Mizzou Football

Official Sports Report for February 22, 2008

Spring Football Position Preview:  The Quarterbacks
by OSR Staff
Columbia, MO. - Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel recently visited with the Mizzou OSR to talk spring football, and to give OSR subscribers an exclusive look at the team's depth chart prior to the start of spring ball on March 11th.  This is the first public look at an official depth chart breakdown...

Fair or not, the position of quarterback gets most of the glory and most of the blame for wins and losses, respectively, so that seems like the logical place to begin the Mizzou OSR spring football preview.

Mizzou benefited in 2007 from likely the best season ever produced by a Tiger quarterback, as junior Chase Daniel led MU to a school-record 12 wins, a Big 12 North Division title, a Cotton Bowl championship, and more record-shattering performances than one can denote in a single setting.

To understate the obvious, Daniel had a pretty good season in 2007.  All he did was throw for an MU-record 4,306 yards and 33 touchdowns, while amassing another MU record of 4,559 yards of total offense.  He ended the year ranked 7th in the NCAA in total offense, 5th in passing yards, 5th in pass completions per game (27.43), 6th in passing TDs, 15th in pass efficiency (147.89) and 15th in points responsible for (16.14 ppg).

For good reason, Daniel was invited to New York City in December of 2007 as a guest of the Heisman Trophy Trust.  He was MU's first-ever Heisman finalist, and ended up fourth in voting, the highest since former great Paul Christman was third in 1939.  Tiger fans got a small scare when after the season, Daniel put his name into the NFL Draft Advisory Committee to see where he would possibly end up had he chosen to leave early for the NFL, but he never seriously considered leaving Mizzou, and announced in January that he was indeed coming back for one last go-around.

It's hard to imagine what more Daniel could do to improve in 2008, but Head Coach Gary Pinkel thinks he can do just that.

"The visual aid that Martin Rucker was, and the reason why you can continue to raise the level of your program, is when your best players can improve their play year after year," said Pinkel.  "Chase Daniel is exactly the same way, he’s had two real good years, but he can get better from experience, he can get better really at everything, he can get faster, stronger, quicker, he can throw better.  There’s always room to get better.  The good news about him is that he’s such a great competitor, I know he'll do everything he can in the off-season to get better, for himself, but more importantly, for his team because he wants to win," he said.

With a likely pre-season Heisman favorite returning for his senior year, the most excitement at the quarterback position in Columbia this spring will revolve around who will win the backup job.

The natural favorite would have to be fifth-year senior Chase Patton, who himself was an Elite-11 nationally-recruited talent out of Columbia's Rock Bridge High School.  Things just haven't worked for Patton to become the star quarterback at his hometown school, but that hasn't stopped the dedicated and likeable quarterback from giving his all for the Tigers.  Patton played in 10 games in reserve action in 2007, and completed 6-of-13 passes for 60 yards, while he also ran five times for 34 yards and one touchdown.

"Chase Patton has a remarkably great attitude, he’s a good player, and he wants to get in a position where we can play him next year," said Pinkel.  "That’s what we really want to be able to do, he wants to do that, that’s important to him.  That’s his goal, to compete against Chase Daniel.  Obviously, everyone expects Chase Daniel to be the guy, but we've always said that all jobs are open in the spring, so Chase Patton has to approach this as his chance to show what he can do," said Pinkel.

Next on the depth chart are a pair of third-year sophomores who have yet to see game experience, but both of whom have considerable talents.

Listed third on the depth chart is Dominic Grooms, and behind him in the number four spot is J.P. Tillman.  Grooms is more of a balanced pass-run threat, somewhat in the mold of former great Brad Smith, and he's got the body type that reminds one of Smith when he glides across the field.  Tillman, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, is more along the lines of a Daunte Culpepper, a bigger, more physical-style quarterback with a strong arm who is looking for his chance to earn some playing time.  Behind Tillman in fifth on the depth chart is walk-on Jimmy Costello, a redshirt freshman from Liberty, MO., who will be in his second year in the program in 2008.

Quarterback Depth Chart
1) Chase Daniel, 6-0, 225, Sr., 3L

2) Chase Patton, 6-5, 220, Sr.

3) Dominic Grooms, 6-1, 195, So.

4) J.P. Tillman, 6-3, 240, So.

5) Jimmy Costello, 6-2, 205, RSFr.