COLUMBIA, MO. _ I covered University of Missouri football from 1985-1990 for the Post-Dispatch, an inglorious stretch of gridiron play in which the Tigers were 18-47-1 under Woody Widenhofer, and then Bob Stull. The best the Tigers could muster during that six-season span was a 5-6 mark. Usually it was worse. Much, much worse.

Thursday marked my first visit to the Devine Pavilion, Mizzou’s spacious indoor practice facility, and my first time to meet Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel. As I gazed at the banners hanging in the building _ each one designating a bowl appearance or conference title _ I pointed to the l-a-r-g-e gap between the 1983 Holiday Bowl and the 1997 Holiday Bowl. Those were the dark ages of modern Mizzou football.

“See that gap between those two banners?” I told Pinkel. “That’s when I covered the team.”

“It must have been fascinating,” Pinkel deadpanned.

(I’d heard he had an underrated sense of humor; and there it was.)

No, what’s fascinating is what’s going on now with the program. The Tigers had six players at the NFL Scouting Combine last month in Indianapolis. As someone who has covered the NFL since 1991, entire DECADES have passed where the Tigers wouldn’t have six players at the Combine.

And this year, the Tigers very well could have four players drafted in the first two rounds: wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, defensive tackle Ziggy Hood, safety William Moore, and tight end Chase Coffman.

The Rams, for instance, like Maclin and Hood a lot. If Hood is still available early in the second round, it looks like he will be one of the players in consideration for St. Louis at No. 35 overall.

But the Rams had plenty of company at Mizzou’s pro day. A majority of NFL teams sent representatives to Columbia for Thursday’s proceedings, including Carolina, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, New Orleans, the New York Giants, New York Jets and Tennessee.

“I’m excited about that,” Pinkel said of Mizzou’s sudden draft presence. “I get excited, too, when all these scouts and all these coaches that are here talk to me about what great kids they are.

“I keep hearing that. And that really makes me feel good. Because I know they’re good football players, but they’re also good people. Most of them are on-line to graduate or have already graduated.

“And also, the reason why we have so many guys that very possibly are going to get drafted is we won 30 games the last three years. So there’s a strong correlation with having great players and winning.”

Several Tigers set personal bests during Thursday’s drills, not only a tribute to their work ethic but also to how they are prepared by the Tigers’ coaching staff, particularly strength and conditioning coach Pat Ivey.

“We test them all the time since they’ve been here,” Pinkel said. “So these test things _ they’ve done it since they were freshmen. So I think that we really prepare our kids for when they get into this arena, we’re evaluating you, testing you, looking at everything you do. They’ve been through it so much I think it really increases their chances for success.”

*THE UNFLAPPABLE CHASE DANIEL

Confident as always, Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel was in good spirits following his workout.

“I think that I threw as well as I possibly could,” he said. “I threw really well at the Combine. I threw really well (Thursday). I’m very happy about that. And that’s a big deal. I’m usually my hardest critic, so if I’m happy about it then hopefully (the scouts) are, too.”

After testing well and throwing well at the Combine, Daniel wanted to show the pro scouts Thursday that he’d gotten quicker with his feet and quicker in his release. Dropping about a dozen pounds from his in-season weight _ he weighed 216 Thursday _ helped with some of that quickness.

Daniel said he lost the weight by eating better. He cut down on his portions at each meal, ate healthier food, and avoided late-night meals.

Daniel logged a personal best in the broad jump, and said he ran a 4.75 in the 40, which was an improvement over his Combine time.

Even with the good outing Thursday, Daniel still projects as a mid_ to late-round pick at best.

“He threw the ball well,” said an AFC personnel executive who attended Thursday’s workout. “He’s a competitive kid. He’s a fighter. He does throw the ball pretty good. He’s 6-foot, you know. Some people can’t get past that, and other people don’t have a problem with it.”

So will Daniel get drafted?

“It’s not a strong quarterback class,” said the personnel executive. “If somebody wants a backup quarterback that’s smart, and is pretty athletic, got a pretty good arm. . . .So yeah, I can see him getting drafted. Late probably.”

* ELLARD PRAISES MACLIN

Former Rams wide receiver coach Henry Ellard, now working for the New York Jets, attended the Mizzou pro day. In fact, he helped run the wide receiver drills and spent some time on the side talking to Maclin.

“He said I probably did a little better than he thought,” Maclin said. “But it all comes with getting used to (pro-style routes). It’s something that I’m not really used to, but I don’t think I’ll have any problem getting used to it.”

Ellard has compared Maclin to a young Torry Holt.

“It’s an honor to have a receiver coach compare you to one of the greatest receivers of all time,” Maclin said. “Torry’s definitely somebody that I idolized.”

Thursday’s workout was important for Maclin because he didn’t get a full workout in at the NFL Scouting Combine. Maclin fell extending for a pass at the Combine, and tweaked his knee.

“It scared me for a second,” Maclin said.

But once he got up and started walking around, Maclin realized the knee was fine. “I feel great now,” he said.

Several of Maclin’s relatives watched him work Thursday as well as his St. Louis-based agent, Jim Steiner.

*COFFMAN’S BLUES

Mizzou tight end Chase Coffman attended Thursday’s pro day, but except for catching a few passes from a stationary position, did nothing. The stress fracture in his foot that he suffered in the Tigers’ Alamo Bowl victory over Northwestern has healed more slowly than expected.

“It’s been more than frustrating having to sit and watch at the Combine, sit and watch the first pro day, sit and watch here the second one,” Coffman said. “I want to be out there doing everything else with my teammates; doing everything I can to help my draft stock. Right now, the only thing that I can do is be patient and not re-injure myself.”

Coffman hopes to have an individual workout in a few weeks, but isn’t sure when that will happen. He’s hoping to be 100 percent healthy in a couple of weeks.

*CASEY TWEAKS KNEE

Mizzou wide receiver Adam Casey, who fought his way back onto the field following early season knee surgery in ’08, suffered a setback during a shuttle run drill Thursday.

“When I went to go plant on my left knee, it just slid out a little bit on me, and I felt it twitch,” said Casey, a walk-on from Parkway West High.

Casey left the field for a while but came back with the knee taped, and participated in all of the pass-catching drills for pro scouts.

“I was thankful to be able to fight through it and finish,” Casey said. “I would’ve walked through the routes if I had to. There’s no way I was not going to finish this.”