Notebook: Mizzou offensive line starting to come into focus
While kickoff of the 2021 season is still about six months away, the Missouri football team experienced real, live blocking and tackling on Saturday.. The bulk of the Tigers’ practice, which was open to the public at Faurot Field, featured 11-on-11 scrimmaging, complete with down and distance and an officiating crew. The practice marked the first time since the team's season finale at Mississippi State on Dec. 19 of last year that defensive players could tackle or offensive players could be tackled.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said that while the execution wasn’t always perfect, the practice gave him a look at how certain players have improved over the past three months and how the newcomers would handle a live situation.
“There was good on both sides of the ball, offense, defense,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s good to see live tackling. Thought our defense, several guys in the secondary were really trying to play physical, which was awesome to see. Saw some areas where we’re really going to have to be better tacklers, which is awesome to see. Saw some guys be able to make people miss, which is always a good thing when you’re a play-caller, evaluating who’s going to be able to do that.”
One group that will come away with a few things to work on will be the Missouri offensive line. Sacks weren’t allowed, but the first-team defense generally got the better of the first-team offense when the two units were matched against one another, and the line had a lot to do with that. That said, the scrimmage action gave onlookers a glimpse of the players that appear to have separated themselves a bit in the race for a starting spot.
Two of the five starting spots on the offensive line are virtually assured, barring injury. Case Cook has started each of the past two seasons at right guard, while Michael Maietti is back after playing every meaningful snap at center last season. In fact, the two have been splitting reps at center throughout the spring because the coaching staff knows what it has in them and wants to limit their usage while evaluating other players on the interior of the line.
“There’s a certain amount of reps that the body can take, and so we’re trying to make sure that we’re doing a nice job of making sure Case and Mike don’t over-work,” Drinkwitz said last week. “And it also provides us an opportunity to give that guard position great reps.”
The other three starting spots on the line, however, should be pretty much up for grabs. With Cook and Maietti at center, the two players who spent the most time with the starters at guard on Saturday don’t come as much of a surprise, as both started on the interior of the line a season ago: Xavier Delgado and Luke Griffin. Delgado started most of the season but battled injury, and when he was out of the lineup, Griffin replaced him and played well. Look for the two to battle for the starting left guard spot once again.
With last year’s starting right tackle, Larry Borom, gone to the NFL, the two tackle positions present more of a mystery.
Few players will stand to benefit more from days like Saturday than the one who started most of the season opposite Borom last year. When Zeke Powell first arrived on Missouri’s campus from Coffeyville Community College last July, he thought he was just coming for a visit. Powell had already committed to the Tigers, but he had never been to campus, so he thought he was coming to Columbia to “see the whole city, see the whole campus.” Instead, the team put him up in a hotel and he started practices a few days later. By the time the Tigers opened their season against eventual national champion Alabama two months later, Powell was starting at left tackle.
“It was a rush, honestly,” Powell said, speaking to reporters for the first time since he arrived at Missouri on Saturday. “... It is a lot better this year having a whole, full offseason. That way I’m able to produce a lot more, because I came out here just raw and there was corona and everything. So it helps me and my team just being able for me to have the whole entire spring and offseason to prepare.”
Interestingly, long before Missouri expressed interest in Powell, he was interested in playing for Drinkwitz. Powell started his college career at South Alabama, and during his lone year there, the Jaguars lost to Drinkwitz’s Appalachian State team. Powell said Drinkwitz made a positive impression on him, and if he couldn’t land at a Power Five school out of junior college, he hoped to play for Drinkwitz at Appalachian State.
“I wanted to go to App State, and luckily God put a few pieces together and (Drinkwitz) happened to be at a Power Five, which was my goal, at Mizzou,” Powell explained. “So it was an easy fit for me. I always liked him and admired what he stands for as a coach, and his team playing against us, they just, even though they beat us, you just couldn’t do nothing but respect him.”
Powell started the majority of Missouri’s games at left tackle last season, but the learning curve from junior college to the SEC showed at times. He said the biggest adjustments was getting used to the speed of the game, both physically and mentally. He believes having a full offseason at Missouri to build on last season will help him be more prepared for 2021.
