Mizzou notebook: Protest anniversaries, Charles Harris’ future and kicker trouble

Missouri junior defensive end Charles Harris expects student-athletes to employ civil disobedience more in the future.

“We should remember our own power and the things that we can do,” Harris said Monday on the one-year anniversary of the Tigers football team’s 48-hour boycott last November. “That’s something that can’t go without notice. … If the right moment or right situation calls for it, I don’t think there should be any type of reluctance by students to make it happen, whatever measures have to be taken.”

Harris and several other Mizzou players reiterated having no regrets with the brief strike that led to the resignations of former University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe and former MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

“No regrets for me at all,” senior cornerback John Gibson said. “I think it was the right thing to do at the time and, if it happened again, I would do it again.”

Gibson isn’t even upset with the furor the team’s actions created among the fan base after it received national attention.

“We knew what came with it and were expecting it, so we weren’t surprised at all,” he said.

Mizzou, the players believe, will be a better place for it.

“I feel like everything happens for a reason,” sophomore linebacker Brandon Lee said. “I feel like God wouldn’t let it happen if there wasn’t a reason behind it, so I try to live life without regrets. … This year has been peaceful. There hasn’t been many distractions on campus or anything like that. It’s just students going to school and doing things the way they should.”

Harris’ last stand?

Technically, Harris has another year of eligibility, but there would seem to be an excellent chance he will opt for the NFL Draft.

Many analysts still project the Lincoln Prep graduate as a first-round pick if he declares early despite a dip in his early-season production.

Harris — who finished with 56 tackles, including 18  1/2 for a loss with seven sacks, last season —has 43 tackles but only 7  1/2 for a loss this season.

He did bump his sack total to 5  1/2 with a pair Saturday at South Carolina, but was he ever worried about his pro future during the first half of the season?

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” Harris said. “That’s just being honest.”

It’s no longer a concern with Missouri returning to the old style of defense it played last season, when Harris emerged as a legitimate NFL talent.

“I feel like I’m back into the groove of things, getting back to getting off the ball and just reacting and doing what I want to do,” Harris said.

Harris and first-year coach Barry Odom discussed his future among other topics during a one-on-one meeting Sunday.

“He’s a talented kid and luckily, now, they’ve got the advisory committee set up that will help us navigate through that a little bit,” Odom said. “ … I know what I want him to do. I want him to be successful and do what’s right for him.”

Harris appreciates Odom’s patience and the fact “he’s in my corner.”

Kicking woes continue

Odom’s uncertainty regarding a number of position groups is palpable, but maybe none more than the kicking game.

Last Saturday, at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium, Missouri missed two field goals.

The first was a 44-yarder by junior kicker Turner Adams early in the fourth quarter and the second, a 31-yard miss by freshman Tucker McCann, came in the closing minutes of a 31-21 loss.

Odom was asked Monday if he knows what he’s getting when he sends out a kicker. His response? ”No, I don’t.”

Adams, a walk-on, got the start Saturday for the first time due to an “off the field” blunder by McCann, who is the only kicker on scholarship.

McCann returned after Adams booted two kickoffs out of bounds and missed that long field-goal try, but it didn’t help.

Collectively, the Tigers are 118th nationally in field-goal percentage at 50 percent on 10 tries.

Odom admitted Monday that it’s frustrating to not have confidence in his team’s ability to put up three points, but he continued to profess faith in McCann.

“I feel good about (Tucker’s) career,” Odom said. “I know he’s going to bounce back and I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. We just need it to happen now.”

MU-Tennessee picked for CBS

Missouri will wrap up the season with back-to-back games on CBS.

The Tigers’ trip to Knoxville, Tenn., for a showdown Nov. 19 against the Volunteers was selected Monday for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS at Neyland Stadium.

Verne Lundquist, who is in his final season calling the SEC game of the week, will be on the broadcast along with Gary Danielson and sideline reporter Allie LaForce.

Six SEC teams play non-Power Five opponents that week.

Mizzou wraps up the season Nov. 25 against Arkansas at Memorial Stadium, a game that kicks off at 1:30 p.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Crow helps Mizzou soar back into rankings

Missouri junior Melanie Crow, a transfer from Mississippi, was chosen Monday as the Southeastern Conference volleyball player of the week and offensive player of the week.

Crow, an outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., totaled 31 kills in wins against Tennessee and then-No. 18 Kentucky last week for the Tigers.

Mizzou, 21-4, which made its season debut Monday in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll at No. 21, is tied atop the SEC standings with Florida at 12-1 in conference play.

Crow topped 300 kills for the season and 1,000 for her career last week, helping the Tigers sweep the season series with the Wildcats and earn the program’s first road win against a top-20 team in three seasons.

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Mizzou notebook: Protest anniversaries, Charles Harris’ future and kicker trouble."