A Derek Dooley saying has helped Mizzou tight end Albert Okwuegbunam forget bad plays
Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam has started the season where he left off after catching 11 touchdowns in 2017, but twice this year he has come close to developing a case of the drops.
His secret medicine? Offensive coordinator Derek Dooley.
Okwuegbunam had a nine-yard catch against Wyoming that was fumbled and recovered by the Cowboys. Against Georgia, he had another nine-yard catch that was stripped from him and returned for a touchdown. Both plays came in the first quarter and on the opponent’s side of the field.
But instead of letting the plays impact the rest of the game, Okwuegbunam recovered well both times. He had 50 yards receiving and a touchdown against Wyoming and a team-best 81-yards receiving against Georgia.
Dooley has a acronym, FIDO, that he has shared with Okwuegbunam. It stands for “forget it, drive on.” The first-year offensive coordinator has tried to preach to the 6-foot-5 tight end about having a short memory in games and has drilled the phrase into his head along with the rest of the offense.
“Whether you have a good game or a bad game, the important thing is to get your eyes forward on what you’re doing now,” Dooley said. “So you can have a bad play, and if you start to think about what happened on that play, you’re not worried about the next play. You’re going to have a bad two plays. That doesn’t mean you forget about it for good, but in that moment in time you move on.”
Quarterback Drew Lock has seen receivers let drops and fumbles affect their play, including former wideout J’Mon Moore, who is now with the Green Bay Packers, and current senior Emanuel Hall.
Lock said Okwuegbunam’s short memory is something he didn’t have last year and is rare among underclassmen. Lock credits Okwuegbunam’s maturity.
“He was confident in himself last year, especially when he got rolling, but he hadn’t made the plays yet,” Lock said. “He knows who he is now. When he does make a mistake he doesn’t let it eat him up since he knows he’s an important part to our offense.”
Okwuegbunam currently has 181 receiving yards on the season with two touchdowns and is second nationally among tight ends with 23 receptions.
As a redshirt sophomore, he is draft eligible and there’s a good chance this is his last college season. Tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley said he’s talked to Okwuegbunam about his NFL prospects but not lately because they are in season.
“I told him if you take care of everything you need to take care of, then that will take care of itself,” Finley said.
He echos Lock’s sentiment that Okwuegbunam has come a long way. Now he just has to go a step further.
“He has done a great job of responding,” Finley said. “We just have to make sure he takes care of the ball when he gets it.”
Alex Schiffer
Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.
