After bye week, Mizzou gets promising injury news heading into South Carolina game

Missouri’s football team left the Georgia game battered. Standout receiver Emanuel Hall was dealing with a groin injury, and safety Cam Hilton had a broken thumb. The Tigers were ready for a break, and they got one with their bye week following the Sept. 22 loss to the Bulldogs.

“We took what (time) we needed to take, we reflected on the Georgia game, had some good takeaways from it, improved what we needed to improve,” tight end Albert Okwuegbunam said. “They also let us relax and rejuvenate and heal up from the first four weeks.”

Hall, the team’s leading receiver, took some time off from practice following the Georgia game, coach Barry Odom said. Hall played through pain against the Bulldogs, and his injury prevented him from playing most of the second half against Purdue the week before.

Odom said Hall will be ready to play Saturday at South Carolina. The receiver logged 430 yards in Missouri’s first three games but did not have a catch against Georgia. He failed to break away from Bulldogs corner Deandre Baker, and quarterback Drew Lock only targeted Hall twice.

Receiver Nate Brown was also banged up following the Tigers’ loss to the Bulldogs, Odom said. Like Hall, Brown missed practice time the week after Georgia but will be ready for this weekend’s game.

Hall and Brown were not available for comment at media availability Tuesday, but Okwuegbunam said they have regained some of their explosiveness in practice.

The Tigers will also get a boost from receiver Richaud Floyd in the coming weeks, though Odom does not know if he will play against South Carolina. Floyd broke his leg in training camp and missed the first four games. He recently returned to practice.

“I don’t know that he’s game-speed ready but he looked a lot better today than he did on Sunday night,” Odom said Tuesday. “If he makes that jump again between now and Wednesday or Thursday, we may be looking at an opportunity where he can go help us as well.”

Floyd was fifth on the team in receiving yards in 2017, and he also returned two punts for touchdowns. He averaged 19.82 yards per return.

“Anytime you’ve got a veteran guy back there that’s had success, it doesn’t hurt you,” special teams coordinator Andy Hill said.

Hilton broke his thumb in Missouri’s Week 3 game at Purdue but put off surgery so he could play against Georgia the next weekend. He ultimately underwent surgery over the bye week, which he said has limited his pain. He was still wearing a cast Tuesday but said he’ll have no limitations against the Gamecocks.

Like Hilton, Odom broke his thumb his senior year of college. The coach recommended Hilton undergo surgery. Odom didn’t, and he regretted the decision.

Hilton, Brown and Hall are all listed as starters on this week’s depth chart. Floyd is penciled in as a backup, though it’s still unclear whether he will be ready for Saturday’s game.