SEC wins become routine for Tigers
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel has a reputation as a meticulous planner, but he wasn’t putting his organizational acumen to work ahead of his June 27 destination wedding in Naples, Fla.
Pinkel said his bride-to-be, Missy Martinette, liked to include him in the planning, “but usually I look at her and go, ‘C’mon, you’re asking the wrong person.’ I have no knowledge of weddings. I have enough trouble coaching football.”
It’s been a big summer for Pinkel, who was inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame and welcomed his eighth grandchild, Chance David, in late May.
On the field, Pinkel’s Tigers
are the two-time reigning SEC East champions, but he insists that hasn’t created additional pressure for the program. Missouri’s goals remain the same — win the East again, break through with a victory in the SEC championship game and, he hopes, get a crack at a national title.
Those are lofty goals, but the Tigers have reached that threshold entering Pinkel’s 15th season in Columbia.
“We boringly do what we do,” Pinkel said. “I’m redundant, and I know I say it all the time, but it’s the truth: My whole thing is we focus on the process of getting better. That’s what we do. That’s all we can do … .”
NCAA rules allow for eight hours of team activities during the summer. The Tigers spend most of that time training with their associate athletic director for athletic performance, Pat Ivey, but the position coaches also do some film study and basic drills with players.
The upperclassmen organize additional workouts and coach-free hourlong practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Though Pinkel doesn’t believe the pressure to succeed has mounted, he admits that the program has changed profoundly during recent years.
“There’s a responsibility that goes with success, and that’s kind of thrown on our football team,” Pinkel said. “We’ve achieved a lot. Now, the seniors, we’re handing it over to you, but there’s a responsibility that goes with it for all of us — the freshmen coming and everybody. There’s an expectation level. I think that creates focus for your football team, and then you get to work.”
The summer months are an important time for the incoming freshmen to get acclimated. “Every one of the high school guys is in,” Pinkel said.
Butler Community College offensive lineman Tyler Howell and College of the Siskiyous defen- sive end Marcell Frazier won’t arrive until later. Both are finishing classes, but Pinkel doesn’t anticipate eligibility issues with freshmen. Two prominent players who were borderline from an eligibility standpoint, defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. and defensive end Josh Moore, have passed the NCAA clearinghouse.
Note: DT Harold Brantley was released from the hospital Wednesday following a Father’s Day car accident in which he suffered a broken leg, knee ligament damage and fractured ribs. Brantley, the Tigers’ top returning defensive lineman, is scheduled to spend a few days at a transitional facility before going home at the end of the week. It’s unclear when Brantley when will be able to resume playing.