http://www.columbiatribune.com/weblo...g-a-look-back/
Missouri's spring has sprung: A look back
Is it OK if I go back to writing about football and not brand identity, anthracite and thermoregulation?
Swell. So, where were we? Ahh, yes, spring football.
Other than an inopportune torn labrum and the much anticipated debut of Missouri's new wardrobe, the spring came and went without too many major headlines. With so many established players missing time while recovering from surgeries, it was a tough spring to really come away with any strong opinions on either side of the ball. Plus, the depth chart turnover was fairly static: From the first practice to the final scrimmage, there was only one player who was promoted to starter without the player ahead of him getting injured. That was Matt Hoch, who replaced Jimmy Burge at defensive tackle with the No. 1 defense. A couple new faces started in Saturday's Black & Gold Game, but they replaced starters who were injured during the spring, like quarterback James Franklin (torn labrum) and tight end Eric Waters (torn MCL).
Speaking of Franklin, this Friday will mark four weeks since he underwent surgery to repair the torn band of tissue that protects the joint in his throwing shoulder. The first preseason practice is roughly 16 weeks away. The training staff expects him to start throwing sometime in July. Speaking to reporters for the first time Saturday since hurting his shoulder March 13, Franklin said he feels great, is thankful he decided to have the surgery and expects to be back for the start of the season.
Until then, the Tigers go back out of the spotlight and go through a few months of "voluntary" summer passing sessions, which are generally twice-weekly 7-on-7 drills that are organized by the players. Football coaches are prohibited from attending those sessions, other than training and medical staffers and strength and conditioning coaches. But it would be naïve to think the football staff doesn't have input into those drills. They get regular feedback on the sessions, too. Franklin won't be able to participate in the early sessions, maybe all of them, which means Corbin Berkstresser will continue running the offense this summer.
"It's going to be big because he's going to lead the team," offensive coordinator David Yost said Saturday. "James will be around. But running 7 on 7 … our seniors will do a great job leading, they've done a great job to this point … but the 7 on 7, the stuff they do this summer, it runs through the quarterback. The better he performs, the more attention to detail, the more on task, the crisper he is in practice, the better it runs. I know that's a big deal to him.
"He's answered all the challenges we've given him. It hasn’t' happened instantaneously like you'd like it. The first day he went up with the 1s wasn't his best day. The next day was better. And the next day was better."
Berkstresser's performance Saturday probably wasn't his best of the spring. Linebacker Donovan Bonner made him pay for an ill-advised pass out to his left, intercepted it and returned it 66 yards for a TD. Berkstresser saved face on the next possession with a TD pass to T.J. Moe. In four spring scrimmages, Berkstresser completed 50 of 88 passes (56.8 percent) for 651 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. That calculates to an efficiency rating of 123.4.
His production is way off Franklin's averages for last season, when he completed 63.4 percent of his throws with a rating of 139.9, but Berkstresser's numbers are more in line, and in some cases better, than what Franklin and Tyler Gabbert produced last spring when they competed for the No. 1 job. Gabbert completed 60.4 percent for a 112.8 rating, while Franklin completed 60.0 percent for a 112.7 rating.
Yost blamed nerves for any struggles Berkstresser had Saturday.
"There were things he did today he can definitely do better," Yost said. "But I've seen Brad Smith struggle in the spring game. I've seen Chase Daniel" do the same. "Blaine Gabbert. James Franlin two years ago. Tyler Gabbert last year. It's the first time they've played meaningful time in front of a crowd. You can say it's only 10,000 or 20,000, but it's different. How they slept last night, their thought process. The nerves are the whole thing."
Even Daniel, whose demeanor was either ultra confident or downright cocky depending on what colors you wore to the game, dealt with nerves early in his career, Yost said.
"When Chase played his first game against Arkansas State" in 2005, "he had a bigger crowd in his last game in high school," Yost said. "But he still told me, 'Coach, I was really nervous out there.' "
"I try to diffuse that as much as I can. There were things" Berkstresser "did well. He stood in there and he's getting the ball downfield making throws. The biggest thing I saw today was he played within himself. As the day went on he played better and better."
Yost could say the same for a few more players on offense. Here are a few who caught my eye the last six weeks:
Mitch Morse, center: Smart. Big. Tough. Athletic. Does that sound like what you're looking for as the anchor for your O-line? The coaching staff loves Morse's attitude, especially the way he approached winter conditioning drills. He hasn't deferred to his older teammates along the offensive line because he knows the center has to be the brains of the operation. He's especially good at handling shotgun snaps, which he'll do countless times this fall.
