Unexpected Contributions: Ziggy Hood and Jon Gissinger Could Be Key For Mizzou

Special to Bleacher Report

In 2007 the Missouri Tigers had one of the greatest seasons in school history. It was a season that MU students, alumni, fans and even players have described as nothing short of magical.

The success of ’07 however, would not have been possible without the emergence of several players who made critical unexpected contributions throughout the season. Last year few people outside of Columbia had ever even heard the names Jeremy Maclin, William Moore or Pig Brown but now those names are familiar to college football fans around the country. If the Tigers are to remain in the national spotlight they will need a new batch of players to give them the same kind of pleasant surprises this fall.

There’s no sense discussing the impact that Chase Daniel, Chase Coffman, Maclin and Moore will have on Mizzou’s season. If those guys are healthy they’ll be All-Big 12 players and a couple of them will likely be All-Americans.

But there are two players, one on offense and one on defense, that I want to discuss who are relatively unknown to most college football fans and have the potential to help the Tigers reach even greater heights next season.

For the past three seasons Gary Pinkel’s high octane offense has featured a two-headed beast at tight end in Coffman and Martin Rucker. With Rucker graduated, MU is anticipating the arrival of the No. 5-ranked (according to scout.com) freshman tight end, Andrew Jones.

But it is another tight end that I expect to lining up with Coffman next year and his name is Jon Gissinger. Playing has been hard to come by for the junior who has been relegated to special teams the past two years. But that’s not necessarily anything Gissinger could help. If he would have beat out Rucker or Coffman for a starting role then you’d be looking at the best tight end in college football.

But while Gissinger doesn’t have the size or athleticism of Rucker or Coffman, he does have a great set of hands and, if the Black and Gold game is any indication, has already developed some chemistry with Daniel. Gissinger didn’t drop a pass and led the Tigers in receiving during the spring game, catching six balls for 57 yards. He also appeared to be getting open all day long.

Gissinger’s probably not an All-Conference type of player but appears to be in the Tommy Saunders (senior MU wide receiver) mold in that he is a good route runner who may not wow with his ability but will make you marvel at his consistency.

On the defensive side of the ball d-lineman Ziggy Hood is not quite the unknown that Gissinger is but Hood has a chance to make the same kind of leap in his senior season that Pig Brown and William Moore made from ’06 to ’07.

Hood earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors last season but his performance in the Cotton Bowl has led many of the MU coaches to suggest that bigger things could be in store for Ziggy.

Hood annihilated the Arkansas offensive lineman and collected 6 tackles and 1.5 sacks. If Gissinger’s ceiling is solid contributor with remarkable consistency then Ziggy could be a potential All-American candidate. And that could potentially make Mizzou’s defense the second best unit in the Big 12 (behind Oklahoma).

And if that happens then the Tigers could potentially be the 2008 National Champions.