Five Downs: Thursday, March 7

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Each day from Missouri spring football practice, we'll bring you Five Downs, a quick hitter report on five things we saw or talked about that day. Here's the report from Thursday's practice.

When Barry Odom rounded out his defensive staff by hiring David Gibbs to coach cornerbacks, Odom highlighted Gibbs’ impressive track record of forcing turnovers with his units. As the defensive coordinator at Houston in 2015, Gibbs’ unit forced a whopping 43 turnovers, which led the nation. The following season, the Cougars ranked fifth nationally with 30 takeaways, and in 2017 at Texas Tech, Gibbs’ defense forced 26 more.

It may not be solely due to his arrival, but the Tiger defense was opportunistic in taking the ball away during Thursday’s practice.

By rule, Missouri’s players only wore helmets for the first two practices of the spring. Thursday, however, the team donned full pads for the first time, and practice got a bit more physical. While it wasn’t quite full-contact — defenders never took ball-carriers to the ground — the skill position players and defenders spent a sizable chunk of practice scrimmaging against one another both in eleven-on-eleven and seven-on-seven formats. During those scrimmages, the defense recorded at least three interceptions.

Junior safety Joshuah Bledsoe made the first, after a bad snap forced an errant throw from starting quarterback Kelly Bryant. Fellow safety Ronnell Perkins also picked off Bryant with an acrobatic catch. Early enrollee Ishmael Burdine got in on the action as well when he out-dueled a receiver for a jump ball on a deep pass thrown by backup Taylor Powell.

It’s always hard to know from watching a practice if such results will translate to game play, but the early returns provide hope that the Tiger defensive backs have spent the offseason emphasizing interceptions.

One of the more productive pass-catchers during Thursday’s practice was redshirt freshman Khmari Thompson. Thompson appeared in just three games a season ago, but he showed off his quickness by getting separation from defenders on a few instances during practice Thursday.

Not only is Thompson practicing with the football team this spring, he’s also practicing with Missouri’s track team. Thompson competed in one meet during indoor track season, running the 60 and 200 meter dashes at Iowa’s Larry Wieczorek Invitational.

Wide receivers coach Garrick McGee said Thompson’s ability to balance both sports is a testament to the support staff around the program.

“The academic staff does a good job with him making sure that he’s organized, knowing when he has time to do this and that,” McGee said. “Strength coaches do a good job making sure he’s getting his track training and his football training. Just gotta be organized.”

McGee has high hopes for the large group of receivers who came into Missouri’s program last season along with Thompson. He said the likes of Kam Scott, Jalen Knox, Dominic Gicinto and Chritauskie Dove “have to take the next step” during the offseason.

Another player who was plenty involved in Thursday’s seven-on-seven action was tight end Daniel Parker Jr. There has been some speculation that Parker, who played on the offensive line in high school and committed to Missouri as a defensive end, might switch positions, but the first three practices have suggested otherwise.

Parker was named to the SEC all-freshman team as a tight end a season ago. He emerged as a valuable run-blocker and also caught six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.

With several other tight ends limited due to injuries Thursday, Parker and redshirt freshman Messiah Swinson ran plenty of routes with the first-team offense. Parker made a few catches. His most impressive snag actually came Tuesday, when he snagged a pass one-handed over linebacker Jamal Brooks in a one-on-one drill.

One of the question marks entering spring practices was how Missouri would use defensive lineman Akial Byers. Byers largely played defensive end a season ago, but at 6-foot-4, 280 pounds (at least), he looks like a prototypical tackle.

Defensive line coach Brick Haley said Thursday that the staff doesn’t plan to pigeonhole Byers to one spot. He said Byers will train to play both end and tackle during spring practices. He envisions Byers lining up on the edge for most early downs, but the defense has also incorporated a few packages that allow him to work on the interior of the line.

“I think he’s a guy that can be on the end for us on first and second down and then also be a tackle for us on first and second down,” Haley said. “He’s a versatile player, really pleased with his progress.”

Byers said he doesn’t have a preference on where he lines up. He feels his combination of size and quickness allows him to be effective both at tackle and end. Last season, he totaled 20 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

“(I’m) able to move on the inside quicker than the guards, and on the outside I have power and speed,” Byers said,” so I can still do things outside and inside.”

One reason Parker spent so much time on the field Thursday is Missouri’s tight end room is a bit banged up. As Odom told reporters before spring practices began, likely starter Albert Okwuegbunam is still limited due to a shoulder injury he suffered during last season. Okwuegbunam participated in some aspects of practice but not the scrimmage session. Sophomore Logan Christopherson also sat out most of practice due to offseason surgery.

One new injury came to junior Brendan Scales, who sat out Thursday’s practice due to a hamstring strain. Scales’ injury is not thought to be serious.

Senior slot receiver Johnathon Johnson also sat out the scrimmage portions of practice. A team spokesperson said Johnson is simply “banged up.”