Each year the media takes a look at the SEC and formulates a preseason team of players who they believe will have the most impact on the conference for the upcoming season. This year’s edition of the Preseason All-SEC Team features four Mizzou players: senior defensive end Markus Golden, junior center Evan Boehm, junior place kicker Andrew Baggett, and senior tailback Marcus Murphy.

Golden, a St. Louis native, was voted to the second team, in part due to the 6.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss that he racked up during the team’s SEC Eastern Division title run, despite only playing 40 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. He also led the team with 55 tackles.

Boehm, who hails from Lee’s Summit, Mo., was picked for the third team. He has started 26 consecutive games on the offensive line for Mizzou and was crucial to the team’s 237.9 rushing yards per game last season, good for second in the conference.

Baggett, also from Lee’s Summit and selected to the third team, led the team in points last season with 120 and made four straight kicks to cap off Mizzou’s spectacular season, two each in the SEC Championship and the Cotton Bowl.

Murphy, who joined the team all the way from DeSoto, Texas, was also named to the third team. He has been is a versatile TD producer all throughout his career, having scored on the ground 12 times, through the air once, and four times on kickoffs and punt returns. He ranks 8^th all-time on Mizzou’s all-purpose yards list entering his senior season, with just under 3,200.

The team’s season will commence on August 30 versus the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, a matchup that will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

Former Mizzou Football center A.J. Ricker will rejoin the team as an assistant offensive line coach a decade after graduating, Head Coach Gary Pinkel announced Monday.

“We’re really excited to have A.J. join our staff,” Pinkel said. “When we had this opportunity, we wanted to bring a young coach in who had experience, and A.J. fits that perfectly. He understands our system, he loves Mizzou and he can’t wait to get started.”

Ricker is replacing assistant coach Bruce Walker, who retired from Mizzou earlier this month.

Ricker played for the Tigers from 2000-2003 and served as captain for two years. Throughout his college career he started 47 consecutive games as a center. This streak began Mizzou’s record for most games started in a row at any position. He now stands fifth overall in the team’s consecutive start chart and second among centers. During his senior season he was a 1^st-Team All-Big 12 center as part of Mizzou’s first bowl-eligible team since 1998.

Ricker is only the second former football Tiger to rejoin the team as a full-time assistant coach. The other is Matt Eberflus, who coached at Mizzou from 2001-2008.

“That’s a neat thing for me personally,” Pinkel said. “It’s kind of an honor for one of your former guys to want to teach the same game you helped him to learn.“

Ricker is thrilled to be back coaching at his alma mater, although he’s not letting any nostalgia disrupt his focus on coaching.

“Obviously, coming home is a big deal to me,” Ricker said. “But I want people to know that’s the not the important thing, I’m coming here to do a job to teach the game and do it at a really high level.  My biggest focus is to get there and take what I’ve learned at all my different stops, roll my sleeves up and get to work to help us win a lot of ballgames.”

After graduating from the University of Missouri in 2004 with a degree in agriculture, Ricker signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears. He then played for the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm in 2006 and 2007 before he retired from playing.

He began his coaching career in 2006 as a graduate assistant at Western Michigan and was promoted to full-time offensive line coach after two seasons. He then moved to St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., where he was the offensive line coach in 2009 and the team’s head coach in 2010.  He went back to WMU for the next two seasons as offensive line coordinator and run game coordinator. Ricker spent last season as the offensive line coach at the University of Illinois.

Ricker was born in Windsor, Mo., and graduated high school in Klein, Texas. He and his wife, Lauren, have an infant son named Andrew.

Mizzou Tiger football fans have one more reason to look forward to the 2014 season: Truman’s Terrace. The new tailgating area is set to open along with the rest of The ZOU’s east side expansion in time for Mizzou’s first home game against South Dakota State on August 30.

Truman’s Terrace is located on the southeast side of the stadium, where the Amphitheater at Mizzou formerly was. The space is designed to be the perfect place for pre and post-game tailgating parties and where fans can watch the game from a tiered hillside while enjoying catered food and beverages from a buffet and a la carte cash bar. There will be a television viewing areas, social lounge and live music, as well as tables and chairs for fans to sit, eat and enjoy the atmosphere of Mizzou Football.

Because the new tailgating area is within the confines of The ZOU, guests will need a ticket to enter. A Truman’s Terrace ticket will allow fans access to tailgate two hours before kickoff and one hour after the game ends. Fans can purchase an individual season membership to the terrace for $200, which includes entry into the terrace for all of Mizzou’s seven home games.

Groups can rent an exclusive private tent to accommodate 25-50 people for single games. This rental includes use of a tent, tables, chairs, catering, non-alcoholic beverages and a limited number of parking passes. On-site staff members will take care of all set-up and breakdown for this area.

Tickets are now on sale for all Mizzou Football home games. Purchase tickets online, in person at Mizzou Arena or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS.