Running back Damarea Crockett mysteriously misses second half against South Carolina

In Missouri’s mind-numbing loss against South Carolina on Saturday, we all noticed a key part of Missouri’s offense, Damarea Crockett, was on the sideline.

Initially, I had no idea why he was not in the game during the second half, but later heard that he may have suffered a head injury – totally possible, considering Crockett was Missouri’s offensive game plan on Saturday.

With potential head injuries, we never know how long a guy may go missing, because they aren’t as easy to diagnose as other physical injuries are.

If Crockett was going to be missing for any length of time, then it would mean the Tigers were facing an even greater uphill battle, as long as Saturday’s performance remains the norm.

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However, as the game progressed – regressed for Missouri – nothing was ever mentioned about the extent of Crockett’s injury. Furthermore, if it was indeed a head injury, then why was he allowed to stay on the sideline wearing his helmet?

Those were my thoughts in that span of time, since nobody made much, if any, mention to what had happened. The camera panned over to Crockett a few times, and I was left to wonder.

Then, as if the Lord’s Angel, Gabriel, had descended to make a proclamation, I discovered the cause of Crockett’s absence from the game: “Fear not, for he has only suffered a bruised tailbone.”

In an interview with the Missourian, head coach Barry Odom didn’t seem overly concerned by the injury, and expects Crockett’s absence to be short-lived.

"Rex (Sharp) said he’s going to be OK. Wasn’t able to play in the second half. Should be back next week. Bruised tailbone, sounded like. Mine’s bruised, too. It’s called an ass-kicking."

On Saturday, the one aspect of Missouri’s offense that had gone well, was when Crockett touched the ball. After his departure from the game, running back Ish Witter spent most of his time getting bullied around by South Carolina’s defense.

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Hopefully, Crockett’s absence will be short-lived, and he’ll be ready to rack up more yardage for Missouri against an abysmal Purdue defense on Saturday.