Howard, Lions begin life without Hinspeter
JOPLIN, Mo. — Ask any football coach out there and, naturally, they’ll say losing the team’s all-time offensive leader would be a difficult hurdle to overcome.
Adam Hinspeter passed his way into Missouri Southern history last year as the all-time leader in total offense (8,881), completions (842) and passing yards (9,016). He also concluded his career at Missouri Southern as the MIAA all-time leader in completions.
The good news: Collin Howard eclipsed any uncertainty about who would be the Lions’ signal caller this year after locking up the starting position heading into spring practice in April.
Now, as Howard and the rest of the squad took the field for the first time in nearly five months, the Lions look to reverse their fortunes after finishing the 2008 campaign with a 4-7 record overall and 2-7 in the MIAA.
“We’re finally getting to play football,” said Howard, a Webb City native who, as a senior, was named Missouri’s Gatorade Football Player of the Year, before practice began shortly after 10 a.m. “I have to keep a spot now instead of earn a spot, but I still have the same mentality.”
The Missouri Southern football team opened its 2009 preseason camp Thursday at Fred G. Hughes Stadium, with more than 120 players reporting.
The Lions, who enter their fourth year under head coach Bart Tatum, began last season with successive wins until Pittsburg State held on for a 21-14 win in week three. From there, the Lions went 2-6 the rest of the way, including four consecutive losses to end the season, after posting a 6-5 record in 2007.
Southern returns eight starters on offense and nine on defense from last year, including senior linebacker Jared Brawner who, after being named an All-American in 2008 by Daktronics, has been named a preseason first-team All-American by the Consensus Draft Services (CDS).
After winning only two out of their final eight games last season, Brawner admitted on Thursday the Lions “took a step back” last year. “We want to see results on the field,” he said. “This is a whole different team with a whole different attitude.”
During the offseason, Tatum announced the addition of 43 high school players to the 2009 spring recruiting class, which includes 23 athletes from the state of Missouri, 12 from Texas, five from Arkansas, two from Oklahoma and one from Illinois.
"We tried for a comprehensive class," said Tatum of the breakdown of positions. "There wasn’t one position we left out this year. We covered it all.
“We had a great spring, an exceptional spring. We really challenged them with their conditioning, their strength and endurance in addition to spring football. This summer you can’t chart who’s here and you can’t coach them, but you really get a feel about how many people are around, and it’s really been exemplary. That always pays off on the field.”
The Lions return five players who were named to the 2008 All-MIAA team including Johnny Johnson, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound senior WR from St. Louis, Brawner, David Benham, a 6-foot-5, 286-pound senior DL from Okeene, Okla., Skyler Vandiver, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound junior DB from Maryville, Justin Cowper, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior from Opelika, Ala.
Due to NCAA regulations, preseason practice will begin with a five-day acclimatization period for both first-time participants (e.g., freshman and transfers) and continuing student-athletes.
The Lions, who were picked to finish seventh in both the MIAA coaches and media preseason football polls, open the 2009 season at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at Harding University. The Lions home opener is Saturday, Sept. 19, against Emporia State.
