Monday Practice Report
Missouri was back on the practice field for the first post-scrimmage workout after a day off on Sunday. This was the 13th workout of 24, marking the start of the second half of the open portion of camp. PowerMizzou.com has all the day's news.
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Injury Updates
The Tigers got some players out of the red jerseys and put a few more in them for Monday's workout.
Brad Madison, Lucas Vincent and Russell Hansbrough were full speed on Monday morning. For Hansbrough it was just his second full-speed practice, having been hampered with a sprained ankle much of camp. He and fellow freshman Morgan Steward could be in a playoff to avoid a redshirt over the next two weeks.
"The running backs have kind of all got their roles, which is good," Gary Pinkel said. "But we're kind of looking at both those freshmen to see if those guys can compete out there. You have to have that Henry Josey, Marcus Murphy, Kendial Lawrence speed and acceleration for a good portion of our offense. We have some other running backs, Jared McGriff-Culver and Greg White, will have their role and really help us, but we've got to just see if one of those young guys got a chance to get in and compete and earn some reps."
*L'Damian Washington (bruised shoulder) and Jimmie Hunt (sprained foot) were both added to the ranks of those wearing red on Monday. Neither injury is thought to be serious at this point in time.
*Not an injury note, but reserve linebacker Brandon Durant has left the team for personal reasons. Durant had been running third-team.
*We will be embedding video from practice in our daily reports for the rest of camp. Click on the player below to watch footage from today's workout.
Shuffling the Depth
The first workout following a scrimmage usually features some changes to the depth chart. Official depth charts are not released to the media until the week of the first game. However, we use stretch lines as a guideline. They are not the gospel, but are generally a good indicator of how things stand.
The only real surprise was at defensive end where Kony Ealy was lined up in front of Brad Madison. Michael Sam is the starter on the other side. All three will play plenty, but it could be a fierce competition to see which two get to take the first snap against Southeast Louisiana. We'll have a PMTV Video Interview with Sam later today.
As for the rest of the depth, we'll just run down what we saw in stretch lines at every position.
OFFENSE
Left tackle: Elvis Fisher
Left guard: Max Copeland
Center: Mitch Morse
Right guard: Jack Meiners
Right tackle: Justin Britt
Note: During drills, Britt was still out and Meiners moved to right tackle with Copeland at right guard and Boehm at left guard on the first-team.
Wide Receiver: Jaleel Clark
(Washington would be first team, but was injured today)
Wide Receiver: Marcus Lucas
(Hunt would be second-team but was injured today)
Wide Receiver: T.J. Moe
Tight End: Eric Waters
Tailback: Kendial Lawrence
Marcus Murphy
Jared McGriff-Culver
Quarterback: James Franklin
DEFENSE
Defensive End: Kony Ealy
Brad Madison
Defensive Tackle: Matt Hoch
Lucas Vincent
Defensive Tackle: Sheldon Richardson
Defensive End: Michael Sam
Outside Linebacker: Zaviar Gooden
Middle Linebacker: Will Ebner
Outside Linebacker: Andrew Wilson
Cornerback: E.J. Gaines
Safety: Kenronte Walker
Safety: Braylon Webb
Cornerback: Randy Ponder
(Kip Edwards is currently injured, but would be the starter)
Vincent Ready to Go
Monday's practice was the first for Lucas Vincent without any red. He ran second-team at defensive tackle.
"Oh man, I was dying on the sidelines just watching," Vincent said. "It felt really great to be back out there."
Vincent had been surpassed on the depth chart by Matt Hoch and knows he has a battle on his hands to get the job back.
"Matt's a great athlete. I expect nothing less of him," he said. "Man, terrible time for this. I got to go win my job back. Shorter time for competition so I've got to get better even faster."
Vincent said he felt he was about 75% and still working through the injury. He said his goal was to start game one. If the comes to fruition, Vincent feels like he'll be lining up next to a star.
"Watching from the sidelines, Sheldon's been absolutely dominating out there," he said. "I expect Sheldon to be one of the best D-tackles in the SEC."
Drill Work
Just a few notes from 11-on-11 today:
*David Johnson picked off Franklin in drills. Johnson is a guy who has put himself right in the running for the fourth cornerback spot.
*In the first live tackling session of 11-on-11, the first-team defense shut down the second-team offense for just about no gain on four straight plays. The first-team offense exacted some revenge, picking up a third down on a crossing route from Franklin to Sasser for a big gain.
*Leftwich made a nice catch in the corner of the end zone going up over the top of Xavier Smith to catch a pass from Berkstresser.
*Kentrell Brothers got great penetration on a run play, stopping Marcus Murphy behind the line.
*WIll Ebner left the drill holding his right shoulder briefly. Two snaps later, he was back on the field and broke up a short pass to McGaffie.
*E.J. Gaines continues to impress. Locked one-on-one with Marcus Lucas, Gaines allowed the receiver no separation and knocked down a pass in the corner of the end zone with his right hand.
The Tigers return to the practice field for the day's second workout at 3:45. We will post any relevant information. Our next full practice report will follow Tuesday morning's 7:15 workout.
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