Missouri Tigers Will See Big Changes in 2014

There are going to be some big changes on the Missouri Tigers football practice field in 2014.

Less hitting. Less Contact. And hopefully, fewer injuries.

It’s part of a new movement in the NCAA– for better or for worse depending on who you ask– to protect players from the lasting affects of head trauma that can’t be denied is an inevitable consequence of being a football player in today’s fast-paced hard-hitting game.

In an effort to curb the increasing hits to the head, Mizzou football will cease full-contact practices by October, going with no-pad practices for the remainder of the season. It’s a drastic change to the typical look of an SEC team in the heart of its schedule.

In a conference where toughness, hard hits, borderline dirty play and hostile environments are the mainstays on the football field– and have led to countless National Championship contenders – toning it down is huge step in a different direction.

If they want to do more investigation and study, I think that’s fine, that’s good. You want to be transparent. But this is a great game and it helps so many people. -Gary Pinkel

Of course, the situation has become increasingly political. President Barack Obama turned heads and got everyone talking last year when he said that he wasn’t sure about the safety of the sport or its future.

"“If I had a son, I’d have to think long and hard before I let him play football,”"

Obama said in 2013. The famous quote from the Commander In Chief caused a widespread ripple affect that football organizations, professional, collegiate, and youth alike, are still coming to grips with.

For Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel, it’s a double-edged sword.

While player safety is, now more than ever, at the forefront of coaches’ minds, the problem lies with protecting players while also protecting the integrity and tradition of the game. Pinkel doesn’t want to see football as we know it disappear.

"“I think when the president comes out and makes a statement the way he does without even adding more to it than that, I was just disappointed in the way he came out,”"

Pinkel said to CBS Sports.

"“Certainly, pee wee football is going to analyze (concussions), and that’s good. In terms of making all the safety precautions and helmets checked out, that’s good. I played pee wee football and I don’t ever remember a player getting hurt in pee wee football. If they want to do more investigation and study, I think that’s fine, that’s good. You want to be transparent. But this is a great game and it helps so many people.”"

Many have been waiting for the NCAA to make changes to how it approaches player safety, especially with regards to protecting the players’ heads. Now, it seems as though football programs are acting on their own, as is the case for Mizzou.

But even as Pinkel has a new strategy addressing this issue, he has doubts whether the way game is supposed to be played can be preserved.

Still, there is now too much noise being made over player safety to be ignored. And Pinkel and his MU Tigers will be heading some well-advised new practice procedures.