Mizzou Football Weekly | Thoughts from Tuesday's Press Conference
8/30/2018 2:33:00 PM | Football
Coach Odom had high praise for grad transfer S Khalil Oliver and senior LB Brandon Lee
Mizzou Football head coach Barry Odom held his week one press conference Tuesday, August 28. Odom expressed that the team is feeling prepared and excited to start the season Saturday, Sept. 1, when Missouri takes on Tennessee-Martin at 3 p. m. at Memorial Stadium.
"Our guys have been focused and determined since our bowl game last year and it's mainly because of the senior class and the directive they've given," Odom said. "It's been a fun group to work with and I've also challenged them because they're going to have some adversity, they know that."
Odom added that the team knows there is going to be adversity, but "it's also about how they handle success because we know we're going to have some success and so how do you handle it."
To ensure that success happens, the team's focus is making sure "they've prepared the right way" and "that every player understands what they need to do to play their best."
"It's about living here in the moment and taking one play at a time and don't look up at the scoreboard, good or bad, but be focused on the task at hand," Odom emphasized. "Our margin of error is zero, we've got to have things in our favor and for us, if we go and prepare and do everything right up to that point then we'll put ourselves in a good position to play our best ball."
Odom also spoke about newcomer Khalil Oliver who is a grad transfer from Oregon. Oliver has worked his way into a starting role with the Tigers at the safety position.
"He is an older guy with some experiences. He played for a couple years at Oregon in that conference there so he's seen a lot of the passing game and defending the pass."
"He doesn't get rattled by much, he's got a calmness about him, and he's got a quiet confidence, but also he's humble in sharing his knowledge and he's not afraid to ask questions," Odom added.
Senior linebacker Brandon Lee was also a topic that came up during the press conference. Lee was accepted into the university's MBA program. Odom expressed how proud he was of Lee and what he has accomplished to this point.
"He's got a clear-cut plan of what he wants to do and I think he's got a chance to play football past this year. He's a talented kid, very intelligent, focused and very driven."
Odom continued, "He just has the ability to communicate really, really well with others no matter the arena or position he's in. On top of that, he's been a leader for us within the [Southeastern Conference] meetings and he's gone to the NCAA meetings on the academic side of things too. As far as the way you want guys to take care and take advantage of opportunities that are out there, he could write the book on that."
