Mizzou ready to compete at annual Black & Gold Spring Game
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou Football fans will get their first glimpse at Eli Drinkwitz's 2024 team in game action on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers are getting set for the annual Black & Gold Spring Game and are excited to compete against each other for some bragging rights.
"The core value in the building is always compete, so everyone's trying to win. All of us are trying to win tomorrow, and that's just the nature of this building. If we're keeping score, then we're trying to win. It could be checkers or whatever, but we're trying to win," Curtis Luper, who will coach Team Black on Saturday, said.
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou running backs coach Curtis Luper in the video player below.
"We're going to run fast. We're going to chase the ball. We're going to make plays in the air. We're going to throw it deep," D.J. Smith, who will coach Team Gold on Saturday, said. "What more can you expect from a spring football game, but it's going to be fun. Play hard, play with an edge and don't leave anything on the table."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou linebackers coach D.J. Smith in the video player below.
The team announced its six captains for Saturday's game back on Thursday. Mookie Cooper, Johnny Walker Jr. and Theo Wease Jr. are the captains for Team Gold while Brady Cook, Chuck Hicks and Christopher Kreh will be the captains of Team Black. At Friday's media availability, coaches and players praised Kreh for the leadership he brings to the team.
"Cody Schrader was not the leader of the running back room last year, Chris Kreh was," Luper said. "Chris was the person that made sure everyone was in meetings on time. We have rules at practice. No jewelry, you have to have thigh pads in and guys like to wear their necklaces out. Chris was the jewelry police for me. He did it all. I didn't want Cody to have that responsibility. Cody would've done it, but I wanted Cody just to focus on what he had to do, so Chris was the leader. He's that type of a leader, and guys listen to him."
"You may not recognize who [Chris] is, but he works hard. He's like one of those guys that it's hard to outwork him. The workouts he's finishing faster than everybody," Chuck Hicks said. "He gives me a hard time with a lot of things when we go against each other. I love his competition, and I love his work ethic."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou linebacker Chuck Hicks in the video player below.
"It just comes down to accepting your role on this team. I might not be the greatest football player, but I know I can motivate people," Christopher Kreh said. "Just kind of accepting your role on the football team really helped me just kind of say like I'm going to be my best at motivating and leading people."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou running back Christopher Kreh in the video player below.
A cool aspect of this season's spring game is the players got to draft their teams. Team Black selected center Connor Tollison with its first pick while Team Gold drafted tight end Brett Norfleet with its first selection. Cook, Wease Jr. and Walker Jr. explained their strategy behind selecting Tollison and Norfleet with their first round draft picks.
"With me, as a quarterback, it's really important to have your center, so I went with Connor Tollison. I think it's a smart pick. I think he's going to make the right reads, the right calls. He's going to get the ball back there to me, and we're going to be in sync," Cook said.
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook in the video player below.
"It was pretty easy. Me, Johnny and Mookie, we came to a quick agreement on that one," Wease Jr. said, referring to selecting Norfleet with their first pick. "He's explosive, he can go out there and play receiver, he's going to get the blocking job done too."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. in the video player below.
"I picked Norfleet first. I kind of seen him and Brady had a good connection, so I kind of wanted to take that away from Brady a little bit," Walker Jr. said. "Norfleet is a playmaker. I just had to get him first before Brady could."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou defensive lineman Johnny Walker Jr. in the video player below.
Saturday's Black & Gold Spring Game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Faurot Field. Admission to the event will be free.
