Competition over left tackle position continues
Published April 22, 2008
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Junior offensive lineman Dain Wise directs the offensive line during Saturday's Black and Gold inter-squad scrimmage on Faurot Field. Wise was listed as the number one spot in the depth chart going into the game.
While senior quarterback Chase Daniel has become the face of Missouri football and the athletics department, one question still remains unclear.e
Who’s got his back?
Spring workouts have concluded since the Black and Gold scrimmage, where 26,322 fans watched the Tiger offense roll over the defense by a score of 71-28, yet the left tackle position is still up for grabs.
Last season the Tigers passed the ball just more than 50 percent of the time, leaving Daniel’s blindside vulnerable.
“Don’t let him get hit,” junior tackle Dain Wise said. “That’s the bottom line. You got to make sure he doesn’t get hit because he’s not looking at what’s coming off that left side. A hit coming in from the backside, it can be devastating. There’s a lot of pressure.”
Wise was listed in the number one spot on the depth chart going into the scrimmage, but he rotated every five plays with red shirt freshman Elvis Fisher.
“I think it makes both players a lot better because you come to practice every day and you have to compete and raise your level of competition every day,” Wise said. “You can’t have any off days.”
Especially since 6-foot-7, 300-plus-pound freshman Dan Hoch will begin working out with the team this summer.
“I heard about him, but I haven’t even met him or anything like that,” Fisher said. “People always give you little shots like ‘oh you got to try and keep up your spot.’ Competition is what this program is based off of, so the more competition the better.”
As far as Daniel is concerned, he’s comfortable with whomever Pinkel puts in.
“If he’s (Hoch) big enough and strong enough, then why not?” Daniel said. “Elvis has done a great job, likewise has Dain. It’s a very close call. It’s a battle. It’s going to go on all the way through fall camp. They’re going to be battling it out for supremacy, so we’ll see what happens.”
To make the battle even more intense, Pinkel added returning starter and right guard Kurtis Gregory’s name to the list of competitors.
“We know Kurtis Gregory can go out there and play, too,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “That’s a possibility, so we’re going to have to make some decisions. We’re getting a great effort out of all those guys. I’m encouraged because it’s a very talented group of lineman.”
Pinkel said he knows that the offensive line will be one area of the team that will need to constantly improve.
“Our offensive line is going to be a little bit like our defense a year ago where you say ‘Oct. 1 they’re better than Sept. 1, Nov. 1 they’re better again,’” he said. “And if you can say that like you did about our defense than I think we’ll be able to distribute the ball and make some plays, but time will tell if we can get that done.”