Is Missouri’s offensive line really upset over not having an all-conference selection?
When the preseason all-Southeastern Conference football selections were announced, Missouri’s offensive linemen appeared surprised that none of them made the list.
After all, the Mizzou line ranked among the best in the nation last season in sacks and tackles-for-loss allowed.
“We came out and worked just as hard as everyone else, and to see the rest of the league didn’t see it that way,” redshirt sophomore Trystan Colon-Castillo said.
“We kind of feel disrespect but O-line is the least-mentioned position in football period,” tackle Yasir Durant added.
But senior Paul Adams said Monday that while the unit enters the season motivated and with a chip on its shoulder, the beef the linemen have with the voters is a bit tainted.
“We’re not too worried about individual awards,” he said. “If I were to finish this season, no all-conference, nothing, but a championship ring on me, I’d be totally fine with that.”
Adams and the rest of the line know that part of the voting was likely based off of former offensive coordinator Josh Heupel’s air-raid spread offense, which only required the line to block for a few seconds before quarterback Drew Lock got the ball out.
Heupel’s departure for Central Florida appears to have been a blessing in disguise for the line, which also has a new position coach in Brad Davis, who declined to be interviewed for this story.
Adams said Davis showed the players all the poor techniques they got away with in Heupel’s system, because of the short time they needed to block.
“A lot of the run game, we just relied on very quick things happening,” Adams said. “Even in the pass game we weren’t blocking that long. Drew had the ball in his hands for 2 seconds. This year is going to be a lot different. You have to man up a little bit and really actually block.”
Right guard Tre’vour Wallace-Simms added that his hand placement was poor in Heupel’s system, which is something he can’t get away consistently against SEC defenses.
Adams reached out to Kansas City Chiefs center and former Missouri tackle Mitch Morse recently, to pick his brain on how to maximize his final college season.
Morse told him to leave it all out on the field, but to enjoy himself along the way because the NFL is a lot different from college.
While the offensive line returns all five starters, there are a few players who could see some playing time, especially with the new NCAA rule that allows freshmen to play in four games without losing a year’s eligibility.
Durant complimented redshirt freshman Hyrin White for his improvement from last season and Wallace-Simms is very high on true freshman Bobby Lawrence, who is 6 feet 8.
“He’s a massive human being,” Wallace-Simms said. “He has a chance to be really good.”
If the offensive line can replicate last season’s performance in Dooley’s new offense, then Missouri will likely have a few offensive linemen on the postseason all-SEC team.
But if they don’t, there could be some real beef.
Freshmen to watch
MU coach Barry Odom said Monday that three true freshmen — running back Tyler Badie, defensive back Jarvis Ware and linebacker Nick Bolton — are currently in position to play this season.
He added that the four freshmen wide receivers, including Raytown product Dominic Gicinto, also remain in the mix.
Scrimmage thoughts
Missouri had its first scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday and Odom was impressed with how the defense and offense looked.
In Monday’s practice, backup quarterbacks Micah Wilson and Lindsey Scott Jr. primarily worked with the second team. Junior Jack Lowary was listed alongside Scott as the no. 2 quarterback on the team.
Injury update
Linebacker Terez Hall was limited in practice as he continues to battle a hamstring injury. Odom said Hall would be closer to returning if it were a game week.