Missouri Football: Recapping Tigers’ first day of camp
On Tuesday, Missouri opened its first day of fall football training camp. With some jobs up for grabs, others are settling nicely into their roles.
There were a few players missing from practice on Tuesday, as well, including wide receivers Da’Ron Davis, O’Shea Clark and defensive linemen Walter Palmore, Malik Young and Nate Howard.
Davis did not qualify academically, and will likely enroll in junior college. Clark violated team rules and has been suspended indefinitely, which head coach Barry Odom stated, “we’re working through that.”
Palmore was expected to arrive later on Tuesday, pending academic clearance through the NCAA clearinghouse, where Young also awaits a waiver, and Howard is suspended until his legal matters resolve.
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Some of the news isn’t all that great, while some of it is merely a wait-and-see at this point. Hopefully Young and Palmore will be cleared to take part with the team on Wednesday.
According to Tod Palmer of The Kansas City Star, Odom believes that the additions of Palmore and Young will help solidify the defensive line.
"Hopefully, (Palmore) will be out here tomorrow, if everything goes right with the travel… Both those guys, if we get them in and get them trained, they can help us out up front. No question."
Playing with purpose and urgency are philosophies that some returning veterans plan to live by in 2017 – philosophies which seemed non-existent at times in 2016.
On their first day of training camp, there were a number of veterans displaying leadership. For now, vocal leadership is a good start, but will that cross over into their on-field performance?
Brooks Holton, of Green Valley News, Odom is pleased with the work that the returning veterans have put in during the offseason, and expects to see improved results from last year.
"I’m excited to have a chance to coach these guys, because I know what they’ve done in the last six months, the investment they’ve put in. I’m pretty fired up. It’s one day in, but I like where we’re at."
Senior offensive tackle, Tyler Howell, even critiqued his own play last year, comparing it to trash. Considering it’s his final year, Howell is giving his last year his best shot.
"Last year was nothing. We’ve got to get better, just keep building on it. Personally, I think I played like trash. We’ve just got to get better. Fully selling out. You can do that every year, but when it’s your last year guaranteed, you just start to think about it differently, like, ‘This is all you’ve got, so you’ve got to make the most of it.’"
As the first day of camp wrapped-up, two things were clear: The offense is deep, and the defense is retooling. The defense, which is probably everyone’s biggest concern entering the 2017 season, will have to prove that it’s returned to its old form.
Missouri’s receiving core is also deep this year. Unfortunately, a few were missing from practice; some due to academic reasons; others due to learning a new way of life and being held to certain obligations – things which can be ironed out as the season nears.
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Missouri also has a new team motto, and the Missourian was on-site to offer some pictures of training camp action.