Column:
Tigers football is back
The new season will hold surprises.
Published April 17, 2009
Bust out your gold shirts and tailgating tents. Start filling in the schedule. It's time for football. The leaves might just be growing in rather than starting to drop, and the calendar might say it's time for spring not fall, but Gary Pinkel will walk his 2009 Tigers onto Faurot Field on Saturday.
The annual Black and Gold Spring game is the first opportunity students and fans have to see how their team is going to shape up come Labor Day. Much like baseball, spring training is a time for hope, an opportunity for former bench players to replace those who have left and become contributors. Seeds are planted containing dreams of Big 12 titles and BCS Bowl games. Last year the flower never bloomed. This year it's hard to even predict a fair goal for a team looking vastly different than a year ago.
At this time last year, the Tigers were coming off a wildly successful and overachieving season. A Big 12 North Championship. A No. 1 ranking. A domination of Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. They were returning 10 of their 11 starters on defense and most of their players at skilled offensive positions.
We were all positive the 2008 campaign would lead to a national championship. It was as if we were given a free sample of chocolate and immediately thought we deserved the whole candy store. We set ourselves up for disappointment and were quickly smacked in the head by reality, coming in the form of Cowboys, Longhorns and Jayhawks.
Now nobody knows what to expect. Gone are staples Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and Chase Coffman. Gone are seven of 11 defensive starters. Gone is offensive coordinator Dave Christensen and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
This is the first time in Pinkel's tenure he will enter a season without the same coaching staff around him. Keep an eye on subtle differences. These changes are a positive for MU. The defense struggled last year, never getting into a blitz pattern that would confuse offensive lines. Opponents were beginning to figure out the Tigers' spread offense. Hopefully new offensive coordinator Dave Yost will add a few wrinkles into the playbook (cough, please go under center in short yardage situations, cough).
Yost will also need to adjust to a new quarterback. Yost has proven he can develop QBs; he transformed Daniel, who was a modest talent, into a great quarterback in part because MU created an offensive system that fit him like a glove. Now he must do the same with Blaine Gabbert. This should be fun to watch. Gabbert has a stronger arm, a stronger body and is a stronger runner than his predecessor. That ability must be harnessed and refined for the Tigers to have a successful season.
There are unlimited storylines to pay attention to at the game Saturday. Here's some of the more intriguing:
MU will without a doubt miss Jeremy Maclin. Who will make up his production?
The offensive line will have less experience but may be improved. Watch Dan Hoch -- he's a beast stuck in a man's body.
Derrick Washington must play like he did the first six games last year. He disappeared towards the end of the Big 12 calendar. He is crucial to a successful season.
Who knows what kind of record the team will own come November? Maybe they'll fall flat on their faces. Maybe they'll surprise us. We'll find out starting Saturday.
