Missouri Football Preview: Tigers Hope To Reload, Disprove Critics

Perhaps unlike any other season in its 120-year history, the Missouri football program enters 2009 with an unsettling amount of uncertainty.

After posting a second straight season with 10 or more wins for the first time ever, and sending an unprecedented six players to the NFL, the Tigers now have to deal with the byproduct that comes with achieving landmark success.

Only Utah, USC, and Oklahoma have won more games than Missouri over the past two seasons, so it goes without saying that the task at hand for 2009 is sustaining that level of excellence, all the while dismissing the notions of the doubters who insist the Tigers' 22 victories over 2007-08 were the centerpiece of a passing fancy.

Gary Pinkel will field a talented but young team

The mark of any successful program is the perennial ability to reload. The USCs, Oklahomas, and Ohio States of the world continually enjoy the luxury of tapping a bottomless well of talent every season, all without having to lift anything more than a finger. During Missouri's run of back-to-back North Division titles, a familiar cast of characters symbolized the heartbeart of the team and brought unimaginable success to the Missouri name, which has been synonymous with anything but winning over the past few decades.

But the household names are gone. The book on the most prosperous senior class in MU history is closed, as is that of Jeremy Maclin, arguably the most talented player ever to have worn the Black and Gold. What remains is a group of gifted yet unproven youngsters who suddenly find themselves in a very unique position.

Because Missouri is not USC, Oklahoma, or Ohio State, people expect the run to be over. The consensus is that the Tigers missed out on their chance, so it is time for the more traditional North powers (Nebraska and Colorado) to assert themselves once again.

It's true that no other team in the conference (and maybe the country) was hit harder by graduation/the draft than Missouri. But the losses suffered afford the 2009 Tigers the opportunity to disprove the critics. Picked by no one to finish higher than third in the division, the Tigers will re-assume the role of underdog in 2009; but after the team succumbed to the glare of the national spotlight a season ago, that's not a bad thing.

Senior leaders have taken it upon themselves to rally this team around the disrespect that has stemmed from the unfavorable predictions of the nation's prognosticators. In fact, a copy of a preseason magazine by renowned college football guru Phil Steele, who picked Missouri to finish ahead of only Iowa State in the Big 12 North, was plastered outside the team locker room as a reminder.

And players like defensive tackle Jaron Baston and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon—easily the team's most noteworthy and outspoken motivators—have made it their mission to show the past few seasons were not an aberration, rather just the beginning of what is expected to be carried on by those who will follow.

Of all the impressions head coach Gary Pinkel has made upon the program in his nine years in Columbia, it's possible the biggest and deepest has been made on the recruiting trail. Pinkel and his staff say they give no merit to national recruiting class rankings, which is a mentality that underscores their ability to pluck, and then develop, unheralded prep players that more prominent schools either overlooked or didn't deem talented enough. Slowly but steadily, Missouri has established a base of talent through shrewd recruiting that is the hallmark of college football success.

As a whole, Missouri's program is laden with as much talent as there's ever been, but this doesn't quell the concerns of most fans, who both predict and speculate as to how the Tigers will fill so many holes in 2009.

As a result, the questions arise: How will sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert deal with the pressure of succeeding Chase Daniel, the most prolific passer in MU history? Who will step up to replace the likes of Maclin, Chase Coffman, and Tommy Saunders at wide receiver? What is to be expected of a defense that is breaking in six new starters? Will the shake-up within Pinkel's staff that resulted in two new coordinators prove detrimental or beneficial?

Beginning on Aug. 6, which begins fall practices, the Tigers will have 30 days to find the answers to those questions before they face Illinois in the season opener on Sept. 5. It's unrealistic to think that all the kinks will be worked out by then. Missouri is a team in transition, and such a drastic changing of the guard will not be made overnight.

Blaine Gabbert (right) is just one of the new faces on the MU offense

Particularly on offense, players will need to mature into roles that were already well-established at this point last year. But that learning curve should be less steep than expected considering the talent on this team. To boot, the combination of skill and open spots on both sides of the ball has Pinkel tickled with delight at how many spirited battles may emerge during preseason workouts.

With time, this Missouri team could be very good. The foundation for a promising future has been laid, but pressing matters lie in the immediate future.

The Fighting Illini provide a stern test right off the bat, and a late-September trip to Reno to face Nevada on national television will be no walk in the park. And there's no telling how the young Tigers will respond when Nebraska comes to Columbia for a Thursday night showdown and Texas rolls into town with national championship aspirations, two games that sandwich a redemption-filled visit to Stillwater to take on preseason Top-10 foe Oklahoma State.

The worst-case scenario for 2009 is that growing pains define a season that ends in five or six wins and a trip to a lower-tier bowl. The early part of the schedule features some guaranteed blowouts, and games against Iowa State, Kansas State, and Baylor should result in victories.

But a fine line separates transition from a third consecutive Big 12 North Division title. A win over Texas may be asking too much, but the Cornhuskers are certainly beatable and arch-rival Kansas is hanging all of its hopes on a high-octane offense. If the Tigers are able to swing a couple surprise performances, a second Cotton Bowl trip in three years is obtainable.

In the two weeks leading up to fall workouts, I will preview the 2009 Missouri Tigers with comprehensive breakdowns of every position, as well as touch on what to expect from the players who will headline one of the more interesting seasons in MU football history.

Analysis will take place as follows:

Defense:

July 20: Defensive Ends

July 22: Defensive Tackles

July 24: Linebackers

July 26: Defensive Backs

Offense:

July 29: Offensive Line

July 31: Tight Ends/Receivers

Aug. 3: Running Backs

Aug. 5: Quarterbacks

Season predictions are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 6, to coincide with the start of preseason workouts.

Note: Each part of my comprehensive breakdown of the 2009 Missouri Tigers is available at Examiner.com.

Photo Credit: St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Columbia Missourian