Gahn McGaffie, slot receiver/tight end: Moe was the team's most productive receiver from start to end and was especially valuable giving Berkstresser confidence by getting open and catching everything. But we already knew he could do that. The Tigers need more weapons in the middle of the field, and McGaffie was one all spring, whether backing up Moe at the H or filling in for Waters at the Y. Already a senior, McGaffie's hungry to make an impression above and beyond his kickoff return against Oklahoma two years ago. "I wasn’t going to let them give up on me because I'm coming out to work everyday," he said. "I'm trying to prove to them that I need to be out on the field so I can showcase my abilities."
Marcus Murphy, tailback: Murphy sat out last season after undergoing shoulder surgery. The Tigers barely missed him as Henry Josey put on a show the first two and a half months of the season—up until the point his knee exploded against Texas. In the first week of practices, Murphy tried convincing me he could have a similar breakthrough this fall, which sounds crazy … until you watched him saw through the No. 1 defense Saturday, much like Josey did to most opponents last season. "A lot of people say, 'We won't be all this in the SEC. The Big 12 is not like the SEC,'" Murphy told me a few weeks back. "So, we just got a point to prove to a lot of people."
Missouri's defense was missing a couple key returning players, both projected starters on the line, tackle Sheldon Richardson and end Brad Madison. Young players emerged at both positions this spring, but questions will linger over the defensive line throughout fall camp and into the season.
Missouri's thin defensive line, especially up the middle, is going to wear down too easily against all those brutish running games in the SEC, right? Here's something I came across while crunching some numbers. Missouri's seven new opponents in the SEC (Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Kentucky) averaged 38.1 rushing attempts a game last year. South Carolina and Georgia ran it more than 40 times a game. Last year's nine Big 12 opponents averaged 40.1 rushing attempts per game, with five averaging more than 40 attempts per game, with three running more than 45 times a game: Texas, Kansas State and Kansas. On average, teams ran more plays in the Big 12, where the no-huddle is more prevalent, as seven Big 12 teams ran more than 950 plays from scrimmage, compared to just one in the SEC, Georgia at 1,016. (Georgia and LSU played 14 games, while the most anyone played in the Big 12 was 13. Still, Big 12 teams averaged 76.2 plays per game last year; the SEC teams averaged 65.5 plays.)
What am I getting at? Maybe lacking excessive depth across the D-line won't hurt Missouri as much some think. The Missouri defense figures to be on the field for fewer plays in the SEC and defenders have more time between snaps to catch their breath. Maybe some of those differences in style will mitigate any depth issues the Tigers have along the front four.
Then again, Missouri gets back one big piece of that front four come August. Richardson posted this on Twitter and Facebook shortly after the Black and & Gold Game: " … had fun watchin the boys get after each other but know DADDY'S back for summer and fall camp"
While the Tigers wait on DADDY to return, here are a few who jumped into the spotlight this spring:
Shane Ray, defensive end: The redshirt freshman breezed past offensive tackles in some of the scrimmages, looking every bit like a capable third-down edge rusher on passing situations. Ray cracked the 240s and expects to be in the 250s by fall camp. Too skinny for the SEC? Tell that to LSU All-American defensive end Sam Montgomery, who was listed at 245 last season. Or his counterpart on the Tigers' D-line, 240-pound Barkevious Mingo.
Matt Hoch, defensive tackle: Missouri defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski does not gush. I'm willing to guarantee he's never been described in print as giving a player "effusive praise." He can sniff out a glowing profile story a mile away, and is always quick to diffuse the hosannas. But when I asked him about Hoch a few weeks ago, Kul noticeably perked up. He'd found a D-tackle right under his nose at D-end.
"He’s playing his best football now since he’s been here," Kuligowski said of Hoch, who played tight end in 2010 and defensive end last year. "You play defensive end you occasionally get a double team. You play defensive tackle you get a double team every other play. He’s got to learn how to be an inside player, how to play low, how to play with strength. He’s pretty relentless to the ball, which is great and one of the reasons why he was able to move to that position."
After passing Burge on the depth chart, Hoch played with the starters the rest of the spring. He'll likely move to second team once Richardson returns but should find himself in a steady rotation.
Kenronte Walker, safety: Missouri has a mix of candidates at safety but only one senior, Walker. He's become more than a de-facto leader of the group. For new safeties coach Alex Grinch, Walker's presence was valuable this spring. "He’s a guy who’s embraced a leadership role," Grinch said. "He’s not a heavy talker by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s a guy who has the want-to to be a good player. The guys recognize that. I’ve recognized that up to this point. And he’s had a really good spring."