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.

Spring game observations

I'm not going to spend a lot of time analyzing Saturday's spring game because I don't think you can learn much from a glorified scrimmage. After last year's game I thought our offense looked like it was going to be amazing (it was), Jeremy Maclin looked like a star (he is) and our defense looked like it was going to be historically bad (it ended up being pretty solid). So take everything you see in the spring with a grain of salt...

• Most of last year's seniors were in attendance to receive their Cotton Bowl rings and get a final sendoff. Greg Bracey took time to sit with the fans and show off his ring (see pic to the right). I'm pretty sure Bracey had more fun than any other fan in attendance. He was leading the Missouri Waltz, waving at his old teammates on the sideline, signing autographs and enjoying every minute of it. He was actually more entertaining than the game was.

• Like last year, our first-team offense looks really good. On their first drive they went down the field and scored a TD without even breaking a sweat. A pleasant surprise was backup tight end Jon Gissinger who led the team in receptions with 6 for 57 yards. We're obviously going to miss that Rucker guy a little bit but I think with Coffman, Gissy and freshman Andrew Jones we're still going to have one of the best sets of tight ends in the Big 12.

• Meanwhile our running backs look to be running neck and neck. Derrick Washington made some nice runs and also caught some passes out of the backfield. But just when it was looking like he was having the better day Jimmy Jackson broke off a 30-plus yard run. I think were in good hands with either one of these guys taking carries.

• Unlike last year, our first-team defense looked dominant (check the statistics in Matter's blog). Sean Weatherspoon is going to end up being one of the best linebackers that Mizzou has ever had. Even with a bum shoulder he laid a few huge hits on some guys. I also thought Castine Bridges made a couple of nice plays in coverage. It's nice to go into a season considering our defense a strength as opposed to the last few years where they've been expected to be a liability. 

• Our punting is definitely a major concern. Jake Harry mad Adam Crossett look consistent on Saturday. Fortunately there is no problem at all with Jeff Wolfert. He nailed 51 and 53-yarders Saturday. 

All in all it was probably the greatest spring game in Mizzou history (our at least the highest attended one with around 26,000 fans in attendance). It felt like everyone was celebrating last season's success for a final time while at the same time looking forward to next season with unbridled optimism.

Now onto a few links:

• Another Chase Patton article but this was a little more than your token "backup QB takes everything in stride" story. Dave Matter discusses the offseason rumors that had Patton quitting the team to attend dental school. I like it that the rumors pissed Patton off. I also like it that David Yost called him the best backup QB in the country.

• A Quin Snyder sighting by Jeff Pearlman of all people.

• It looks like Leo Lyons will likely be returning to Columbia next season. This is a good thing because it means we get a potential All-Conference player back and gives us one of the better front courts in the conference. But does anyone really expect to Leo to ever turn the corner. Doesn't he seem destined to constantly tease us with his potential but constantly battle consistency issues and in the end average no more than 14 and 6? I'm glad he's coming back but at the same time I refuse to get too excited about Mr. Halfass. 

• Max Scherzer has been on a roll in the D-Backs farm system.

• And finally, a story on Carl Gettis that has to make you feel good about the future of our defense. I love this story about how he adapted to moving to Zumwalt West in high school:
  "At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Gettis plays bigger than his size. When he started at West — an inch shorter and 10 pounds lighter — a couple of bigger players tested him by picking a fight. The legend, as Moe tells it, goes that he whipped each one and then passed out warnings to anyone else who was looking to pick on the new kid."

It's obvious Gettis won't backdown from a fight no matter who he's going against. Last season he got into a huge scuffle with an Iowa State player on the opening kickoff and during a practice this spring he got into a fight with Jeremy Maclin. You want a guy like this on your team.