Missouri Tigers Football Names Most Improved Players

At the annual Black and Gold Spring game on Saturday, the Missouri Tigers named their most improved players of 2015 spring football.

The coaches announced their names at halftime, a yearly Missouri Tigers football tradition. The list of players here gives us a feeling of excitement when thinking about the future (both near and distant) of this program. It shows that are earlier inklings about the potential talent of some of these players was correct. And it also gives us a more accurate look into the crystal ball of some of the younger players.

We hoped (we begged the Missouri Sports gods) that an answer at wide receiver would be in this list. We get that out of DeSean Blair, who looks to be a potential No. 1 go-to in future seasons. Also on the list was cornerback Aarion Penton, who many saw as a talented but frustrating player a season ago. The undersized and inexperienced pass defender showed flashes of brilliance between moments of vulnerability and growing pains last season. But many are expecting a breakout season from Penton in 2015-16. So it was refreshing to see him on this list.

Safety Anthony Sherrils already figured to be a key ingredient to the defense and special teams play of next season. To hear his name called here gives us an even more optimistic feeling that this defense will be able to hold it’s own thanks to a very strong secondary– which will be led by a coverage-focused defensive coordinator in Barry Odom.

It was also very nice to see back up quarterback Eddie Printz on this list. While there’s no reason to believe he will make a push for the starting quarterback next season, the coaching staff and players alike have been extremely high on Printz’s ability. It’s more good news for Missouri Tigers football that there is likely a solid quarterback in waiting for the program.

Here is the entire list of players awarded as the Missouri Tigers football team’s most improved players during spring football:

• DeSean Blair (Wide Receiver)
• Nate Crawford (Offensive Lineman)
• Rickey Hatley (Defensive Lineman)
• Donavin Newsom (Linebacker)
• Aarion Penton (Cornerback)
• Eddie Printz (Quarterback)
• Jason Reese (Tight End)
• Anthony Sherrils (Safety)
• Ish Witter (Tailback)

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