Five Downs: Saturday, March 16th

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Much more will be known about how Saturday went once the coaches break down the film, but we asked Barry Odom and Ryan Walters for their initial impressions of the day. Here’s what they said:

Odom: “Expose some things every day that you can’t get in a non-tackle situation…Kelly (Bryant) showed some things, just his ability to extend plays, some throws that he made today, I’m pretty excited about the progress that he’s made for seven practices. The things that he has helped on that side of the ball, the dimension he is bringing with his leadership skills and his habits, he’s doing a heck of a job.”

Walters: “We’re starting to develop some depth and seeing guys that got a lot of playing time last year that were sort of new, you can tell the experience has started to pay dividends. They’re not making the same mistakes and the football IQ is higher. Still got to clean up some details. But I think we’re right where we should be at that point.”

Odom mentioned ongoing position battles, especially in the secondary, that were starting to sort themselves out. Saturday’s workout marked the exact halfway point of the spring except for the April 13th Black and Gold game, which is more of an exhibition for fans than a productive practice.

Optimism always abounds in the spring, but the head coach is speaking more highly of his team than he has in the preseason in previous years.

"A lot of promising things in every area if you look at the entire roster," Odom said. "We’re going to be in a position that we’re gonna be a really good football team. But also, to get there, and I think we will, the habits that we need in order to do that, it’s really, really important to not waste a second."

Two of the players Walters mentioned who were contributors last year but will be more counted on this season are safeties Tyree Gillespie and Joshuah Bledsoe. The feeling at this time is that they will be Mizzou’s two starting safeties in 2019.

“They’re completely different players right now than they were at any point last year,” Walters said. "I thought there were times when they both played pretty well and we got good quality snaps out of both of them in critical situations. Now that they’re playing full time and getting all the reps instead of just splitting reps, I like where they’re at for sure.”

Bledsoe played in 12 games a season ago. He made 28 tackles, broke up two passes and scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery at Tennessee. Gillespie played in all 13 games and started eight. He was third on the team with 48 tackles and added two quarterback hurries, a sack and a pass breakup. Bledsoe credited a guy on the opposing side of the ball for his improvement this spring.

“JJ (Johnathon Johnson), me and him are always going at it,” Bledsoe said. “I feel like me covering him every day is just constantly getting me better as a defender.”

Missouri lost a lot at quarterback when Drew Lock finished his eligibility. But the one big thing that Bryant brings more than Lock is the ability to take off and run. That comes into play, as Odom referenced, not just on designed runs, but on scrambles.

Often times in spring football, it’s tough to gauge exactly how successful that part of a quarterback’s game is. The quarterbacks wear bright gold (yellow) jerseys and aren’t allowed to be brought to the ground in practice.

“If you allow the play to go and you look, if you tagged him, is that really a tackle? No not really,” Odom said, answering his own question. “Kelly’s a strong guy. He’s got the ability to break through some of that stuff and that helps us out. But, you know, I don’t want to see him get tackled right now. I want to get him to the fall.”

The mobility is definitely something the defense has noticed.

“I’m very excited about how he’s able to use his legs,” Bledsoe said. “He has a good arm. Once he gets more dialed into the offense, as the spring goes along, I’m pretty sure he’s going to be good."

Nearly every practice, Jonathan Nance has made a play or two that has caught eyes. The graduate transfer wide receiver from Arkansas has a good rapport with Bryant and has gotten a lot of first-team reps. If the season started today, he’d likely be in the starting 11.

“Not only because of his talent but because of his personality, his leadership qualities, just his attitude right now and his commitment to the program,” wide receivers coach Garrick McGee said. “It means a lot to get him in here.”

While Nance and Johnson have both drawn strong reviews, neither might be the most impressive receiver in camp so far.

“I don’t know that anybody has out practiced Jalen Knox,” Odom said. “He’s stronger and faster and quicker than we ever saw last year and that’s exciting.”

Khmari Thompson redshirted a season ago and has run some track for Mizzou earlier this year. But he’s been a full-time football player this spring and is learning a new spot in the offense. Thompson, at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, has moved from outside receiver to inside.

“He’s a bigger body, can catch with his hands, just felt that’s where his skillset was,” McGee said.

Thompson got open down the sideline on Saturday and hauled in about a 50-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Powell. Being a track guy, he’s got the speed to run away from a lot of defenders once he makes the catch.

“He can get yardage. He’s a big bodied type kid, a thick kid, so he can break some tackles. And he has speed,” McGee said. “He’s changing positions from outside to inside so there’s some transition to that but he really enjoys it and he’s enjoying football.”