Camp notebook: August 13

The Missouri football team held its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday. With eight practices and that scrimmage now in the books, the Tigers’ depth chart is beginning to solidify. Head coach Barry Odom said a handful of true freshmen have been pushing to be a part of it.

Asked Monday who among the freshmen appears likely to see the field, Odom listed all five freshman wide receivers as well as running back Tyler Badie on the offensive side of the ball. He singled out linebacker Nick Bolton and defensive back Jarvis Ware on defense.

Only offensive players and coaches spoke to the media Monday. Running backs coach Cornell Ford complimented Badie’s explosiveness, calling him a “changeup” that could compliment proven returners Larry Rountree III and Damarea Crockett.

“Explosive kid. Great quickness,” Ford said of Badie. “… He’s a tough kid, too. He picks things up really fast, so that gives him the ability to come in and contribute right away.”

While Badie’s position as a likely contributor is the result of him passing a few older players on the depth chart, the fact that Missouri’s true freshman wide receivers all have a chance to play this season probably has more to do with a lack of depth than the performance of any one of them so far. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the five players — Dominic Gicinto, Jalen Knox, Kam Scott, Khmari Thompson and Chritauskie Dove — have struggled. Senior Emanuel Hall called the group “the best freshman class of receivers we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Wide receivers coach A.J. Ofodile said that each of the freshmen has shown glimpses of ability, but they still need to produce more consistently.

“They’re getting better,” Ofodile said. “We’re happy with the big play potential, but they’re still working on the consistency part.”

In years past, the coaching staff would have had to determine which true freshman were in line to play and which would redshirt at about this point during camp, but thanks to a new rule passed this offseason by the NCAA, first-year players can now appear in four games without losing a year of eligibility. That will allow the coaches to see how players react to game environments before deciding who will redshirt. As a result, Odom said his goal is to get all the true freshman some game experience this season.

“We’ve got another week that they can make great jumps, and I’d like to get them all in position that we feel comfortable getting them in the games,” he said.

Scales making strides mentally

New offensive coordinator Derek Dooley has spoken often about utilizing Missouri’s talented tight end corps more this season. After freshman Messiah Swinson tore the ACL in his left knee last week, which will likely sideline him for the season, both redshirt freshman Logan Christopherson and sophomore Brendan Scales could be in line to see the field in sets that feature multiple tight ends.

Scales, in particular, has earned positive reviews during the offseason. Tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley said Scales has always had the athletic tools necessary to contribute, but he’s at times struggled with the mental aspect of the game. Scales believes the biggest difference between now and a season ago is his mindset during practices.

“Coming out of high school, I didn’t really practice hard, and it took me some years to learn how to compete in practice,” Scales said. “But after learning how to just play like it’s a game, it’s going a lot faster and a lot better for me.”

Finley said that Scales struggled to learn the playbook during his first two years on campus. Now that he has a better idea of what to do on a given play, he doesn’t have to think and can better utilize his athletic tools.

“I think he’s learned, ‘I have to know everything in the playbook in order for me to go out there and play as fast as I am,’ because he’s very fast, he’s very explosive,” Finley said. “But when you’re out there thinking and you don’t know exactly what to do for sure, you play like you run 5.4.”

Lock pleased with sustained drives in scrimmage

Quarterback Drew Lock said that the Tiger offense emphasized sustaining drives during Saturday’s scrimmage — something last year’s team struggled with. A season ago, Missouri ranked second-to-last nationally in time of possession per game. Lock said that the offense is still operating at a high tempo, but it has made a few adjustments under Dooley in order to give the defense more time on the sideline.

Lock said he was pleased with the number of long drives the offense was able to sustain during Saturday’s scrimmage as a result of those adjustments.

“Let’s get that first (down) on third-and-four and then get four to five first downs in a drive, instead of like how we used to get one first down and then chuck it deep, or one first down and go three-and-out,” Lock said of the offense’s approach. “Just seeing a real offense roll down the field and take some time out of the clock, it was fun.

“Don’t get me wrong, we rush the ball, we try to play fast. But as far as plays in a drive, there’s definitely a substantial more amount of plays in a drive than what we used to have.”

Injury report

The most important result of Saturday’s scrimmage is that no new Missouri players appear to have been injured. Linebacker Chad Bailey and slot receiver Johnathon Johnson remained sidelined during Monday’s practice, as they were on Friday. Bailey underwent surgery last week to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, and Johnson is sick. Linebackr Terez Hall was limited due to a hamstring injury Monday, but he wore pads and participated in a few drills, unlike the past few practices.

With 19 days remaining until Missouri’s first game, Odom said the training staff has been more deliberate than usual in easing Hall back into action.

“If it were game week, I think we’d be a little bit closer to getting him in position to go play, so I think he can get some things done here in the next couple days,” Odom said.