Start Me Up: Football Gets 2018 Spring Camp Underway
3/6/2018 1:56:00 PM | Football
Tigers Held First of 15 Practice Sessions Tuesday Morning
The Missouri Tiger football team got its 2018 spring camp underway Tuesday morning under crisp and blustery conditions at Faurot Field. Head Coach Barry Odom, fresh off a seven-win season, put his squad through the paces of a two-hour non-contact practice with temps in the 30s and winds gusting up to 40 miles an hour – making the wind chill significantly colder than that.
It might not have been an ideal day to be outside, but for Odom, it was great to see his team back in action.
"I saw a lot of really good things today, obviously it wasn't great throwing conditions with the high wind, but that's football," Odom said. "We have a lot of new faces stepping up into different roles; it'll be fun today to get through video with the new staff and iron out the things we need to improve on. Another big focus is also to get our returning guys to play better than they did a year ago, if we can do that across the board, we'll give ourselves a great chance to have success," he said.
One of the biggest changes to come down the pike this spring was moving practices to the mornings. For as long as anyone can remember around the program, practices have always been held in the afternoons, both in the spring and in the fall. Odom said that after hearing of other programs holding the practices in the mornings while school was in session, he wanted to try it too.
"We did it for a number of reasons, class-related is part of it, but also the fact that we work out at 5:30 or 6 a.m. every morning, so our guys are used to it," Odom said. "Then, it allows the guys in the afternoon to have a lot of academic time and take advantage of that. It's definitely a bit of an adjustment for everyone, but I like it so far and think it can benefit the program," he said.
Customary with the start of spring ball is the release of the first depth chart of camp. The full depth can be viewed here. The Tigers return 15 starters from a year ago, including nine from its SEC-leading offense in 2017. The defense has five returning starters, and all three starting specialists (punter, kicker, and snapper) are back for another year, giving the Tigers plenty to be excited about.
On offense, the only two positions which don't have a returning starter – running back and one wide receiver position – actually feature returning players who have starting experience in junior-to-be Damarea Crockett at running back and senior Nate Brown at receiver. Crockett has made seven starts over the last two seasons, and has rushed for 1,543 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 17 career games, while Brown has made five starts in his career, including four in 2015 when he led the Tigers with four receiving touchdowns.
In other news, work on the South End Zone project has ramped up, with construction crews working to remove the metal bleachers from the south stand structure on Tuesday as the Tigers went through practice. The facility, planned at $98 million, will provide state-of-the-art training facilities for the football team, create additional premium seating opportunities and game-day enhancements for all Tiger fans when it debuts in time for the 2019 season.
Mizzou Athletics has set up a "construction cam" for fans who want to check in on the progress of the project. Here's a direct link to the camera, which is updated every five minutes. For more information on the project in its entirety, please visit: http://mizzousouthendzone.com/
The Tigers will be off from practice on Wednesday, and they will return to the field for a Thursday morning session, which will mark practice number two of 15 spring sessions. It will all culminate on April 14 with the annual Black & Gold Spring Game, held at Memorial Stadium.
