Mizzou football surprises Gary Pinkel with Wall of Honor addition in first-half ceremony

COLUMBIA, Mo. — With No. 1 Georgia in town Saturday, the only Missouri football coach to beat the Bulldogs became the center of attention during the game’s first timeout. 

Gary Pinkel, who in two months will be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame, was honored on Faurot Field, surrounded by family members and former players. 

The moment included a surprise: Former Tiger standouts Brad Smith and Chase Coffman were perched on the grass berm along the east sideline and pulled a black cloth from the brick wall, unveiling Pinkel’s name as the newest addition to the Mizzou Wall of Honor. Mizzou kept that part a secret leading up to the game.

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Based on how the first half unfolded, Mizzou might want to honor Pinkel during every game. The Tigers took a 16-6 lead into halftime.

Pinkel’s presence was a reminder of Mizzou’s past greatness — and just how hard it was to develop a winner in Columbia. Pinkel, 70, the Tigers’ coach from 2001-15 and the career wins leader at both Toledo and Mizzou, will be enshrined in the NFF College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. Other inductees include former Georgia defensive back Champ Bailey, linebacker LaVar Arrington (Penn State), defensive back Roy Williams (Oklahoma) and receiver Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech).

“It’s the most incredible honor that you could ever have,” Pinkel said before Saturday’s game. “It’s about a lot of people. It’s not all about Gary Pinkel. It’s about the great staffs that I had, the guys that worked here. It’s about all my players. It’s about all the support people. It’s about all things that we did in our program — and I just happened to get the award for it. I’m deeply honored. It was quite an emotional experience when I found out … I’m going to be part of that.”

Pinkel, who splits his time between Columbia, the Lake of the Ozarks and Naples, Florida, retired after the 2015 season, following his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis earlier that year. He undergoes annual checkups at the Mayo Clinic but has been healthy for the last several years.

The Tigers entered Saturday’s game on an eight-game losing streak against Georgia, underscoring the importance of Mizzou’s 2013 upset in Athens, Georgia, a victory that launched Pinkel’s team toward its first of two straight SEC East Division championships.

Pinkel recalled Saturday the challenges behind the rebuilding process he oversaw.

“It was honestly so much more difficult than I thought it was gonna be,” he said, “because you’re changing the culture. You’re changing how people think. And you’re uniting people as you do this. … At times it was very, very difficult. But when we took off we won at the highest levels. There’s a lot of things I could have done to win more games in terms of more success, but I really felt when I handed the keys over that Missouri football was at a much, much higher level than when I got it, which was my responsibility.”

How does he feel about the Tigers’ season through the first month? He’s careful never to criticize his successors, but he recognized the struggles.

“It’s hard to win, man. It’s hard to win. I had my tough years going through it like that. Tonight is a great opportunity. You try to get keep getting better. I always told people: It’s hard to win. It’s a tough job.”

Luther Burden III good to go

Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III runs with the ball after a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

L.G. Patterson

A little more than two hours before Missouri and Georgia kicked off, Luther Burden III arrived in his team-issued suit, headphones on during Tiger Walk with the sound of Marching Mizzou pushing the team on. Burden’s parents stood waiting for him at the beginning of the spiral that leads to Memorial Stadium. One hug for his mom on his way past, another for dad, and the receiver was on his way.

An hour later, he was on the field, dressed in Mizzou’s black and gold and no aid other than some tape around his cleats — not an uncommon sight among the MU receivers on the field.

Missouri fans could exhale.

After a week of highly unfounded postulation and speculation when the five-star recruit wiped his Instagram account, Burden was a Tiger on Saturday, after all. After being listed as questionable on the injury report, Burden was good to go.

And if all that wasn’t enough, he was directly involved in both of Missouri’s scoring plays in the first half. Burden’s second reception took the Tigers 27 yards from the end zone, plenty close enough for Harrison Mevis to convert a 41-yarder and open Missouri’s scoring. 

The wide receiver also drew a pass interference call on Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter, taking the Tigers inside the Georgia 15-yard line. On the new set of downs, Missouri made its way into the end zone in three plays — a third-and-six pass to tight end Tyler Stephens.

Burden’s production came more often than in previous games, and it came quickly, too.

He fielded the punt that came on the first drive of the day — a fair catch — and he also got a touch on Missouri’s first play, receiving a toss from Brady Cook while in motion, which he took right and for a gain of four yards.

Burden finished the half with three receptions for 16 yards. He was targeted five times.

Missouri, UGA pregame kerfuffle 

Missouri and Georgia players had to be separated an hour before the game after a few Bulldogs appeared to walk through the Tigers’ pregame drills in the south end zone. Georgia defensive Jalen Carter and MU defensive tackle Darius Robinson spent the most time shouting at each other as some light shoving ensued. Carter had to leave the game in the first half after MU offensive linemen appeared to cut block him below the waist.

Calum McAndrew contributed to this story.

Dave Matter brings you the latest updates from the Mizzou sports scene.