University Daily Kansan / Wednesday Aug. 23,1989
13B
Talented Tigers face rugged slate
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The first two football programs he rescued from the scrap heap had nothing approaching the talent Bob Stull found at Missouri.
The best tight end in the Big Eight, and possibly the nation, was here waiting for the former head coach at Texas-El Paso and the University of Massachusetts. So was a senior defensive back who lacks just one interception to set a school record.
So was a senior defensive end, now switched to tackle, who has started 30 consecutive games and established himself as one of the Big Eight's best. And so was a bevy of highly sought young players, many of whom had been redshirted by the previous coaching staff amid signs that the program was slowly getting back on its feet.
As a result, 43-year-old Bob Stull stepped into a situation that most first-year coaches can only envy. If the Tigers are rebuilding, they're not exactly starting in the basement. If a killer schedule can be survived and the Tigers catch a break here and there and don't suffer any disastrous injuries, Missouri just might be the sleeper team of 1989.
But Woody Widenhofer was victimized by a change at the top. New chancellor Haskell Monroe had worked with Stull at Texas-EI Paso, and Widenhofer's fate seemed sealed a year ago when the Tigers finished a disappointing 3-7-1.
"We have some players," Stull told Big Eight Skywriters Monday. "I'm not saying we'll be solid everywhere. But we definitely have some players here."
One obvious difference in the 1989 Tigers are their uniforms. The traditional outfits have been replaced by new duds that bear a striking resemblance to the New Orleans Saints, minus the players' named emblazoned across the backs of the jerseys. On the front left chest of each uniform is also a logo noting the university's 150th anniversary.
Calif.
But it's the new offense that most players and fans are looking forward to. Stull, who likes to make liberal use of the forward pass, discovered in spring drills that he had only one
And, possibly most significantly, tight end Tim Bruton was told to forget about all the run-oriented schemes he had been chaffing under and get ready to catch some passes. The 6-4, 245-pound junior caught 28 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers' ground game.
Then he caught five in the spring game alone.
1X9
"If you project that over an entire season, five catches a game comes to
— Bob Stull Missouri head coach
We have some players. I'm not saying we'll be solid everywhere. But we definitely have some players here.'
wide receiver. So from the junior college ranks came Linzy Collins, a 6-foot-2 speedster who made 50 catches for 988 yards and 13 touchdowns a year ago at Bakersfield, 55 for the season, and that would be great with me," said Bruton, who considered transferring when the Tigers first switched to the wishbone. "Coach Stull brought my dream back to me."
Throwing the passes will be either John Stolenwerck, a returning senior letterman, or junior Kent Kiefer.
"Both are good, smart guys." Stull said. "I think our guys definitely have the leadership abilities. Kent Kiefer originally went to Arizona State. We will hope to have one No.1 quarterback named and stick with him. But the competition is close."
The Tigers caught a tough break in spring practice when linebacker A.J. Miller went down with a severe knee injury. He was first thought to be lost for the year. But now, says Stull, he may get back much sooner.
"He had major reconstructive knee surgery, the sort of thing that almost always keeps a player out at least a year," Stull said. "But now we're thinking he could be back as early as October."
Organization will discuss doping rules
Johnson may lose track record
The Associated Press
DUISBURG, West Germany — Track and field's world governing body will discuss possible action that could strip Ben Johnson of the 100-meter world record at its congress in Barcelona next month, the head of the organization said Monday.
The Canadian's record of 9.83 seconds was set at the 1987 World Championships in Rome.
Johnson tested positive for steroids at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and was stripped of the gold medal after finishing first in 9.79. The time, which would have been a world record, was annulled.
Johnson admitted to a government inquiry in Canada into drug abuse in sports that he had been taking steroids long before the 1987 World Championships. He passed post-race dope tests in Rome.
Primo Nebilo, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, said that the decision would include possible retroactive action against athletes who have admitted to taking banned performance-enhancing drugs. However, Nebilo refused to be drawn specifically into discussions about
whether Johnson was in danger of being stripped of his title and world record.
Nebiolo is in Duisburg for the World University Games that begin Tuesday.
A special sitting of the IAAF Council at Vienna in July drew up
W,
'We won't discuss the Johnson case specifically, but we will organize a plan to fight doping in general.' — Primo Nebiolo President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation
draft proposals to enable it to deal more effectively with the doping question.
