fresh.
“I just have more fun with the guys,” he said Tuesday during the Big 12 media days. “And they have more fun with me. That was good for me.”
Missouri is picked by Big 12 media members to win the conference’s North Division. The Tigers have not handled previous expectations well. They began last season 6-0 but finished 8-5. Missouri is a combined 3-6 in the past three Novembers.
This year will be different, the Tigers insist.
“Before, when we were picked high, we’d walk into a stadium and expect to win,” senior tight end Martin Rucker said. “Now we know what it takes.”
“Maturity will help us,” added junior Chase Coffman, the Tigers’ other star tight end.
Missouri players appeared to be beaten down late in the season. Perhaps Pinkel’s new coaching style will help.
“He’s become a lot more of a player’s coach,” Rucker said. “He’s been a lot more visible to us; he’s taken a lot more of our ideas into account. He’s a lot more relaxed. Before it was kind of a dictatorship. Guys are more comfortable playing the game.”
What’s up front counts
An innovator of the passing game, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach likes to note that early in his career he served as an offensive line coach.
Leach was impressed with his trench men at spring drills but said a coach can never have enough.
“I don’t have too many receivers that I wouldn’t swap with great ol’ linemen,” Leach said. “That’s why we have football to begin with – because of linemen. … Everybody would be involved with basketball or soccer or something if it wasn’t for linemen.”
Big coverup
Iowa State’s Gene Chizik called his transition to becoming a first-time head coach “very much of a learning experience for me.”
Apparently, that included a wardrobe makeover to survive his first Iowa winter. A native of Clearwater, Fla., Chizik coached previously only at warm-weather campuses, including the past two seasons as defensive coordinator at Texas.
“The coats I had only come down to here,” said Chizik, pointing to his waist. “Now my coats come down to my ankles.”
Footnotes
Texas A&M went 5-0 on the road during the regular season in 2006 (finishing 9-4 overall). If the Aggies go undefeated away from home this fall they could challenge for the national championship. Their road schedule might be nation’s toughest, with visits to Miami, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri. “It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re used to that,” Aggies coach Dennis Franchione said. … Texas A&M junior QB Stephen McGee will receive his bachelor’s degree in marketing later this month. He will take graduate courses this fall and next season to remain eligible. McGee redshirted his first year at College Station.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
