Four Down Territory: Superlatives Edition
Welcome to Four Down Territory which is a spin-off of Ten Thoughts.
So, I’ll give you three thoughts on Missouri football or college football in general. Then, the last thought will be whatever I want it to be.
For this edition of Four Down Territory, I'll do superlatives for the upcoming season.
1. To start off the superlatives, I believe tight end Brett Norfleet and safety Marvin Burks will be the team’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Both players had really good offseasons and have impressed the coaching staff with their rapid progression.
For Norfleet, he’s really come on fast considering he wasn’t an early enrollee like Burks, so fall camp was really his first time showing what he could do at this level.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said on Saturday during his end-of-fall camp presser, he anticipates Norfleet will be a part of the rotation.
Drinkwitz, players and others around the organization have been impressed with Norfleet throughout the offseason and camp for how consistent he is catching the ball and how physical he is in the run game.
At 6-foot-7 and 235 pounds, he’s proven to be a quality receiver and a willing blocker and that’s the right combination if he or any other tight end wants to see the field.
It seems simple enough, but Missouri couldn't get consistency in receiving or run-blocking last year.
It's a matter of when than if when it comes to Norfleet starting games this season.
Burks was named the backup free safety entering fall camp. He was in Columbia in the spring to get ahead of some things but even after that with the deep safety room, it’s impressive for him to have climbed the depth chart so quickly.
He was the team’s highest-rated signee from the class of 2023, so the talent is there but I don’t think many people thought he would ascend this high before the start of the season.
Multiple safeties we’ve talked to during camp have said they’ve been moved around in camp. So, expect Burks to possibly see some snaps at STAR and or at strong safety.
"Marvin has been big time so far in fall camp," safety Daylan Carnell said. "He's made improvement from the spring already. He's going to be a real good player for us."
Honorable mention: Running back Jamal Roberts and EDGE Jahkai Lang
Every time you hear about Norfleet, a mention of Harris isn't far behind. The only thing against Harris is this is his second year playing football, so he's more raw than Norfleet. Roberts is looking like he will be one of the core pieces in the future but he has a harder path to having a sustained role with Cody Schrader, Nathaniel Peat and Tavorus Jones all getting snaps.
Lang will probably skip the redshirt and be part of the EDGE rotation but Burks being named to the two-deep before camp gives him the nod.
2. I believe wide receiver Mekhi Miller will be most likely to win Breakout Player of the Year while safety Tre’Vez Johnson is most likely to be Newcomer of the Year.
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