8/1/2023 football Edit

Mizzou football notebook: Running backs trying to take the next step

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

The Tigers had their first practice of fall camp on Monday, so there are a lot of moving parts and adjustments up and down the roster.

A few of those adjustments will center around the running backs and how they approach camp, view their peers, and get used to what their roles will be in offensive coordinator Kirby Moore's offense.

Jamal Roberts' potential

Throughout the offseason, there have been rumblings that true freshman running back Jamal Roberts has a chance to skip the redshirt and be a contributor on special teams and the offense in the fall.

Running back coach Curtis Luper backed that up and said the St. Louis product has been putting in the work in the offseason and even added some weight to his 6-foot, 200-pound frame.

“The report from our strength coach (Ryan) Russell, who has spent the majority of the time with him, is a good report,” Luper said. “So, Jamal has worked hard and worked on his body. He’s gained 10 pounds 一 excited to see him in some real live action in the coming weeks.

“Running back is one of those positions where you can play early because it’s less mental stuff for them. Now, physically it’s not that easy because you’ve got 22 eyes on you every snap and here they come. But as far as the learning curve, your natural talent can take over and it’s not that hard for him to learn to play.”

Roberts wasn’t on campus for spring ball so he’s still learning the playbook which will be the biggest thing for him during camp.

Cody Schrader and Nathaniel Peat, a couple of upperclassmen Tiger running backs who are both entering their second year with the team, both agree that Roberts’ dedication to the game is there and they hope he can earn some reps because they see his potential.

“He’s definitely been a hard worker that’s what I’ve seen out of him,” Peat said. “He’s definitely hungry for whatever role he’s going to be in and I see a lot (of potential) in him. Hopefully, I can teach him whatever I learned going through college and hopefully, he can get some playing time this year and show his ability because I think he’s a really good back.”

“You can tell being from St. Louis and then coming to Mizzou definitely means a lot to him and his family,” Schrader said. “I think that if you have that internal motivation the way he has it you only have to put hard work on top of that and that’s what he has. So, I think he’s going to be extremely special as he continues to develop as a running back and as a man.”

Roberts helped lead St. Mary’s to its second straight state championship in 2022 after rushing for 1,899 yards and 29 touchdowns, averaging 11.1 yards per attempt.

Cody Schrader's goals and expectations for himself and the running backs

It was fall camp last year when Schrader opened up the eyes of the Mizzou coaching staff. Schrader, who entered camp as a walk-on, had earned a scholarship by week six.

He took the role as the lead back last year and amassed 745 yards and nine touchdowns on 170 carries (4.4 yards per carry).

This time around, he has his mind set on a few goals with one of them being to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.

“I think being able to break more tackles, be more explosive and score longer runs,” Schrader said as to how he plans to accomplish this feat. “It would be something. After analyzing my tape, it was the main focus after talking with all of the coaches. So, just being more explosive and making the first man miss, and when you do go score that thing.”

During the offseason, Schrader said he’s focused heavily on his conditioning which will go a long way toward helping him achieve his season-long goal of being one of the top backs on Saturdays.

“I just want to be more dominant,” Schrader said. “I played in every game and played a lot of snaps. So now, just trying to transform my game into being a pass catcher, being able to do everything as a running back that my team and coaches ask of me. That’s my mindset going into camp.”

Schrader, as of now, enters fall camp as the No. 1 running back but this will very much be a running back by committee team.

So, there’s more than one position to gun for but even with all the competition, Schrader said the running backs just want to prove their worth and help the team in any capacity.

“I think we expect that everybody in that room contributes either on special teams or on offense,” Schrader said. “I think that’s something that is going to be possible because I think we’ve got one of the best units on the team.

“Some of the hardest workers on the team 一 Chris Kreh (who is a walk-on) he’d go work 40 hours a week and he’s leading conditioning workouts. So, we’ve got those types of guys in this room that can push everybody and are the most competitive guys I’ve ever been around.”

Schrader and Peat pushing each other, roles in the offense

The top two backs entering fall camp (and probably week one) are Schrader and Peat with each running back bringing something different to the table.

Schrader is safe with the ball and consistent. He will find a way to fall forward and make something out of nothing, but he isn’t the home run type of player that Peat is.

Peat is probably one of the top four or five fastest players on the team, but he has to work on ball security and his decision-making when defenders are within range.

Both players look to improve themselves and help each other by competing against one another 一 in everything.

“We’ve kind of a built a really good connection and bond together, so we’re definitely close,” Schrader said. “We stay in every hotel and dorm together. He’s my brother. We’ve been working out together since we got here. Being competitive with one another like brothers are, I think it’s something that drives excellence and performance. We’re always trying to outlift each other, outrun each other and do different things.”

“He’s very smart and we like to bounce ideas off each other,” Peat said, “We like to compete with each other as well. I think we feed off each other’s energy. … We’re always competing over something whether it’s about a run or best hands or anything of that nature.”

Peat was the team’s third-leading rusher behind Schrader and quarterback Brady Cook and had an up-and-down year that is most remembered for his infamous fumble short of the goal line versus Auburn.

He’s put that in his rear view mirror and has his eyes set on this season and what he can improve to be useful in Moore’s offense.

“I would say (I want to work on) my pass protection because protecting the quarterback is going to be everything in this offense,” Peat said. “I feel like it’s definitely great being a running back in this system just being able to be in the box, protect the quarterback but also be out at wide receiver, run routes, block and do everything a wide receiver can.”

Peat rushed the ball 100 times for 438 yards, a pair of touchdowns and two fumbles. He also had 10 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Running backs weren’t much of a threat in the receiving game last year with the group only accounting for 39 receptions for 228 yards and a touchdown last season.

Moore said he’ll use camp to determine how much more the running backs will be involved in the passing game but he’s open to it as long as that player can make plays.

“I think there are probably certain concepts where that’s going to happen,” Moore said. “Some of that is a game-to-game, personnel-to-personnel 一 and still at the end of fall camp we’re probably going to get together and see what are top 11 skill guys and then there’s going to be some plays catered to those guys specifically.”