The 2011 Missouri Tigers football team represented the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in the

2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 1, 2011 and ended on D ...

. The team was coached by

Gary Pinkel Gary Robin Pinkel (born April 27, 1952) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record o ...

, who returned for his 11th season, and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. It was the Tigers' final season in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

as they departed for the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

in 2012. They finished the season 8–5, 5–4 in Big 12 play to finish in fifth place. They were invited to the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

where they defeated

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

41–24. The NCAA recognized Missouri's football program for ranking in the top 10% of the country for

Academic Progress Rate The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the nonprofit association that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, ...

for the 2011–12 academic year, MU's final year as members of the Big 12.

Recruits

Key Losses: * QB

Blaine Gabbert Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri before leaving early for the 2011 NFL Draft after hi ...

* WR Forrest Shock * TB Matt Davis * QB Daryus Allen * C Tim Barnes * OL Kirk Lakebrink * OL LeeRoy Mitchell * DE

Aldon Smith Aldon Jacarus Smith (born September 25, 1989) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Smith also played ...

* S Jarrell Harrison * DL Bart Coslet * LB Andrew Gachkar * LB Jeff Gettys * DB Munir Prince * DB Carl Gettis * DB

Kevin Rutland Kevin Rutland (born April 2, 1988) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Missouri. Professional career Jackso ...

* DB Tony Buhr * P Matt Grabner QB

chose to forgo his senior year eligibility and enter the NFL draft in 2011. Four days after Gabbert declared for the NFL draft, sophomore DE

also declared.

Sheldon Richardson Sheldon Adam Richardson (born November 29, 1990) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Missouri, and was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Richardson has ...

, a 6' 4"

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

originally from

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, signed a

Letter of Intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

to play for the Tigers in 2011. He was ranked as the #1 DT prospect in the nation from many recruiting analysts, and a 5* rating (out of 5). He also was ranked as the #1 player at any position in the State of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He originally signed with Mizzou in February 2009, but had to go to

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

(

College of the Sequoias College of the Sequoias (COS) is a public two-year community college in Visalia, California. The college is named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. History College of the Sequoias was originally esta ...

, in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

) to improve his grades; played DT for them in the past two years. He was also rated the #3 junior college prospect by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. He also can play offensive

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

as well as defensive tackle. Michael Boddie, Gerrand Johnson, and Wesley Leftwich signed LOI prior to Feb. 3 and enrolled in classes this Spring semester
'More Info'
All 17 recruits signed their

National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

during the National Signing Period (February 3, 2011 – April 1, 2011). The recruits signed by February 2. Fully one-half (9) of the 17 recruits are from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and four were in

; two of those four were from

. The Mizzou class consists of four offensive linemen, four defensive backs, three linebackers, two wide receivers, two defensive tackles, a defensive end, and a quarterback. Richardson is the only junior college transfer. A capsule look at Mizzou's signee
here

Schedule

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

Miami (OH)

@ Arizona State

Western Illinois

@ Oklahoma

@ Kansas State

Iowa State

Oklahoma State

@ Texas A&M

@ Baylor

Texas

Texas Tech

vs. Kansas (in Kansas City)

vs. North Carolina (2011 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl)

References

{{Missouri Tigers football navbox

Missouri Tigers football seasons Independence Bowl champion seasons

Missouri Tigers football The Missouri Tigers football program represents the University of Missouri (often referred to as Mizzou) in college football and competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Missouri's ...