Admit it. We all need a football fix after these last few months of watching the basketball team struggle.

Well, we’re all getting our wish as spring football opens today. Missouri will practice at 3:30 p.m. at Faurot Field on what is supposed to be a beautiful day in Columbia.

Of course it’s going to be nice, football’s back.

I’ll have much to report from opening day, so check back here for all the latest as well as Wednesday’s Post-Dispatch. Unfortunately, I will miss the second practice because I’ll be in Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. The third practice is on Saturday. Probably going to make that one…

One quick note:

Missouri released a statement Monday that tickets to this year’s spring game, which will be televised on ESPNU, will be sold in advance for the first time in the school’s history. Fans can get tickets starting March 17, at the Mizzou Arena ticket window or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS. Tickets are $3. If you plan on getting in the day of the game without a ticket, you can donate three canned food items to the Central Missouri Food Bank. The game begins at 1 p.m. to accommodate TV, but the gates open at 11 a.m. Seating is general admission.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to be on television, and we’re grateful to the folks at ESPN for choosing our game,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said in the statement. “To me, that says a lot about what they think of our program, and we want to give them a good show, so we’ll do our part on the field, and ask our fans to do their part by coming out. We’d really like to get a big turnout to show the nation how great our fans are, and how much they love their Tigers.”

Hopefully, I’ll have a spring depth chart ready to post later this evening. In today’s paper, I gave a guess at the starting lineups for next year for fun. I was playing around with a couple things, keeping Jimmy Jackson as the starting tailback, moving Danario Alexander to X-WR, and placing freshman Dan Hoch in the left tackle spot.

We’ll see how that works out. According to Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen, Hoch’s got the size, speed and skill to play early, it’s just whether he can translate that to Mizzou’s offense.

Obviously, it’s not the real starting lineup, but who knows? Would anyone have guessed Carl Gettis would be a starter as a freshman? Just thought I’d start up some conversation, especially since Dain Wise, who was the starter at right tackle last spring, hasn’t been able to stick in the starting lineup. Maybe he just needs to move to the other side of the line.

That’s all I have. Check back later today for updates on the 2009 Missouri Tigers sans incoming freshmen (no early entrants this year).