Summer quizzing helped true freshmen wideouts learn playbook
Due to the lack of proven depth behind Emanuel Hall and Johnathon Johnson, it’s been no secret this offseason that Missouri will likely play two to four true freshmen at wide receiver in 2018. But relying on first-year college players can be risky; coaches can’t actually watch them run routes or instruct them on football concepts until the beginning of camp, which came Friday.
So, the upperclassmen on the Tiger offense took matters into their own hands and made sure that, once players could start practicing with the coaches in attendance, the freshmen would know the plays.
Throughout the summer, when the offensive players would gather to watch film and dissect the playbook, older players would quiz the freshmen on their responsibilities during a given play. Quarterback Drew Lock said each receiver had to verbalize what route he would run, and more specifically, where he would cut and at what angle he would take off from the line of scrimmage. Lock said making the players explain their role ensured that they grasped the concept.
“With how much stuff we did this summer with them and just made them speak it out loud to be able to engrain what they have to do in each play into their memory, I think they’ll be ready,” Lock said of the freshman receivers.
One of those true freshmen, Dominic Gicinto, enrolled early and participated in spring practices with the team, so he had a head start in learning the playbook. But he said the summer quiz sessions still helped keep the plays fresh in his mind and allowed him to demonstrate the progress he made during the spring.
“Like in a play, it puts you on the spot,” Gicinto said. “You have a certain amount of time before it’s go-time, so it really just helped to show that I knew what I was doing.”
Even though the coaching staff knows that it will have to rely on some newcomers at receiver, wide receivers coach A.J. Ofodile said he has tried not to impart a special sense of urgency on those players during their first two days of camp. He admitted it sounds like “coach speak,” but said his approach will be to allow the best handful of players during camp to move to the top of the depth chart, regardless of their experience level.
“Across the board, as a program, we come into camp with all positions being open,” Ofodile said. “… It’s really kind of the same message to (newcomers): Have yourself prepared, open competition and we’ll go from there.”
Backup quarterback competition still open
Barry Odom expressed a similar sentiment about every position on the roster being an open competition during camp. Well, almost every position. Odom admitted that, in his mind, every spot on the Tigers’ preseason depth chart is currently blank, except for that of starting quarterback.
It appears setting an SEC single-season record with 44 touchdown passes last year was enough to exempt Lock from a position battle.
“Right now they’re all (blank), except the quarterback,” Odom said.
The open competition cliché does apply to the top backup spot behind Lock, however. Redshirt sophomore Jack Lowary and junior college transfer Lindsey Scott Jr. were listed as co-backups on the team’s first depth chart of the preseason, released during SEC Media Days. Odom said that during the first week or so of camp, those two, along with Micah Wilson and Taylor Powell, will get equal reps during practice. After that, the staff will identify one or two quarterbacks who will work with the second and third teams while Lock practices with the starters.
“I think for the first four days, the guys not named Drew are going to get equal reps, and then from there we’ll start to make some moves,” Odom said. “… We want Drew to run with the ones and get the next guy ready.”
Odom said he doesn’t feel the need to identify a clear number two quarterback by the season opener. But, if one of the four backups separates himself from the rest, Odom said the depth chart will reflect that.
“If somebody takes it, we will (identify a backup),” Odom said. “If they don’t, we’ll just leave a blank slot on the depth charts.”
Injury report
Two players suffered muscle tweaks during Friday’s practice and sat out Saturday. Defensive end Akial Byers injured his hamstring. He rode the stationary bike but did not appear to go through drills with the rest of the defensive line. Odom called the injury “not severe.”
“I don’t know if we’ll get him back tomorrow or not, but he’s kind of day-to-day,” Odom said. “He’ll be alright."
Likewise, walk on slot receiver Steven Spadarotto wore a red, non-contact jersey and stood on the sidelines as well. Odom said he, too, tweaked a leg muscle, but he doesn’t expect the injury to result in a long-term absence.
