Missouri notes: Foot injury keeps Sean Culkin out of Tigers’ win over Eastern Michigan

Senior tight end Sean Culkin was in street clothes with a boot on his left lower leg after suffering a foot sprain Wednesday in practice.

First-year coach Barry Odom said the injury happened when he was running route and not the result of a collision.

Culkin missed two games last season, but he is expected to return next week. Odom said after the game he should return Tuesday to practice.

Two more starters, senior running back Alex Ross (left ankle sprain) and senior cornerback Aarion Penton (left shoulder sprain), left Saturday’s game.

Odom said Penton could have returned if needed and that he and Ross should be available for the SEC opener against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

“(Mizzou head athletic trainer) Rex (Sharp) said thumbs up,” Odom said. “Everybody should be ready to get back out there tomorrow night minus Culkin.”

Kicking woes continue

Freshman Tucker McCann is Missouri’s only scholarship kicker.

But after going 1 of 3 on field goals last Saturday at West Virginia, McCann was a spectator for the Tigers’ first extra-point try, getting pulled in favor of walk-on Turner Adams.

Adams, a junior from Springfield and former all-conference kicker at Kickapoo High, drilled his first two point-after tries Saturday against Eastern Michigan, but a missed extra point late in the second quarter gave McCann another chance.

After the scrutiny McCann — an O’Fallon, Illinois, native — took for his performance in Morgantown, McCann couldn’t afford to miss his first attempt, but he did.

Still, first-year head coach Barry Odom stuck with McCann, who settled in and went 5 for 5 the rest of the way.

PATs weren’t pivotal against the Eagles, but Odom spoke of their importance after the game.

“If you look at extra points, you’ve got to make those,” he said. “It’s a continual work in progress, but we’ve got to do a better job on extra-point kicking.”

McCann, who retained kickoff duties throughout the game, put all 10 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

“Tucker’s got the ability and he’s going to continue to get better,” Odom said.

Channel-jumping

Hope you didn’t have your DVR set.

A weather delay in the Vanderbilt’s 47-24 win against Middle Tennessee, forced Missouri to search for the broadcast after it was bumped from the SEC Network.

The Tigers’ 40-point win started on ESPNU, but switched before halftime to ESPN News before reverting back to its originally scheduled station, the SEC Network for the conclusion.

Odom bucks history

Odom is only the fifth coach in Mizzou history to win his debut at Memorial Stadium and he’s only the second coach since 1957 to do it.

The only other coach among Odom’s last seven predecessors to win in his first home game since Frank Broyles’ one-year tenure was Bob Stull in 1989.

“I wasn’t aware of that until it was texted to me this morning,” Odom said. “I sent back, ‘Thanks for that info.’ It did not make me feel any better, but we’ve got a lot of really good kids and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it got to me a little bit tonight.

“Getting out on the field and Devin West, they introduced him and Kent Skornia, it means a great deal to those guys and, in turn, I feel the responsibility to do it right. I feel the opportunity to do right by them, to do right by the state of Missouri and, obviously, our great university.”

Missouri coaches are now 5-7-1 all-time in their first game at the 90-year-old stadium.

This story was originally published September 11, 2016 at 1:14 AM with the headline "Missouri notes: Foot injury keeps Sean Culkin out of Tigers’ win over Eastern Michigan."