Missouri State head coach Terry Allen and the football Bears officially began spring practice Monday at Plaster Field. The team will work out 15 times before concluding April 24 with the annual Maroon & White Game.
The Bears will conduct their first four workouts this week, scheduled for 3:20 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before a 9 a.m. workout on Thursday. A complete list of spring workout dates is as follows
- Mon., March 29
- Tue., March 30
- Wed., March 31
- Thur., April 1
- Tue., April 6
- Wed., April 7
- Thu., April 8
- Sat., April 10
- Tue., April 13
- Wed., April 14
- Thu., April 15
- Sat., April 17
- Tue., April 20
- Wed., April 21
- Sat., April 24 (1 p.m. Maroon & White Game)
(all workout dates and times are subject to change due to weather and other considerations).
Allen, who will begin his fifth season at the helm of the Bears, returns 45 lettermen and 69 total squad members from a 2009 team that finished 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Among the 16 returning starters are first-team All-MVFC performers Antoine Wilkinson (Sr., LB, Magnolia, Miss.,), and David Arkin (Sr., OL, Wichita, Kan.) as well as second-team all-conference picks Waylon Richardet (Sr., DE, Perryville, Mo.) and Skylar Smith (Sr., S, Springfield, Mo.) in addition to honorable mention selection Cody Kirby (Sr., QB, Rogers, Ark.) and Jordan Chiles (Jr., P, Hillsboro, Ill.).
Wilkinson was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2009, and was joined on the all-newcomer team by fellow returnees Adam Beauchamp (Sr., LB, Prescott Valley, Ariz.), Michael Keck (Jr., LB, Harrisonville, Mo.), Mikael Cooper-Falls (So., TB, Springfield, Mo.), and Cadarrius Dotson (So. WR, Memphis, Tenn.).
Missouri State is tentatively slated to begin its 2010 campaign at home on Thursday, Sept. 2 against Eastern Kentucky. That date may be altered, pending plans to install new permanent lighting at Plaster Field.
