Tyler Badie Making Mizzou History, One Touch at a Time
11/1/2021 4:00:00 PM | Football
New Orleans native ranks third nationally in all-purpose yards this season.
Tyler Badie rushed his way into Tiger football history Saturday against Vanderbilt, becoming just the 18th Tiger to amass more than 2,000 career rushing yards.
But he's the first to do so with only one year as Missouri's starting running back. He now has 2,125 yards on 402 carries (5.3-yard average) and is making a strong statement for All-SEC honors.
"He's a great player," head coach Eliah Drinkwitz said Saturday following the Vandy game. "I've been saying it for a long time, he's probably the best player that nobody is talking about. He's really the engine that drives us and he's just got a big heart and he's a competitor and showed it tonight."
Against the Commodores, he carried 31 times for 254 yards and two touchdowns and caught eight passes for 40 yards. He cinched the game with a 73-yard dash down the left sideline late in the game to set up a two-yard TD run by backup quarterback Tyler Macon that put the icing on a 37-28 Tiger victory. His 294 all-purpose yards were the fourth-most ever at Mizzou in a single game.
His first TD that capped off a 59-yard drive was quintessential Badie. He ran five times for 28 yards and caught three passes for 25 yards. The other yards came via penalty.
"I just try to be there for my teammates," Badie said. "Whenever they need me, I just know they can count on me, and that's what I tell them all the time."
His first three seasons, Badie was Mizzou's "Swiss Army Knife," playing largely as a third-down back and returning kicks. He was "Robin" to Larry Rountree's "Batman," but the 5-8, 194-pound New Orleans native now stands 16th on the MU career rushing list with at least four games to play.
Any questions about whether he could handle the load as a feature back in the SEC were answered early. In the season's opening game vs. Central Michigan, he had career highs for carries (25) and yards (203) in a 34-24 Tiger victory. He also lit up North Texas for 209 yards, giving him three 200-yard rushing games this season. He's the first Tiger ever to have three 200-yard rushing games in a single season.
"I hear a lot of people talk about durability and all this other stuff, and I just want to show everybody that I can run the ball in this league," Badie said. "Regardless of who we play, I don't care if it's SEC, out of conference, if I need to touch the ball 30 times with his team, that's what I'm going to do."
In 2021, he's averaged 25 touches and 162 all-purpose yards per game, and is knocking on the door of the 1,000-yard season rushing plateau. He has 989 yards and soon will become the 14th Tiger to hit a grand in a single campaign, to go with his 40 receptions for 305 yards. He's scored 15 touchdowns – 11 rushing and four receiving.
For his career, he has 3,774 all-purpose yards – rushing, receiving, returning – which ranks fifth all time at Mizzou.
