What Can We Take Away From Alden and Pinkel?
Dave Matter of The Columbia Tribune sat down with Gary Pinkel and Athletic Director Mike Alden at the Tiger Quarterback Club luncheon on Monday to discuss the SEC, recruiting, and Henry Josey.
Alden spoke extensively about what sparked the move to the SEC and what got the ball rolling:
"“’Then all of a sudden Sept. 2 came,’ he said. ‘We all remember dates in our mind. The date in my mind is Sept. 2. And on Sept. 2, the world as we knew it relative to Mizzou and the Big 12 Conference, changed. And it changed dramatically. It changed dramatically when comments from the Big 12 Conference, particularly the leadership team that said we’re going to have to take a look out what’s best for us.’That, of course, was the day Oklahoma President David Boren told reporters he was deciding whether OU was leaving the Big 12 and made the infamous comment: ‘I don’t think OU is going to be a wallflower when all is said and done.’”"
Alden also noted that he will be taking part in an AD conference call in the near feature to work out game schedules for the upcoming year. He expects a schedule will be release as early as Christmas.
Pinkel’s key points came during his speech to the crowd where he assured everyone that he will take full advantage of the time allowed by the SEC for recruiting. He specifically mentioned Atlanta and Florida as possible recruiting hot spots for Mizzou. He went as far as to say that “Atlanta is equivalent to Dallas as far as producing high school talent.”
Pinkel also acknowledged a possible scenario for Henry Josey’s future at Mizzou,
"“Pinkel said Josey is recovering from surgery but still needs another procedure in the coming months — the damage was so severe, his ACL will need a few months before he goes back under the knife — and sitting out the 2012 season could be an option. ‘If we have to redshirt him next year, we’ll have him for two years after that,’ Pinkel said.”"
All and all we can take away a few things from Matter’s conversation with Alden and Pinkel:
- OU is what sparked our move to the SEC
- All of us can look forward to the Christmas present of a full SEC schedule
- MU has serious enthusiasm about recruiting
- Henry Josey has a future as the Mizzou tailback.