Sunday Report Card: UT-Martin
Each Sunday, PowerMizzou.com will hand out a position-by-position grade card for Missouri from Saturday's game. Here are the marks from the Tigers’ season-opening 51-14 win over Tennessee-Martin.
Quarterback: Drew Lock basically just played a half, but new offensive coordinator Derek Dooley let Lock air it out while he was in the game. Like much of last season, Lock looked great doing so. He completed 19 of 25 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns, and none of his passes ever looked appeared to be close to being intercepted. His best throw of the day came when he hit Emanuel Hall deep down the left sideline for a 62-yard gain. As a bonus, he also passed Brad Smith to move into second all-time in passing yards at Missouri. GRADE: A
Running backs: Damarea Crockett got the start, but as expected, Larry Rountree III also got plenty of reps with the first team. Crockett looked great on the first series, accounting for 32 total yards and capping the drive with a touchdown, but after that, the neither back made an especially electric play. Rountree came close a few times, but always seemed to trip as he approached open field. It’s certainly not time to panic about the Tigers’ one-two punch, but we expected a bit more. GRADE: C+
Wide receivers: Emanuel Hall stole the show, but probably more encouraging for Missouri was that six different wideouts caught passes during Saturday’s game. The three true freshmen who played with the first team — Kam Scott, Jalen Knox and Dominic Gicinto — each made impressive plays. If they can replicate that performance going forward, the Tigers’ receiving corps, perceived as a likely weakness entering the season, could wind up a strength. GRADE: A
Tight Ends: They weren't really a big factor with four catches for 34 yards, but they didn't need to be. They did what was asked. Also intriguing to see Daniel Parker Jr. as the third guy in three tight end sets. This position was probably more impacted by the lack of opening up the playbook than any other. GRADE: B
Offensive line: As mentioned above, there were quite a few instances when the Missouri tailbacks seemed to have no running lanes. However, the main priority for the line entering Saturday’s game had to be protecting Lock, and even with starting right guard Kevin Pendleton out of the lineup, it did that. Lock was only touched once during the game, when he ran the ball. GRADE: B+
Defensive line: It’s hard to gauge how well anyone on Missouri’s defense actually played Saturday because the Tennessee-Martin offense looked completely outmatched. However, the deep defensive tackle group appeared to live up to its billing, with Walter Palmore, Jordan Elliott and Kobie Whiteside all making notable plays. The one knock on the group could be that it didn’t record any sacks, but with its plethora of quick screens and handoffs, the Skyhawk offense rarely presented an opportunity for the unit to do so. GRADE: A-
Linebackers: Missouri’s three returning starters — Terez Hall, Cale Garrett and Brandon Lee — all appeared solid. Lee missed one tackle, but that’s going to happen over the course of a season. None of the players behind them on the depth chart stood out, but none noticeably struggled, either. GRADE: A
Secondary: The biggest question mark on Missouri’s team entering the season, the secondary appeared to hold up well. They did surrender two big plays, one of which came on a clear miscommunication that resulted in UT-Martin’s second touchdown, and didn’t intercept any passes, but aside from that, not much to complain about here. GRADE: B
Special Teams: Missouri made all of its place kicks and rarely had need to punt, although Corey Fatony did pin the Skyhawks inside the five-yard line late in the game. The Tiger punt returners certainly didn’t look particularly explosive — at one point Johnathon Johnson had a negative 13-yard return — but that had a lot to do with the quirky punting style of UT-Martin’s punter. Most importantly, the returners never put the ball on the ground. GRADE: B+
Coaching: The Tigers’ 51-14 win was about the result we expected, but it still has to feel good for Barry Odom and company. After Missouri lost to West Virginia two seasons ago and surrendered 43 points to Missouri State last season, Odom’s team finally looked solid in a season-opener. Plus, Odom described the game as “clean” — Missouri had no turnovers and just four penalties. Those are two hallmarks of a well-coached team. GRADE: A
Final Overall Grade: A