The proposals will be put to the 37th IAAF Congress Sept. 5-6 at Barcelona, before the World Cup.
The congress will discuss revisions and tighter doping control rules, as well as the introduction of immediate out-of-competition testing as part of the IAAF doping control program.
Unannounced doping control by the IAAF has been conducted at five national championships selected at random, including both the West German and Spanish championships, Aug. 11-13. Except for Belgium, which revealed no positive tests, no results are yet available.
Official places responsibility for drug scandal at Olympics on athletes and their coaches
The Associated Press
TORONTO — Athletes, coaches and track officials share the blame for Canada's humiliation over the Ben Johnson scandal, said the head of the Ontario Track and Field Association.
"We all share responsibility for what happened," association chairman Rolf Lund told the federal inquiry into drug use in amateur sports Monday.
Johnson tested positive for steroids at last fall's Seoul Olympics and was stripped of a gold medal and new world record for the 100-meter dash.
Lund told the inquiry "any knowledgeable coach would have noticed the (physical) changes" in Johnson and other top Canadian top athletes, who have told the inquiry they took the banned muscle-building drugs for years.
In fact, Lund said he suspected Johnson and others were using steroids as early as the mid-1980s, but he said he always lacked hard evidence to prove it.
Lund told the inquiry last week that he finally reported his suspicions about Johnson to Jean-Guy
Ouellette, chairman of the Canadian Track and Field Association, before the Seoul Olympics.
Lund said that when he also confronted Charlie Francis with his suspicions, the sprinter's coach threatened legal action and Lund dropped the matter.
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Lund also suggested a darker threat tied the hands of track officials.
"If we were to pursue it more aggressively, there could be some risk to our personal safety," Lund said. "The money involved in the illicit steroid market was such that, yes, there was certainly some concern."
Lund didn't say who they feared, but other witnesses — namely Francis — accused Ouellete of trying to delay a plan to institute random drug testing of Canadian 1940s.
If the plan went ahead, Ouellette promised to give athletes advance warning, Francis said.
Ouellette, who will appear before the inquiry this week, has denied the allegations.
The inquiry, headed by Justice Charles Dubin, is expected to wrap up next month.
Anchoring the defensive line will be Lee Johnson. The 6-1, 275-pound senior led the Big Eight's down linemen with 10 tackles for 51 yards in losses last year, and tied Miller for the team lead with five quarterback sacks.
America lists.
The offensive line could be fairly solid. The Tigers believe they may have a future all-star in freshman center Brad Funk, 6-3, 261. The running backs are Tommie Stowers and Michael Jones, who totaled about 1,200 yards last year between them.
The star of the defense will probably once again be Adrian Jones. The 6-0, 180-pound hitter has twice led the Big Eight in interceptions and appears on many pre-season all-
"There is more discipline than we've ever had here before," said Jones, who has started 33 games for Missouri and will set the team record when he starts seven more. "I think discipline is just the thing that's been lacking around here."
Jones, tabbed the best defense back in the Big Eight last year by Oklahaoma State all-American Hart Lee Dykes, says there is a new attitude at Mizzou.
Stull is no stranger to the Big Eight. He was a three-year letterman for Kansas State and captained the Wildcats in 1967. A look-alike to actor Dennis Weaver, Stull comes in with a five-year head coaching record of 31-
27. It's actually much more impressive than it sounds. At Massachusetts, he went 3-8 his first year and then improved to 7-4 with the second-ranked scoring offense in the country.
Of course, other coaches have tried to awaken what has been described the "sleeping giant" of Missouri football and failed. But Stull frankly admits he sees no reason to fail.
In 1985 at Texas-E Paso, he inherited a program that had 15 wins and 114 losses since 1974. Last year, their 10-2 record was a school record, and fetched the Miners' first bowl bid since 1967.
The schedule, however, is murderous. The Tigers open with TCU, then
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go to Indiana, then come home to face Miami. Then following a road game at Arizona State, the Tigers jump into the conference with back-to-back dates with pre-season favorites Colorado and Nebraska.
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"I think people are pretty realistic about what it takes to be a success in this league," he said. "But we do have some advantages other schools don't have. Being the only state school in the state is certainly a big one, especially when you are between two major population centers."
"And Missouri's history has almost always been a solid football tradition. That doesn't mean they've been on top of Oklahoma and Nebraska. But I do we have a lot of advantages here. It was a good opportunity."
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