For the first time since the Black and Gold game in March, the Missouri football team donned full pads and went 11-on-11 for a scrimmage during the second half of its practice Thursday morning. The first-team units only played about 21 plays, according to head coach Eli Drinkwitz, and the depth charts will surely fluctuate over the next three weeks. But the action gave both the coaching staff and the media its first glimpse of the Tigers’ full offense and defense of the fall.
Not surprisingly, Drinkwitz identified some things he liked and some things that need to get cleaned up before Missouri kicks off its season against Central Michigan on Sept. 4. He said the starting offense executed a bit better than the first-team defense.
“I thought the one offense had a couple of third down conversions that were really big and a couple of explosive plays,” Drinkwitz said. “Defensively, gave up a couple of explosive plays for the ones. Didn’t get the pressure on the quarterback that we needed to to be successful.”
One of those explosive plays came when quarterback Connor Bazelak connected with freshman receiver Dominic Lovett down the right sideline for a deep touchdown. That had to have been a welcome sight for the Tiger staff. The offense struggled to connect on deep passes much of last season, with Bazelak completing just 28 percent of his throws that traveled more than 20 yards, but coaches and players alike have hypothesized that the arrival of Lovett and fellow St. Louis speedster Mookie Cooper will help with the vertical passing game.
Lovett wasn’t the only young wideout to impress Drinkwitz. He noted that redshirt freshman Jay Maclin caught seven passes while working with the backups, and Bazelak praised fellow redshirt freshman Chance Luper.
“Those guys are not going to just sit there and say, ‘okay, it’s y’alls position, we’ll just sit here and wait on it,’” Drinkwitz said. “So that’s been great. It raises the level of competition, and hey, we’re not about playing favorites, we’re about playing the best player to help us win.”
Other players to make noticeable contributions included running back Elijah Young, who ran a route from the backfield and caught a touchdown from Bazelak, and Jaylon Carlies, who delivered a big hit for loss on a different flare pass to Young.
The bulk of the scrimmage was devoted to the second- and third-team units. Drinkwitz said the staff wanted to give the players who haven’t seen much game action at the college level a chance to experience full-speed reps and evaluate them in that setting.
A few players stood out among the reserves. Walk-on running back Michael Cox continued his push for meaningful playing time by breaking off a touchdown run of more than 60 yards against the second-team defense. True freshman linebacker Dameon Wilson had the lone turnover of the day with an interception that he returned for a touchdown. Drinkwitz also said the third-team defense came up with a red zone stop at the end of the practice.
“The threes got a stop in the red zone to end the scrimmage,” he said’ “It was a fourth down stop and they were able to get a sack right there, so that was nice.”
OL starting to take shape
While Drinkwitz would have liked to have seen more pressure generated by the defensive line, the fact that Bazelak was largely unmolested in the pocket is a credit to the Missouri offensive line, which has been considered a bit of a question mark entering the season. Drinkwitz said the coaching staff is still letting players compete for the starting spots up front — he said it’s too early to solidify a starting five, especially given the experience of Missouri’s group — but the interior of the line, in particular, appears to be taking shape.
No surprise, Michael Maietti should be locked into the starting spot at center. The Rutgers transfer started every game a season ago. Ditto for Case Cook at right guard, who has started the past three seasons. At left guard, Xavier Delgado took the first-team reps Thursday, with Luke Griffin serving as his backup. Delgado started the first half of last season before being sidelined by injury. Griffin took his place in the lineup and performed well.
Delgado believes he enters this season in better shape than a year ago, both physically and mentally.
“I definitely feel a lot of improvement in my game, definitely my football IQ,” he said. “Did a lot of good work in the offseason, the summer. Tried to maintain weight, tried not to get over 330. I’ve been maintaining at 328. I feel a lot more mobile.”
The two tackle spots, on the other hand appear to be up for grabs. Javon Foster and Zeke Powell split reps at left tackle Thursday, while Hyrin White and Montana State transfer Connor Wood rotated at right tackle. According to Delgado, Foster has been one of the most impressive players up front during the offseason.
“He was the second-string left tackle the majority of last year, and he’s definitely taken big strides this year with us, running with the ones,” Delgado said. “Just coming in every day, watching extra film with us. He’s just done everything right.”
Mevis not worried about crowd noise
Placekicker Harrison Mevis was a marvel for Missouri in his debut season, as evidenced by his inclusion on the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, presented annually to the best kicker in the country. Mevis made all 28 of his extra points and 17 of 20 field goals as a true freshman, including three from 50-plus yards.
As a result, there’s no mystery when it comes to who will kick for the Tigers in 2021. The one thing Mevis hasn’t proven, though, is his ability to kick in a typically hostile road environment. Special teams coach Erik Link noted that, because of crowd restrictions last season resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mevis has never kicked in front of a crowd of more than about 20,000 people.
“That game-winner against Arkansas, that was obviously a banner game for him, a signature game for him,” Link said last week. “But there were 17-18,000 fans in the stands, right? I mean, pressure situation, but certainly this will be his first rodeo going on the road and playing at home in front of 70,000-plus.”
Asked Thursday whether he’s tried to prepare for the challenge of attempting a late-game field goal in a loud opposing stadium, Mevis initially said “I guess we’ll find out.” He went on to predict he won’t get rattled.
“My thought process is it might be harder to kick when you can actually hear one, singular person,” Mevis said. “When you have that surround sound type of feeling, it’s easier to block out. When you have one little sound buzzing in your ear, it’s kind of a little bit more annoying, but when you have a lot of it, it’s less.”
Injury report
Drinkwitz said after practice Missouri made it out of the scrimmage unscathed in terms of significant injuries. But he did update the availability of several players who have been missing from practice recently.
Most notably, true freshman offensive lineman J’Marion Gooch has already seen his Missouri career come to a close. Drinkwitz said that the team doctors discovered an issue during Gooch’s freshman physical exam that resulted in a “medical disqualification.” Drinkwitz said Gooch will be a “medical redshirt” this season, meaning he will be able to keep his scholarship, but he won’t ever take the field for the Tigers.
Two other freshmen will miss extended time, as well. Defensive lineman Jonathan Jones also had an ailment discovered during his physical, and Drinkwitz said he will miss the entire season. Cornerback Zxaequan Reeves suffered a “lower leg injury” and likely won’t be available until mid-season, according to Drinkwitz.
Missouri got one player back on the practice field Thursday in Micah Wilson. The senior wideout had missed the first few practices of fall camp due to sickness. Drinkwitz said linebacker Chad Bailey, also absent due to illness, is expected to return Friday.
