Pinkel Speaks

SEC, recruiting, new uniforms, new field
by Mizzou Matt

COLUMBIA, MO- Gary Pinkel finally spoke out today about the University of Missouri's move to the SEC, which was announced on November 6th. The main topic was recruiting. "Certainly, recruiting wise, we've already done that," Pinkel said, "we've made a couple of adjustments. We're going to put one of our coaches in Atlanta and two in Florida."

Pinkel's team, which last year won it's 40th game over the past four years, went just 7-5 overall. He said that this year's team was the most injury-laden team he's ever coached in his career. Despite all the injuries, the team managed to become bowl eligible for the seventh straight year, a school record.

Coach Pinkel also revealed that next year, Mizzou will have all new Nike uniforms and a brand new artificial turf to play on, likely to be paid for by the bolstered SEC payout. The current FieldTurf was installed prior to the 2003 season, and has a shelf life of about 10 years. The field played a large role in games this year, claiming Elvis Fisher, Will Ebner, Henry Josey, De'Vion Moore, Kendial Lawrence, as well as opposing forces Fozzy Whittaker and four Texas Tech players to leg injuries.