Mizzou's football stadium renovations will alter Tigers' spring game
Missouri’s spring football game a week from Saturday will have a bit of a different look to it. The entire south end zone stands at Memorial Stadium have been demolished as part of a major renovation.
The construction in the end zone is for Missouri’s new football offices and facilities. It isn’t expected to be complete until the 2019 season.
Tigers coach Barry Odom said after Tuesday’s practice that the team hasn’t practiced on Faurot Field since construction began and said the players will have to make a few adjustments.
“I’m hoping the field is still 100 yards long,” he joked. “We’ll get over there this Saturday. It will be a little bit different. The sightline, you’ve got to get trained to be able to do that. Catching the ball. It’s a different environment.”
Missouri’s players will enter through the stadium entrances like fans because the tunnel they had run out of is now torn up. During the season, Missouri players will change for the game in trailers.
A spokesperson said Missouri might also only kick into the north end zone in the spring game to avoid punts or kickoffs winding up in the construction zone.
Odom said he’s been over to the construction site a few times to watch the project unfold.
“We’re really excited about what’s taking place over there,” he said. “We’ll live through some of the struggles knowing what the end is going to be like for all of us.”
Injury news
Missouri sophomore defensive end Tre Williams will miss the remainder of the spring season after undergoing surgery for a torn left labrum. Odom said the injury occured in practice and that Williams should be healthy by June.
The Tigers have had multiple players undergo the procedure. Running back Damarea Crockett had it in the fall and defensive end Charles Harris, who now plays for the Miami Dolphins, had it a few years ago.
Odom said Harris and fellow former defensive end Markus Golden have both reached out to Williams to discuss the surgery.
New offense
Offensive coordinator Derek Dooley said Missouri’s offense continues to progress.
Dooley said the team is still experimenting with different sets and hopes to accumulate enough film to be able to evaluate the changes at the end of the spring.
“We’ll figure out sort of what we’re gonna major in, what we’re gonna minor in and what we’re gonna throw out,” he said.
This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Mizzou's football stadium renovations will alter Tigers' spring game."