Seniors honor Aaron O’Neal by wearing his number
Sept. 6, 2008
When Missouri fans look onto the field this season, they will see players wearing a number that they haven't seen in years: 25.
Every game this season, a senior will wear No. 25 on his jersey in memory of Aaron O'Neal, a freshman linebacker who died after a voluntary summer workout in 2005.
O'Neal would be a senior this season, and he is a source of much of the team's motivation.
On Saturday night against Southeast Missouri State University, senior linebacker Brock Christopher wore No. 25 instead of his usual No. 34.
"It's not really about me," Christopher said. "I was glad that I was able to do that and represent him, his family and his legacy. Twenty-five is still with us; we still talk about him all the time. He signifies what being a Missouri Tiger is, and I was extremely honored to wear that number and represent him. He'll always be there with us."
Christopher had two tackles in the first half and was pulled with the rest of the starters in the second half to give backups some playing time.
"I think that with A.O. being a linebacker and Brock being a senior and starter at that position, we felt that he would be the best guy to wear it," senior quarterback Chase Daniel said.
The Missouri defense outscored the SEMO offense, with junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon intercepting a pass from quarterback Houston Lillard in the second quarter and running it back for a touchdown.
"We really worked on our cornerbacks and safeties being on top this week and us linebackers making better tackles up front," Weatherspoon said. "But we really wanted to come out and have a solid game, and hopefully we can build off of it."
Christopher helped the Missouri defense shut out SEMO in the first half, 42-0. The Tigers finished the game with a 52-3 score. SEMO did not score until about 10 minutes remained in the game.
The senior class came up with the idea of a tribute to O'Neal after hearing about a similar case at the University of Oregon.
"(Senior wide receiver) Tommy (Saunders) brought it up in a senior meeting, and it was unanimous to do it," Christopher said.
Christopher is MU's most experienced linebacker, entering his third year as a starter with 38 career games and 25 career starts. Last season, he was honorable mention All-Big 12.
"He's a senior linebacker as O'Neal would be this year," coach Gary Pinkel said. "(Injured senior linebacker) Steve Redmond would be the first to wear it, because he was A.O.'s roommate. But they wanted another senior to wear it. We just think that's a great way of honoring him, not only for the fans and for the players, but certainly to honor him for his family."
Each week, the senior class will vote to see who is next to wear No. 25.
Related Content
More Sept. 6, 2008 Sports Stories
- Backups gain valuable experience in 52-3 victory — If nothing else, the 52-3 slaughter of Southeast Missouri State allowed the Tigers to inflate their stat book. Senior quarterback ...
- Seniors honor Aaron O’Neal by wearing his number — When Missouri fans look onto the field this season, they will see players wearing a number that they haven't seen ...
Most recent Sports Stories
- Kansas State takes close match in volleyball — With four games remaining on their schedule, the Missouri Tigers faced a crucial game at home against No. 13 Kansas ...
- Soccer season ends with loss to Illinois — Illinois beat MU 4-3 in penalty kicks to advance to the next round.
- ACC, Big East could make a mockery of BCS — The teams from the ACC and Big East won't even be in the top 15.
- Men's basketball escapes the winter weather — The Tigers will face Xavier and possibly Virginia Tech in Puerto Rico.
- Tigers manage 28-point lead over Chattanooga — The team will play at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament