The 2013 Missouri Tigers football team (also called "Mizzou") represented the University of Missouri in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It marked the Tigers' second season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in the Eastern Division. The team was led by head coach Gary Pinkel, in his 13th year and played its home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri. The Tigers went into the season hoping to return to a bowl game after missing out the previous season. They succeeded after an 11–1 regular season and their first-ever SEC Eastern Division title. After a loss to Auburn in the SEC Championship Game they played in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic on January 3, 2014, against Oklahoma State, which they won 41–31. The two teams had last met on October 22, 2011.
Recruits Key losses:
DT Sheldon Richardson DE Brad Madison WR T. J. Moe OL Trey Foster OL Jack Meiners RB Kendial Lawrence
All 20 recruits signed their National Letter of Intent on February 6, during the National Signing Period (February 6 – April 1).
On the eve of National Signing Day, Missouri ranks last in the SEC, 46th in the overall rankings according to Rivals.com.On the day after National Signing Day, Scout.com ranks Missouri as 36th (3.00) best overall, ahead of only Kentucky (39th) in the SEC.Rivals.com has Mizzou at 39th (3.00).
Coach Pinkel likes the 20-name recruiting class.
His coaching staff agrees with his analysis, as does former Mizzou wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.
Mizzou's class has 11 of the 20 recruits from Missouri. In 2011, Mizzou had 19 recruits, and in 2010, only 17.
The team added a needed defensive tackle, DeQuinton Osborne on May 31, 2013, but MU has not officially announced Osborne's addition to the recruiting class.
Four recruits of the 20 (listed in the recruit section below) left the program for various reasons. Freshman offensive tackle Harneet Gill left the Missouri football team three days into preseason camp after deciding he had “lost faith in the plan” to treat his surgically repaired foot and that Mizzou was not “the right fit,” he said. Tailback Chase Abbington (Fort Zumwalt South) and defensive lineman Antar Thompson (Maplewood Richmond Heights) both failed to qualify academically and enrolled in junior college. Duron Singleton, a safety from Fresno City, CA, Community College, was expected to transfer and arrive last week, but Pinkel announced Thursday that Singleton wasn't joining the program, citing undisclosed “personal reasons.”
Schedule
Mizzou Tigers, schedule , as of December 8, 2013 (Retrieved: December 8, 2013)
Recruits for 2013
Honors On December 9, 2013, defensive end Michael Sam was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press, and was also a unanimous first-team All-SEC selection. Before the bowl season starts, Sam led the SEC with 10.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Offensive tackle Justin Britt was also named to the first-team AP all-conference, as was defensive lineman Kony Ealy, and cornerback E.J. Gaines. Wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and linebacker Andrew Wilson were named to the second-team list. Defensive end Markus Golden made the honorable mention list. Ealy had the strongest finish to the regular season of any Mizzou defender and heads into bowl season with 7.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, a team-best 14 hurries and three forced fumbles, the most among all SEC defensive lineman. Gaines finished the regular season with 68 tackles and a team-best four interceptions. In the December 7 loss to Auburn in the SEC title game, he picked up a fumble forced by Ealy, and returned it for a touchdown. He also earned first-team All-Big 12 honors as a sophomore in 2011. With a huge game against Auburn, Green-Beckham now shares the team lead with 55 catches for 850 yards and a team-best 12 touchdowns. Wilson leads Mizzou in tackles for a third straight season with 98, matching his 2011 total. Coach Gary Pinkel is one of eight finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award.
Michael Sam named a Walter Camp Football Foundation First-Team All-American, the seventh for Coach Pinkel in his 13 years at Mizzou, and the first on the defensive side for Mizzou since Justin Smith in 2000.
Rankings
Missouri cracked the AP poll (#25) on October 6, for the first time since the second week of the 2011 season when it was ranked #21. Missouri jumped nine slots to #5 in the AP poll on October 19, after their 36–17 win over #22 Florida. The #5 ranking is Missouri's highest since reaching No. 3 in 2008 at 5–0 before a home loss to Oklahoma State. They debuted at #5 in the BCS standings. They reached #5 again on the AP poll on Nov. 24, after beating #24 Ole Miss, 24–10, at Oxford the day before, and stayed at #5 on all four polls after beating Texas A&M on Nov. 30. The Tigers fell to #9 after its 42–59 loss to the Auburn Tigers in the 2013 SEC Championship Game on December 7, ending its bid for a possible trip to the BCS National Championship Game. The 2013 Tigers team is the fourth in the past seven years to reach double-digits in wins, with the previous time a 10–3 record in 2010. Missouri ended the SEC season with an 11–2 record. Mizzou extended its nation-leading streak of games forcing a takeaway to 43 consecutive games. Mizzou has jumped on top of opposing teams on the scoreboard all season, only trailing at the half for the second time this season vs. Auburn. The 8th ranked (BCS) Tigers were invited to and accepted an invitation to the 78th Cotton Bowl against the (10–2) #13-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys on January 3, 2014, 7pm CT, to be televised on Fox. The Cotton Bowl appearance will mark Mizzou's 11th New Year's Day (or later) bowl game in program history, and its first since playing in the 2008 Cotton Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The invitation is a reward for an outstanding season which saw the Tigers post one of the top turnaround years in the nation, going from 5–7 in 2012 to 11–2 – a 6-1/2 game improvement. This is MU's 30th alltime bowl appearance. The Tigers will be making their third appearance in the tradition-rich game. Mizzou rolled to a 38–7 win over Arkansas in the 2008 game, as TB Tony Temple rushed for a Cotton Bowl-record 281 yards and four touchdowns against the 25th-ranked Razorbacks. That win closed a stellar season for Mizzou, who finished with a 12–2 record and a school-best final ranking of 4th in the final polls. Mizzou's other appearance in the Cotton Bowl was back in 1946, when Texas claimed a 40–27 victory.
Coaching staff Name Position Yearsat MU Alma mater (year) Gary Pinkel Head coach 13 Kent State (1975) Dave Steckel Assistant head coachDefensive coordinatorLinebackers coach 13 Kutztown (1982) Andy Hill Quarterbacks CoachAssociate head coach 18 University of Missouri (1985) Josh Henson Offensive coordinatorCo-offensive line coach 5 Oklahoma State (1998) Alex Grinch Secondary and Safeties Coach 5 Mount Union (2002) Cornell Ford Cornerbacks coach 13 Toledo (1991) Pat Washington Receivers Coach 1 Auburn (1987) Brian Jones Running backs coach 13 Connecticut (1981) Craig Kuligowski Defensive line coach 13 Toledo (1991) Bruce Walker Co-offensive line coach 13 Central Washington (1983) Dan Hopkins Director of football operations 7 University of Missouri (2004) Nick Otterbacher Director of Football Recruiting 10 Toledo (2002)
Henson expected to take over as Missouri's offensive coordinator
Source: 2013 Mizzou Football Roster (coaches)
Roster SUMMER 2013 (as of August 30, 2013) (Preseason depth chart)
(as of SUMMER 2013 MUTIGERS.com , and Rivals.com)Wide receivers (Summer 2013) 2 L'Damian Washington – Senior 4 J'Mon Moore – Freshman 5 James Driskell – Sophomore 8 Darius White – Junior 14 Jaleel Clark – Senior 15 Dorial Green-Beckham – Sophomore 16 Levi Copelin – Freshman 17 Sheldon Gerau – Sophomore 18 Wesley Leftwich – Sophomore 21 Bud Sasser – Junior 26 Jake Brents Freshman 38 Nicalus Rhone – Freshman 38 Reid Swearingen – Freshman 41 Aaron Bailey – Freshman 41 Eric Laurent – Freshman 43 Cameron Chancey – Sophomore 84 Gavin Otte – Junior 85 Marcus Lucas – Senior 88 Jimmie Hunt – Junior
Offensive line (Summer 2013) 51 Steven Carberry – Junior 52 Jordan Hill – Freshman 54 Nick Monaghan – Sophomore 56 Robert Luce – Junior 57 Alec Abeln – Freshman 58 John Reid – Freshman 59 Kyle Starke – Sophomore 60 Connor McGovern – Sophomore 61 Max Copeland – Senior 62 Taylor Chappell – Sophomore 63 Brad McNulty – Sophomore 64 Will Johnson – Freshman 65 Mitch Morse – Junior 66 Adam Ploudre – Freshman 67 Michael Boddie – Sophomore 68 Justin Britt – Senior 69 Mitch Hall – Sophomore 70 Anthony Gatti – Junior 71 Justin Grava – Freshman 72 Clay Rhodes – Freshman 73 Mitch Hall – Sophomore 76 Jordan Williams – Freshman 77 Evan Boehm – Sophomore 78 Nick Demien – Junior 79 Adam Franklin – Sophomore 93 Justin Grava – Freshman
Tight ends (Summer 2013) 46 Kyle Peasel – Senior 80 Sean Culkin – Freshman 81 Eric Waters – Senior 82 Jason Reese – Freshman 84 Brandon Colbert – Junior 86 Jake Hurrell – Freshman 89 Tyler Hanneke – Freshman 90 Berlin Hollomon – Freshman 98 Clayton Echard – Sophomore Quarterbacks (Summer 2013) 1 James Franklin – Senior 7 Maty Mauk – Freshman 9 Eddie Printz – Freshman 11 Trent Hosick – Freshman 12 Colby Carpenter – Freshman 13 Corbin Berkstresser – Sophomore 17 Alex Demczak – Junior
Running (tail) backs (Summer 2013) 6 Marcus Murphy – Junior 20 Henry Josey – Junior 24 Greg White – Junior 32 Russell Hansbrough – Sophomore 35 Tyler Hunt – Sophomore 36 Morgan Steward – Freshman 39 Miles Drummond – Freshman 40 Andrew Stevens – Freshman 46 Stephen Blakley – Freshman
Defensive line (Summer 2013) 33 Markus Golden (end) – Junior 35 Marcus Loud – Freshman 47 Kony Ealy (end) – Junior 50 Evan Winston – Freshman 51 Steven Mack – Junior 52 Michael Sam (end) – Senior 55 Brayden Burnett – Senior 56 Shane Ray – Sophomore 58 Ben Eskelson – Freshman 64 DeQuinton Osborne – Freshman 75 A.J. Logan – Freshman 87 Nate Crawford – Freshman 89 Matt Hoch – Junior 90 Harold Brantley – Freshman 91 Charles Harris – Freshman 93 Dakota Brake – Freshman 94 Marvin Foster – Senior 95 Rickey Hatley – Freshman 96 Lucas Vincent – Junior 97 Josh Augusta – Freshman 99 David Butler – Junior
Linebackers (Summer 2013) 8 Donovan Bonner – Senior 10 Kentrell Brothers – Sophomore 11 Torey Boozer – Freshman † 12 Darvin Ruise – Junior 25 Donavin Newsom – Freshman 30 Michael Scherer – Freshman 40 Clarence Green – Sophomore 43 Michael Holt – Freshman 48 Andrew Wilson – Senior 49 Denzel Martin – Senior 53 Christian Williams – Freshman 54 Michael Brennan – Senior Safety (Summer 2013) 4 Daniel Easterly – Junior 5 Cortland Browning – Sophomore 9 Braylon Webb – Junior 10 Brock Bondurant – Freshman 13 Chaston Ward – Freshman 18 Michael Godas – Sophomore 19 Shawn Rupert – Freshman 21 Ian Simon – Sophomore
Strong safety (Spring 2013)
Free safety (Spring 2013) 17 Matt White (American football)|Matt White – Senior
Defensive backs (Summer 2013) 1 John Gibson – Freshman 2 Duron Singleton – Junior * 3 David Johnson – Sophomore 7 Randy Ponder – Senior 11 Aarion Penton – Freshman 22 Anthony Sherrils – Freshman 24 Mubarak Nasirudden – Freshman 26 Xavier Smith – Junior 28 Ernest Payton – Sophomore 29 Zach Edwards – Freshman 29 David Sowell – Freshman 31 E. J. Gaines – Senior 34 Jordan Wade – Junior 45 Tyler Davis – Senior 46 Jared Edwards – Freshman
Punters (Summer 2013) 92 Christian Brinser – Junior
Kickers (Summer 2013) 3 Luke Jackson – Freshman 12 Preston Soper – Freshman 90 Nick Coffman – Freshman 91 Blake Owens – Junior 99 Andrew Baggett – Sophomore † Kicked off team, June 17, 2013 * Left team for personal reasons, August 1
References