Camp notebook: August 5

The Missouri football team entered fall camp in relatively good health. The injury bug finally caught up with the Tigers Monday, and it bit two of the offense’s biggest stars: quarterback Kelly Bryant and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.

Both Bryant and Okwuegbunam left Monday’s practice due to injury. Head coach Barry Odom said afterward that Bryant strained his hamstring and Okwuegbunam sprained his right knee. Odom also said that he expects both players “will be back,” but he didn’t yet know a timeline for their recovery.

“Fortunately, it looks like they’re going to be back and be ready to go,” Odom said. “But you never know.”

Bryant went down when, during the team’s 11-on-11 scrimmage portion of practice, he took off to run and fell to the turf without being hit. Linebacker Cale Garrett quickly pulled Bryant to his feet, and he walked gingerly to a medical tent positioned behind the field. Okwuegbunam, too, was able to walk to the medical tent under his own power. Both players were eventually taken off the field by a cart for further evaluation, though that seems to be a precaution taken for most injured players due to the fact that the team’s locker room is now across Providence Road from the practice fields in the Faurot Field south end zone.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Powell replaced Bryant in the first team offense and sophomore Daniel Parker Jr. took Okwuegbunam’s spot as the top tight end.

Bryant and Okwuegbunam weren’t the only players to leave Monday’s practice with injury. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott got “banged up,” according to Odom, who didn’t specify further on Elliott’s situation. Freshman safety Aidan Harrison also sat out the latter portion of practice with an ice pack wrapped around his upper left leg. For the third day in a row, sophomore defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat watched practice from the sidelines with his left arm resting in a sling. Jeffcoat strained his elbow during Friday’s practice.

Odom said the run of injuries illustrates why it is important for every player in camp to be ready to see the field, regardless of his position on the depth chart.

“You’re a play away from being the guy,” he said. “And that’s the name of the game, that they gotta prepare and they gotta be ready. And also, the team’s gotta look — you may break a shoelace and go out of the game for a snap. The next guy has got to be ready to go.”

Odom said he would be able to provide a more substantive update on each injury once the medical team is able to conduct a more thorough evaluation. That information likely won’t be publicized until Wednesday, as the team has a day off from practice Tuesday.

Missouri brings back more than half of its starting defensive lineup from last season, but one of the more prominent pieces will have to be replaced in linebacker Terez Hall. Normally, replacing a player the caliber of Hall, who totaled 71 tackles and five sacks as a senior while serving as the vocal leader of the team, would generate concern. But there hasn’t been much chatter about the weakside linebacker spot during Missouri’s early camp practices thanks to sophomore Nick Bolton.

Linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves said that Bolton, who has drawn rave reviews since he stepped on Missouri’s campus more than a year ago, has all but solidified the second starting spot in the linebacking corps, next to Garrett.

“Obviously nothing has been absolutely decided yet, but I think he’s put himself in position to be a guy that’s going to be on the field for us,” Hargreaves said. “He knows what to do, he understands the game, all those type of things, and I believe he has as much if not more confidence now than he had before.”

Bolton is far from a carbon copy of Hall. Hargreaves said he’s less fiery, less vocal. But he’s shown to be a steady playmaker during practice, thanks to his instincts and knowledge of the defense. Garrett said Bolton feels at times like a second middle linebacker.

“He’s like a second Mike, almost, with the knowledge that he has and making the checks,” Garrett said. “Usually I only have to set the front and he can take care of the rest. He can set the front, too. He’s super knowledgeable and he’s learning more and more and he’s gaining a lot of confidence this camp, and he’s playing at a really high level right now.”

Even though Bolton may already have his starting spot sewn up, Hargreaves said the next three weeks will be important for him. The coaching staff plans to give him as many reps as possible to prepare him to play a significantly larger role than last season.

“I want to see how he’s going to respond over a long period of time, or they could have a long drive or whatever, is he going to be able to stay with it?” Hargreaves said. “It’s that, and then it’s also just experience. The more reps you play, the better you get.”

Another player who appears poised to earn a starting spot for the first time is redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Larry Borom. Borom has taken the majority of first-team reps at left guard, a position vacated by Kevin Pendleton after last season. Ask anyone around the Missouri program about Borom, and one of the first things mentioned is generally his size.

“He’s 357 pounds, as of last night, and he’s a big, strong guy,” Odom said.

But Borom wants it known that he’s not just big. He can move, and he can elevate. Borom, who played basketball in high school, said that one day after spring practices concluded, he went to the Missouri student recreation center and threw down a windmill dunk.

“That’s just a little something,” he said with a grin.

Borom said he has improved his footwork and his chemistry with the other starters on the offensive line since spring practices. Case Cook, who saw playing time at left guard when Pendleton was injured at various times last season, has rotated with Borom at the spot at times, but it appears Cook has spent more time at center of late. Missouri is in need of a backup center since Jonah Dubinski medically retired during the offseason.

“It’s a good luxury to have with those two guys,” Odom said of Borom and Cook. “One’s in and one’s out, there’s still a lot of competitive battles going on. But Case has done such a great job at center. He’s probably snapped it better than anyone on our roster through the first four days.”

Juniors Joshuah Bledsoe and Tyree Gillespie might not be the biggest names on Missouri’s roster, or even its defense. But Odom believes the tandem of safeties is going to turn some heads this season. Both players worked their way into the starting lineup last season, and both have made some head-turning plays during fall camp so far. Bledsoe pulled down two interceptions of Bryant on Sunday.

“The things that they’ve done through four practices as a tandem, got a chance to be as good of a group as we’ve ever had,” Odom said. “... The things that’s so important on playing that position, I mean, you protect everything defensively, just the entire structure of it. So they understand that. They’re skilled guys, really athletic, but also their football understanding and knowledge is really high.”