Camp notebook: August 10

Saturday morning, the 2019 Missouri football team took the field in a live-action setting for the first time.

Sort of.

During Missouri’s first scrimmage of fall camp, the first-, second- and third-string units split time fairly evenly. There were no kickoffs and punts were not live. Quarterbacks couldn’t be hit, of course, and head coach Barry Odom stressed that the offensive game plan was “very, very vanilla.” The coaching staff also held a few dinged up veterans out of the scrimmage, such as wide receiver Johnathon Johnson and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.

Nevertheless, the scrimmage provided the media a bit more complete picture of the Tiger depth chart and the coaching staff a look at how players would handle game-like conditions. Odom said afterward that he was pleased with both the first-team offense and the secondary.

“We learned some things about our team today,” Odom said. “I think there were some things we did on offense today — we were limited on what we called. Really four to five plays out of different formations, and did some good things there. And then defensively I thought that they played sound, I thought they played aggressive. Some of the things that I saw on the back end, without looking at the video, I’ve been impressed at the way our defensive staff has worked together on building this group.”

New starting quarterback Kelly Bryant didn’t look quite as crisp as he did during Missouri’s Black and Gold scrimmage in April, misfiring on several of his downfield passes, but he did provide the biggest highlight of the scrimmage when he scrambled right to escape pressure and found receiver Dominic Gicinto deep downfield for a 46-yard gain. Bryant said afterward that the scrimmage felt “like a first day” and he won’t get too high or too low based on his performance.

“Sometimes it’s not as good as you think or as bad as you think, so just want to go back and look at it first,” Bryant said.

Like Odom, Bryant complimented the Missouri secondary, saying the group did a good job of disguising its coverages, even at times fooling a quarterback that has practiced against them almost every day for the past week.

“Those guys can really give me a good look,” Bryant said.

Sophomore cornerback Jarvis Ware broke up two Bryant passes (more on him in a bit), and senior safety Ronnell Perkins picked off Bryant near the end of the scrimmage after Adam Sparks came untouched on a cornerback blitz and forced an errant throw. Like Bryant, Perkins said he saw some good and some bad from his unit Saturday morning, but he’s not reading too much into the scrimmage.

“We made some plays, but we got a lot of stuff to work on,” Perkins said. “We kind of got tired, we had a lot of penalties. But you know, overall I think we did alright for the first scrimmage. After we come back out here Monday we gotta get those things fixed that we messed up on.”

Coming off a 1,216-yard sophomore season, Larry Rountree III is the clear headliner of Missouri’s backfield for the first time in his college career. But while Rountree did score two short-yardage touchdowns Saturday morning, the Tigers used the scrimmage to give most of the reps to the running backs behind Rountree on the depth chart — most notably sophomore Tyler Badie.

Badie, who gained 567 total yards as a true freshman a season ago, took the majority of the snaps with the starting unit. He showed a willingness to run between the tackles, but also the burst and wiggle that separates his skillset from Rountree’s. He caught a couple passes from Bryant, including one swing pass that he took for a first down.

Bryant said it’s a luxury to have two running backs with unique traits. Rountree said Badie added enough size during the offseason that he can power through contact, but his elusiveness still sets him apart from Rountree.

“He’s more shifty,” Rountree said of Badie. “... He tells me sometimes I need to try to shake a little bit more instead of using my head like a battering ram.”

After a full year in the system, Odom said Badie has added some savvy to his skillset.

“Very savvy, I would say, in understanding, more than anything, especially in the pass game, in blocking, where we need help,” Odom said. “... I think he’s one of the old guys now because he’s got so many reps under his belt.”

Badie and Rountree took all the reps with the starting unit, but every running back on the roster got plenty of carries Saturday, including true freshman Anthony Watkins, who like Rountree scored a short-yardage touchdown while working with the second-team offense. Rountree said Watkins still has plenty of room for improvement, but he has been encouraged by his development so far.

“He’s doing good,” Rountree said. “We still gotta be on him, but he’s doing good so far. … Just little things from high school that wasn’t really worked on, blocking and all that. It’s the same thing my freshman year that I had to work on.”

Ware has drawn praise from the Missouri coaching staff since he arrived on campus a year ago, and Saturday morning he showed why. Ware took the field with the starting defense. Not only did he break up two passes, but he nearly intercepted both of them. Odom said he considers Ware a third starter along with returning starters DeMarkus Acy and Christian Holmes.

“I think right now, you look at Christian, you look at DeMarkus and Jarvis, I mean, who knows who will be the first guys on the field for the first snap,” Odom said. “They all would be labeled starters and I think they all three have earned that.”

Acy said Ware has always had plenty of talent, but the key to his development has been relying less on that natural ability. He has improved his technique and his film study habits, and the work is paying off.

“He’s just not relying on his athleticism as much,” Acy said of Ware. “Obviously he’s been a year in the system now, so he’s been taking the ropes as far as watching film, building his body and building his mind. So it’s good to see.”

As mentioned above, two offensive starters — tight end Albert Okwuegbunam and receiver Johnathon Johnson — did not participate in the scrimmage. Odom did not provide a diagnosis on Okwuegbunam but said had the team played a game Saturday, Okwuegbunam could have suited up. Johnson has missed the past few practices with a bruised foot, but Odom said Friday that the injury is not thought to be serious. Freshman wideout C.J. Boone also missed the scrimmage due to having a tooth pulled earlier in the week.

The defensive backfield was especially thin due to injury. Starting safety Tyree Gillespie missed his second straight practice due to a muscle strain in his hip. He was replaced in the starting lineup by junior Jordan Ulmer. True freshmen safeties Jalani Williams and Aidan Harrison also sat out, Williams due to a dental procedure and Harrison due to a leg injury.

Sophomore defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat continues to be sidelined by an elbow injury sustained Aug. 2.

A few other highlights and observations from the scrimmage:

-- True to the form he showed as a freshman last season, wide receiver Kam Scott only caught one pass Saturday, but he made it count. Scott blew by a defensive back on a skinny post and caught a pass from backup quarterback Taylor Powell for a 34-yard touchdown. Powell also ran for a five-yard score.

-- Slot receiver Barrett Banister continues to show why the coaching staff awarded him a scholarship during the offseason. Banister caught passes from three of the four quarterbacks who saw action Saturday: Bryant, Powell and Lindsey Scott Jr.

-- Defensive players weren't allowed to take down the quarterbacks, but the Tiger defense looked like it was able to generate some pass rush, particularly up the middle. Defensive tackle Kobie Whiteside had the only "sack" of the game when he powered through the interior of the line of scrimmage and tagged Bryant with two hands.

-- The punting duties were split evenly between Tucker McCann, Sean Koetting and Aaron Rodriguez. Cornerback Richaud Floyd, wideout Jalen Knox and slot receiver Cade Musser each returned one punt.