AUBURN AUTHORITY

Gary Pinkel: Health concerns related to up-tempo offenses 'fictional'

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel referred to health concerns tied to fast-paced offenses as 'fictional.'

HOOVER -- The pace of play debate isn't going away anytime soon and the SEC may be the most divided conference.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was an outspoken leader of the opposition to the proposed 10-second rule this spring, which was soundly defeated before it ever faced a vote, and Missouri's Gary Pinkel sounded off at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.

"I think it's fiction," Pinkel said of the health concerns due to fact-paced offenses. "Fiction based on that. Never even come up before."

Missouri has run an up-tempo offense for several years in both the SEC and in its days in the Big XII.

"We came from the Big 12.The Big 12 has been doing the fast‑paced thing for the last seven years. I think most coaches will tell you, they probably play faster in that league than anywhere," Pinkel said. "I don't know where all this started with. I just know this, okay: never once in all those years in the fastest league I think that plays football in the Big 12 did I have my team doctor, my trainer, any of my coordinators walk into my office and say, I'm concerned about the health of our football team. It didn't happen ever. Didn't happen last year or the year before.

"It's another form of football. I think it's great that that's another component to football and being creative. But I don't buy the health issue in any way. It's never happened. No one has ever come into me all those years and said, Gosh, I'm really concerned about the health of our teams playing these fast‑paced offenses."

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema and Alabama's Nick Saban were the leading voices in favor of the 10-second rule.

Bielema is scheduled to speak Wednesday afternoon.