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Missouri held its first spring practice under Eli Drinkwitz on Saturday morning. The Tigers worked out in shorts and helmets for about two hours in the first of 15 workouts.

Here are a few observations from day one.

Tight end Daniel Parker Jr. is "out indefinitely" with an eye issue. Drinkwitz said he is likely to miss all spring.

Parker is expected to fight for the starting tight end position after Albert Okwuegbunam's departure for the NFL. Also in competition for the spot are Logan Christopherson, Brendan Scales, Niko Hea and Messiah Swinson.

Other players who were not at the open portion practice on Saturday were linebacker Cameron Wilkins and wide receiver Maurice Massey. Drinkwitz said both have injuries and spent practice rehabbing.

"Both of them are on our team," Drinkwitz said. "If a guy's injured and can't participate in practice, they do special forces training in the indoor, in the weight room to try to speed up their recovery instead of wasting two hours out here."

Quarterback Connor Bazelak was at practice and lightly participated, but did not throw. Bazelak tore his ACL in the regular season finale against Arkansas. He is wearing a brace, but is expected to be fully healthy for fall camp.

"He's three months post-surgery," Drinkwitz said. "He's out there doing very limited individual (things), but we're going to give him an opportunity to compete for the starting job in August. He's trying as quickly as he can to get back."

There were no other notable injuries or limitations on Saturday.

Missouri did not release a pre-spring depth chart and there is nothing official.

"There's no number one anything," Drinkwitz said. "New players, new coaching staff. I told our guys there's no starting positions out of spring. I don't care how good you play in the spring, August will determine who plays."

While watching live drills, here is what we picked up (understand, some players will move between units and nothing really matters, but we know depth charts are a hot topic and everyone wants to know). The list is also not official in any way because we did not see the entire practice. Running backs were rotating regularly:

First team offensive reps: Shawn Robinson (QB), Damon Hazelton Jr., Jalen Knox, Barrett Banister (WR), Logan Christopherson/Brendan Scales (TE), Hyrin White, Xavier Delgado, Luke Griffin, Mike Ruth, Larry Borom (OL)

Second team offensive reps: Taylor Powell (QB), Khmari Thompson, CJ Boone, Jay Maclin (WR), Niko Hea (TE), Bobby Lawrence, Jack Buford, Thalen Robinson, Trenton Sederwall, Javon Foster (OL)

First team defensive reps: Chris Turner, Tre Williams (DE), Kobie Whiteside, Akial Byers (DT), Nick Bolton, Devin Nicholson (LB), Stacy Brown (LB/S), Jarvis Ware, Adam Sparks (CB), Tyree Gillespie, Joshuah Bledsoe (S)

Second team defensive reps: Jatorian Hansford, Sci Martin (DE), Antar Thompson, Isaiah McGuire (DT), Jamie Pettway, Jamal Brooks (LB), Aidan Harrison (LB/S), CB (Chris Shearin, Ishmael Burdine (CB), Jalani Williams, Martez Manuel (S)

Expect all of these players and more to have a chance to earn spots in the starting lineup and on the two-deep over the next six months.

The big question of spring is just how different the offense will look under Drinkwitz.

"It's gonna be really slow," the head coach said of the installation of the system. "We have our foundation that we put in. It's about a six-day install."

Quarterbacks were not available for interviews on Saturday, but we talked to tailback Larry Rountree III, one of the returning offensive veterans.

"I talked to him the first day he got here," Rountree said of Drinkwitz. "We talked for a long time, probably an hour, two hours, discussed things."

Rountree, a native of Raleigh, NC, has some familiarity with Drinkwitz through former teammates at North Carolina State where he was the offensive coordinator.

"I just wanted to know his plan and what he's coming in with and what's he trying to do," Rountree said. "I just wanted to talk to him man to man."

Rountree is also working with a new position coach in Curtis Luper. Cornell Ford coached Rountree his first three years and recruited him out of high school in Raleigh.

"He's a cool guy," Rountree said. "Very different. More live. I can say he's a little playful, but if you cross that line, he can go to the board. I don't want no problems."

It's far too early for players to break down the system or know their roles in it, but Tiger fans can expect Rountree--already one of the top ten rushers in school history--to be a focal point.

"Time will tell," Rountree said. "We just got to be sharper on little things and just get to know more on our assignments and every day just get better."

Junior linebacker Nick Bolton is Missouri's unquestioned leader on defense and is the Tigers' best returning player. Last season, Bolton played second fiddle early on to Cale Garrett, but took over the leadership role when Garrett went down with a pectoral injury in the season's fifth game. This year, it's his team from the start.

"Last spring, I was just trying to find a way to be effective with Cale in a leadership role," Bolton said. "Now it's kind of my turn. It was Terez (Hall), then it was Cale, now it's me. We're just trying to find ways to get everybody lined up, communicating on the field, trying to get all the calls correct."

Bolton had 103 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defended last year. He spent the offseason trying to get even better.

"Leadership wise, last year throughout the season, I could have been more vocal," Bolton said. "I didn't. I took a step back and I shouldn't have. This year, I'm focused on being more of a leader, leading by example, communicating, encouraging, all the little things we need to be a good football team."

Missouri's early enrollees (WR Damon Hazelton, WR Jay Maclin, RB Elijah Young, DL Ben Key, QB Brady Cook and PK Harrison Mevis) went through practice wearing jerseys without numbers and do not have numbers designated on the official roster.

"Nothing's given, everything's earned, Drinkwitz said. "They haven't earned a number yet.They get to earn a number when their position coach and position group determines they've done enough whether it's through effort and pride or making plays that they deserve a number.

"Nobody new has earned that right yet."