“I was doing a lot of training, but once you get to this level, you realize, oh, you need a lot more training than I thought,” Powell said. “So it was slow at first, but I gradually caught up within the two months before the Alabama game. It was slow at first, because going from juco to Power Five, there’s probably five plays in juco, but you’ve got five plays that’s run off of one concept here.”
Powell looks to have some competition at left tackle in the form of Javon Foster. Foster, who has been on Missouri’s campus for three seasons, made a couple starts in place of an injured Borom on the right side last season. He spent just about all of his time with the first-team offensive line at left tackle on Saturday.
“Javon Foster is a guy that had to step in for us at key times last year at tackle, and we continue to be excited about his growth and development and think that he’s going to be a positive contributor to our football team and offensive line,” Drinkwitz said.
The other player to watch at tackle is Hyrin White. White played a bit in relief of Yasir Durant in 2019 and was thought to be a likely starter last season, but he suffered a shoulder injury during fall camp that necessitated surgery and ended his season. White, who arrived at Missouri in the same class as Borom, took his friend’s place as the starting right tackle for much of Saturday’s practice. White said he’s eager to get back onto the field.
“I used that year by just training and working what I could use, like my other arm, and I worked on my pass sets and my fundamentals for the game,” White said. “I feel like, coming back, I feel like I’m going to be back better than ever.”
Macon earns jersey number
The most recent newcomer to earn his uniform number made a bold selection. Tyler Macon, the early enrollee quarterback from East St. Louis, will wear No. 10 for Missouri next season. The last Tiger quarterback to complete a pass while donning that number: Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel.
Drinkwitz said Macon earned his number after he was chosen as the offensive player of the day following Thursday’s practice. Macon, who didn’t get to play high school football last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exhibited some typical freshman struggles during his first few practices, but Drinkwitz has been impressed with his rapid progression.
“He really played well in the move the ball period, and in team he just had his best day taking care of the football and putting the ball where he needed to,” Drinkwitz said of Macon’s Thursday practice. “He had a couple of days where it wasn’t going as well as he wanted it to and he was struggling comprehending, but really took a this-play mentality and didn’t have any excuses, just went out there and improved and executed and got No. 10.”
Macon is still working behind fellow quarterbacks Connor Bazelak and Brady Cook, but he made a couple nice plays during the 11-on-11 portions of Saturday’s practice, most notably with his feet. Macon completed a couple passes after scrambling to avoid pressure. He also picked up a first down conversion with a run on third and 20.
“He’s got great arm talent,” Bazelak said of Macon. “He’s learning the offense, and I was there once too, learning the offense and trying to pick up on things. Everything moves fast. But he’s got great arm talent and he’s got a bright future.”
Cooper continues to turn heads
Ohio State transfer Mookie Cooper has been one of the stars of spring practice so far. That continued Saturday, when he worked with the first-team offense and got the ball in a variety of ways, both as a pass-catcher out of the slot and a runner on jet sweeps or reverses. A couple of his teammates talked about how his skillset brings a new dynamic to the offense.
“He’s dynamic with his speed, and he brings good energy,” fellow slot receiver Barrett Banister said. “He comes to work every single day, he’s excited to be in the building and I think any time you can bring someone who wants to come in and compete and make not only himself but the room better, that’s good for everybody.”
Assuming Cooper gains eligibility by the start of the 2021 season (he would need the NCAA to pass the one-time transfer waiver that has been rumored for months), he will likely see a lot of his touches come around or behind the line of scrimmage. However, even though he lacks the size of a typical wideout, Bazelak said not to discount him as a downfield threat. His speed and ability to create separation should allow him to get open deep, an area in which Missouri struggled in 2020.
“He’s hard to overthrow, and it helps to have a guy with that speed be able to track down balls, and he’s just great at creating space and separation to make it easy on me,” Bazelak said.
Get 25% off your first year and a $75 Nike or adidas gift card with our holiday specials
Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage