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Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz observes the spring game Saturday at Devine Pavilion in Columbia. Drinkwitz is going into his fourth season coaching the Tigers.
Linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper (8) runs a play during the spring game on Saturday at the Devine Pavilion in Columbia. The Tigers’ spring game was moved inside and closed to the public due to weather conditions.
Linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper (8) runs a play during the spring game on Saturday at the Devine Pavilion in Columbia. The Tigers’ spring game was moved inside and closed to the public due to weather conditions.
Missouri's 'spring game' was Saturday, and it ran much like one would expect a normal practice to run. The Tigers went through warmups, special teams and individual drills before jumping into the team period.
In that team period, there was a lot to take in. Much of it confirmed what Drinkwitz said in his press conference Wednesday, but media in attendance were able to observe plenty of new material as well.
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz observes the spring game Saturday at Devine Pavilion in Columbia. Drinkwitz is going into his fourth season coaching the Tigers.
• Luther Burden III looks ready to break out. Working in the slot, he made multiple big plays over the middle — one a seam route in which he found wide-open turf and gained what would have been about 70 yards, and the other a jet sweep in a goal-line set where he would have scored if the Tigers were going live.
• Watching up-close, there were glimpses of what teammates mean when they say Burden plays angry. He put a big hit safety Tre'Vez Johnson. He yelled an expletive at Marvin Burks Jr., who was trying to tackle him, at the end of his long reception. Burden and Burks are friends so there's likely no animosity there, that's just how Burden competes.
• Speaking of jet sweeps, it might just be what they happened to work on today, but Kirby Moore's offense appears to involve a great deal of horizontal action. Not the quick-screens that were common with Drinkwitz calling plays, more so jet sweeps — a key component of Drinkwitz's system as well — and drag routes.
• Snapping remains an issue for Connor Tollison. Probably three or four times throughout practice, Missouri's quarterbacks had to reach too far toward the ground to catch a snap, disrupting the timing of the play.
• Linebacker Triston Newson was one of the standout players from practice. A pick-six of Sam Horn stood out — he lurked a slant route in underneath coverage, jumped in front of the receiver and could have walked into the end zone — but he also flew around the field on every rep. Darius Robinson said the interception was his fourth or fifth of the spring.
• Also standing out was Ennis Rakestraw, who committed a pass interference penalty on Mookie Cooper, but otherwise locked down every receiver he covered.
• Robinson took all his snaps at defensive end, which appears to be a big plus for Missouri's run defense. He had a tackle for loss, crashing down from the back side to make the play.
• Elsewhere on the defensive line, Realus George, Jayden Jernigan and Johnny Walker Jr. flashed a tackle for loss on a QB draw, a nasty swim move on Xavier Delgado and a great read to stop a read-option, respectively.
• Offensive line and assistant head coach Marcus Johnson, reportedly headed to Purdue for another coaching role, did not appear to be at practice.
• Minor depth-chart notes: tight end Max Whisner got a couple reps with the first-team offense in warmups. Tre'Vez Johnson appears to be the primary backup at both strong safety and star. Receivers Demariyon "Peanut" Houston and Mookie Cooper played with the first team, while Dannis Jackson ran with the second team. DJ Wesolak is a defensive end again, after moving to linebacker last year.
• Receiver Micah Manning had a solid day. He made a pretty catch on a back-shoulder throw from Dylan Laible, and he made arguably the best play of the day with a leaping catch on a laser from Jake Garcia. The Garcia throw was over the middle into heavy traffic, against the first-team defense, and Manning just grabbed it out of nowhere.
• Receiver-turned-safety-turned-receiver again Ja'Marion Wayne struggled against Rakestraw, but his size/speed combo showed against the second and third teams. He ran one of those drag routes for a touchdown, on a pass from Dylan Laible.
• Nate Peat scored a touchdown as well, on a run up the middle.
• The defense, as Drinkwitz said, is definitely ahead of the offense right now, particularly up front. Drinkwitz also said that was to be expected. Missouri's front four gave some good offensive lines, most notably Georgia, trouble last season.
Elizabeth Pruitt is a photo editor for the Missourian. She is in her last year at the University of Missouri studying photojournalism. Pruitt was drawn to the limitless possibilities of photography. She hopes to capture meaningful moments and tell the stories of those whose voices get lost in the sea of journalism. She enjoys working with Arts & Culture and entertainment beats but is willing to try new things to advance her skills.
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