Missouri notebook: Christopher wears O’Neal’s number

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Seniors honor O’Neal

Senior linebacker Brock Christopher wore No. 25 for Missouri on Saturday night instead of his usual No. 34.

It’s the start of the MU senior class’ latest move to honor Aaron O’Neal, a former teammate who died following a voluntary summer workout on July 12, 2005.

Each week a different senior player, determined by a vote of the MU seniors, will wear No. 25. The current season would have been O’Neal’s senior year at Mizzou.

•True freshman Kenji Jackson played for the first time on the MU kickoff team to open the game. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert played for the first time six seconds into the third quarter. Gabbert completed his first pass as a Tiger for 14 yards to true freshman Jerrell Jackson, who lost his redshirt against Illinois.

•MU officials confirmed that while he wasn’t listed on the participation chart as having played against Illinois, true freshman receiver Wes Kemp did play and lost his redshirt in that game. On Saturday night, Kemp caught his first pass as a Tiger (from Chase Patton) with a bit more than four minutes left in the third quarter.

•The attendance was 62,305. That gathering is the fourth-largest crowd in a Missouri home opener.

| Mike DeArmond, mdearmond@kcstar.com

Posted on Sat, Sep. 06, 2008 10:15 PM

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