HOOVER, Ala. – Every coach has a different way he approaches the game and runs his program.
Some use low rankings by the media to inspire the team to prove the critics wrong. Some place a premium on raking in five-star recruits.
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel isn’t one of them.
“We don’t look at stars, never have, in our evaluation,” Pinkel said. “It’s never come up in our system that we use …They don’t really have to be great football players. We can teach them how to be great football players.”
Pinkel’s way may not be popular, but it has worked for the Tigers, who have won the Southeastern Conference eastern division for the past two seasons.
In spite of the accolades Missouri has accumulated in the last few years, many believe Missouri doesn’t receive the respect it deserves.
Although being overlooked may drive some players, senior center Evan Boehm and junior quarterback Maty Mauk said they don’t pay attention to what others think of the program.
While the media might not make much of the Tigers, senior defensive back Kenya Dennis said opposing players respect what they’ve accomplished.
“Other teams know we are pretty good,” Dennis said. “After the game, they will come and talk to you and tell you what they expected from you and what you got from you. They always tell us [that] we played a hard fought game.”
Looking forward to the start of the season, Mauk hopes to become more consistent in his second year as the starter behind veteran Boehm.
Although he tossed 25 touchdowns and recorded more than 2,000 passing yards last season, Mauk buckled under the pressure at times last season, especially against Georgia on Oct. 11.
Mauck went 9-for-21 with four interceptions in Missouri’s 34-0 shutout loss to the Bulldogs.
Looking forward to the 2015 season, Mauk’s ability to limit mistakes and play a higher level consistently will be crucial to the Tigers’ ability to compete against elite teams.
“The main thing for me is becoming more consistent,” Mauk said. “Last year, I had my ups and downs… I don’t want to just talk about it, I want to go out there and do it. I have to improve on accuracy and I’ve been doing things to improve that. We’ve been out there every day.”