Coach Q&A: Odom excited for season opener

Opening remarks from Missouri head coach Barry Odom: Getting into game week is exciting for our football team and program and everybody involved. Guys have done a lot of work, put in a lot of time and effort and investment the last few months on getting us to this point. They’re the things you look for in making strides in the right direction, on both sides of the ball within your program. We’ve done it every week from the end of the year last year. We’ve got a lot of competitions at a lot of spots, which is very healthy for our team. We started on our first opponent preparation a couple weeks ago, and just got a dose of it. Still worked on good vs. good, Mizzou vs. Mizzou, but incorporated a lot of look squads to get us ready for our first game. It will be here before you know it. Really excited to get our first four at home, especially No. 1 at 11:00 at our place.

Gabe DeArmond, PowerMizzou.com: Just want to know what it will be like looking across at the other sideline and seeing Steck.

Odom: First and foremost, I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve got a lot of friends in common, and his family have been really nice to me and great friends over the years. Respect the job that he’s done, he’s a great football coach. He’s done a great job down there and I enjoyed working with him. A couple years ago I looked across the sideline and my younger brother was coaching on the other side, and I didn’t like that. Just to be frank, I don’t really like this one either, to be going up against guys that you care about and you’ve known for a long time. It’s a blank picture for me and I’m trying to get my guys to play their best and hope at the end of the game we’ll be able to say hey and catch up.

Peter Baugh, Columbia Missourian: You had kind of a tough first year as a head coach. How much are you anticipating Saturday and just getting back out there?

Odom: I’m always excited to get in a competitive arena with the opportunity to go play a game and put down on paper a game plan you think will work for your guys and then execute it. That’s a great reward and a fun part of the job. For our kids to be able to have a chance to step into the competitive arena, they’re anxious and ready to go. You’re not guaranteed much of anything, but we know we have one game coming up on Saturday and I’m anxious to get in front of a home crowd and play really well.

Tod Palmer, Kansas City Star: Have you settled on a backup quarterback or starters at center and right guard?

Odom: I think you guys talked to Coach Heupel earlier and he stated that we haven’t. We’re still rotating guys in there. We’re going to have a bunch of guys play. It doesn’t mean we don’t have a starter or some backups in certain spots, but we have two or three or four in some positions that really give us a chance to go win. There’s a level of getting guys ready to go play, and when it’s their time and their number is called, for them to go execute like they are the starter. We’re going to play a bunch of guys on both sides of the ball, and just because you’re out there on play No. 1, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to take the most snaps at that position.

Palmer: Do you expect to be pretty vanilla in this game or do you want to make a statement with this game?

Odom: I want to do whatever it takes to win the game. We’ve got a lot in offensively and defensively. You never know -- the element of unknown going into the first game on exactly what you’re going to see. You got your game plan, and things change a little bit going into the first game. You have studied all offseason on what you get and the changes, the movement of the chess match once the game starts, there’s a lot of different things that we are anticipating. Until you get out and let the game unfold, you don’t know exactly what you’re going to see. We’ve got everything that we’ve repped all offseason on call and ready to go. I want to go play really well and give our kids a chance to win the game.

Dave Matter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Ideally, would you like having the first game of the year like this at home or like last year’s where you have to go on the road and play a power conference team? Does that change anything in preparation?

Odom: It hasn’t changed any way we’ve approached it. Last year, didn’t play well enough to win the first one. I’d play every game at home if they’d let us. The schedule has been drawn up long before I sat in this seat. We go and prepare the same way and take the opponent out of it and focus on ourselves and make sure that any circumstance that we execute the playcall. Whether they got Missouri State on the front of the jersey or someone else, we need to make sure our focus is on ourselves.

DeArmond: Could you update us on Akial Byers’ health situation is and if that impacted the decision on if you’ll play him this year?

Odom: He’s really done well, ahead of schedule at this point. I think he’ll start practice on Sunday or Monday of next week. A little prognosis, it’s moved ahead rapidly. He’s done a great job at this point getting rehab, and Rex has done a great job as well. I anticipate him playing and playing really well for us this year.

Palmer: What in your mind would be an ideal backfield split with Damarea, Ish and some of the other guys you’ve got?

Odom: It’s going to be by committee. Guys are going to go until they can’t go anymore, and we rep the next guy in there. I expect the next guy, whoever is going into that spot, to do a great job in protection, taking care of the football, run north and south with great pad level and execute the game plan. That position, like a number of others on our roster, we’re going to have a lot of guys play. Whatever the carry total is, that will be dictated by the flow of the game and I’m excited that we’ve got some guys there that I think have the ability to be a really good backfield.

Palmer: If the offensive line can handle a little more five- and six-man protection, how much better can that make this offense?

Odom: I think our offense has grown in a great positive way over the past few months. I think our offensive line that played really well over the course of last year is much better, much improved and I think they understand the offense is better at all 11 spots. The things and the differences and what we look like from last year to this year, there’s some differences in that. Also, it’s about what your guys can do efficiently and consistently for us. The challenge to get the first first down and sustain the drive and take care of the football, we’ve made a lot of really good moves and I expect us to play at a high level.

Matter: A couple of the freshmen you were on the fence about, have you determined their roles yet? Joshuah Bledsoe and Aubrey Miller come to mind.

Odom: They’re in the mix with special teams right now. I think that both of those guys that you mentioned will have an opportunity to play on Saturday. A look through the roster, we’re going to have a lot of guys who travel for the first time this year and we’re going to have a lot of first-year players that see the field in a lot of different roles. I’ve taken the year tag off of guys. If they can help us go win and they’re prepared mentally and their maturity level can handle it, then we’re going to go play a bunch of guys.

DeArmond: Do you expect Jonathon Johnson to handle punt duties and how does that impact how many plays he can play on offense as a receiver?

Odom: He’s obviously a huge part of what we do, he and Richaud offensively. They give us a home run threat. Both of those guys have both punt return and kick return (duties) with Dimetrios Mason. You find ways to give them an extra touch. If we can do that in the return game, that’s advantage us. I’m excited to see all three of those guys in the return game.

Baugh: Do you have any update on Ray Wingo’s status?

Odom: He ended up getting eligible. He went through practice this week.

DeArmond: With Tucker, how much of a kicker’s response is impossible to simulate on gameday?

Odom: I wish I could predict how he’s going to compete on Saturday. I know that the things that he’s done over the course of the last three weeks look better than they did at any point last year. You take that body of work and you want to apply it to a game-like situation, that will be the next step for him. I doubt any of his physical abilities… Now he’s gotta transfer that over into doing it in a game situation. I’ve got full confidence that he’s crossed some hurdles there to be a much better, consistent kicker. I’m excited for him because he’s gone through some struggles and rebounded really well. He’ll handle kickoff and field goal/extra point duties.