Truman's Tales
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Countdown to kickoff: Missouri completes first scrimmage

By Eric Quackenbush

COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 10: The playing field of Memorial Stadium at Faurot Field is seen prior to practice on November 10, 2015 in Columbia, Missouri. The university looks to get things back to normal after the recent protests on campus that lead to the resignation of the school's President and Chancellor on November 9. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 10: The playing field of Memorial Stadium at Faurot Field is seen prior to practice on November 10, 2015 in Columbia, Missouri. The university looks to get things back to normal after the recent protests on campus that lead to the resignation of the school's President and Chancellor on November 9. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images) /
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On Saturday morning, the Missouri Tigers completed their first scrimmage leading to the kickoff of the 2017 football season.

The Tigers are 20 days away from kickoff of their first regular season football game. While questions of how Missouri will fare this season, it’s nice to just see some action on the field.

Building up to this point, we haven’t talked about position battles very much, of which there are plenty. The most intriguing to watch should be the development of the Tigers’ defense. We will be bringing you all of the positional previews this month

Last year, Missouri’s defense sputtered in some close games, but showed flashes of strength and consistent playmaking ability to close the season. Hopefully that success bleeds into this season.

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On Friday evening, the NCAA Eligibility Center cleared freshman defensive tackle Rashad Brandon to participate in team activities with the Tigers.

According to Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, after enrolling in January, Brandon participated in some spring practice sessions with his teammates, but some issues with his eligibility caused him to miss the first 10 practices of the fall.

While the offense has all the pieces needed to function as a well-oiled machine, there are still questions of reliability among the team’s receivers, which left a lot to be desired in 2016.

Next: SEC expansion is coming

Obviously, if some of those issues aren’t resolved, or at least significantly improved, by the start of this season, then Missouri

will be relying even more upon the strength of the offensive line, running backs and the improved accuracy of quarterback Drew Lock.

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