SICK TIGERS: More than 20 Missouri players were sick on Tuesday in what coach Gary Pinkel called a ?bowl bug.?
?I?ve never really seen it go through a team like this, but we will work it out,? Pinkel said. ?It seems like it?s a 12-24 hour deal.?
The source of the bug or virus is unknown, but Lorenzo Williams said it was Brian Smith who started it all.
?It started with Smitty (Monday) night at the banquet,? Williams said. ?I was sitting by Smitty and me and Tony Temple and a couple of other dudes sitting by him woke up this morning and there were about 20 guys, half the coaching staff and their kids (were all sick).?
Pinkel said players were throwing up on the sidelines, wide receiver coach Andy Hill could barely stand because of the bug and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus had to take his infant daughter to the hospital because of dehydration.
?My wife said, ?Oh this is no big deal, this happened to our kids,? Pinkel said. ?Well I didn?t know what happened to our kids, I was coaching.?
Williams said being sick will help the team be tougher mentally because they are working through the illness.
?It?s like fighting yourself,? Williams said. ?Human nature is you want to sit down, but (the players) motivate each other.?
Rucker, who is healthy, said he is avoiding the players that are sick, and in case there is a problem with the food he doesn?t eat anyone?s eggs besides his mothers. Rucker said he didn?t realize how bad things were until he went into the training room and Rex Sharp, MU?s director of sports medicine, lost track of names because his injury list was so long.
Pinkel said he is still healthy because he came prepared for illness and he got a flu shot.
Although, Pinkel said the ill players wouldn?t impact the preparation for the Sun Bowl, he did say today?s practice is key.
?My big concern is to get through this thing or minimize the damage so we can have a good practice (today), that is kind of what my concern is now,? Pinkel said.
Williams was optimistic, saying that everybody that was sick Monday was not sick Tuesday.
?So hopefully (today) we will be alright,? he said.
?I?ve never really seen it go through a team like this, but we will work it out,? Pinkel said. ?It seems like it?s a 12-24 hour deal.?
The source of the bug or virus is unknown, but Lorenzo Williams said it was Brian Smith who started it all.
?It started with Smitty (Monday) night at the banquet,? Williams said. ?I was sitting by Smitty and me and Tony Temple and a couple of other dudes sitting by him woke up this morning and there were about 20 guys, half the coaching staff and their kids (were all sick).?
Pinkel said players were throwing up on the sidelines, wide receiver coach Andy Hill could barely stand because of the bug and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus had to take his infant daughter to the hospital because of dehydration.
?My wife said, ?Oh this is no big deal, this happened to our kids,? Pinkel said. ?Well I didn?t know what happened to our kids, I was coaching.?
Williams said being sick will help the team be tougher mentally because they are working through the illness.
?It?s like fighting yourself,? Williams said. ?Human nature is you want to sit down, but (the players) motivate each other.?
Rucker, who is healthy, said he is avoiding the players that are sick, and in case there is a problem with the food he doesn?t eat anyone?s eggs besides his mothers. Rucker said he didn?t realize how bad things were until he went into the training room and Rex Sharp, MU?s director of sports medicine, lost track of names because his injury list was so long.
Pinkel said he is still healthy because he came prepared for illness and he got a flu shot.
Although, Pinkel said the ill players wouldn?t impact the preparation for the Sun Bowl, he did say today?s practice is key.
?My big concern is to get through this thing or minimize the damage so we can have a good practice (today), that is kind of what my concern is now,? Pinkel said.
Williams was optimistic, saying that everybody that was sick Monday was not sick Tuesday.
?So hopefully (today) we will be alright,? he said.
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