Missouri’s rising seniors look to bridge receiving gap after losing Washington, Lucas

Between L’Damian Washington and Marcus Lucas, Missouri loses 108 receptions for 1,585 yards with 13 touchdowns from its passing game.

That’s more than 40 percent of the Tigers’ receptions along with nearly 45 percent of the team’s receiving yards and 42 percent of its touchdowns.

Breaking in a new starting quarterback after James Franklin’s graduation, it’s a lot to lose among Missouri’s pass-catchers.

Of course, rising seniors Bud Sasser and Darius White don’t exactly see it that way.

Sasser, who will get the first crack at replacing Lucas in the slot, and White, who projects as the starter at the “Z” receiver opposite Dorial Green-Beckham, only see an opportunity.

“It hits you like, ‘Hey, it’s your time and the eyes are on you,’” White said. “Me and Bud talk about it all the time. People talk about how we lost L’Damian and we lost Marcus — and we definitely lost a of production — but we’ve still got (fellow senior) Jimmie (Hunt) and we’ve still got me and we’ve still got Bud.”

Sasser was fourth on Missouri last season in receptions (26) and receiving yards (361), while White only caught seven passes for 76 yards.

Meanwhile, Hunt — who is in line to start at the “H” receiver, Sasser’s old spot — hauled in 22 passes for 253 yards.

Clearly, there’s a production chasm to bridge if the Tigers have any hope of repeating as SEC East division champions.

“What’s sports without some pressure?” Sasser asked rhetorically. “That’s the fun part, knowing that people are looking at you and looking up to you and expecting you to make big plays throughout the whole season.”

White, in particular, has impressed Missouri coach Gary Pinkel during the early spring practices, but — like the rest of the wide receivers the Tigers will lean more heavily on, including sophomore Levi Copelin — the journey’s just beginning.

“He’s had a great camp,” Pinkel said of White. “Our Winning Edge program — strength, speed, quickness and everything — he’s been doing really well. He’s a talented player. Now, we’ve got to see it on the field, but I think he can certainly help our football team. And it’s going to be important that he does. We lost a few receivers that had a huge impact.”

White, a transfer from the University of Texas who starred on Missouri’s scout team two years ago, is confident he’ll make the most of his chance.

“When I talk to my mom (Demetric), she says, ‘Hey, money, it’s your time. It’s for you to take advantage of it or let it go by,’” White said. “Every day at practice, as soon as I set foot in that locker room, I try to get the mindset that it’s time to focus and put everything else to the side.”

He continued, “It’s all happened for a reason. It’s been hard to be patient, but I’ve learned to be humble and learned to be patient and learned to wait for your time to come. And when that time comes, I’m going to make sure I turn on the light.”

Missouri junior Kentrell Brothers (shoulder), who is expected to replace Andrew Wilson at middle linebacker, is recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum.

He had the procedure Friday “and he’s doing well,” Pinkel said. “He had five practices, so that was good. We just felt to get him back ready 100 percent by June, we felt we had to do it right now.”

Meanwhile, sophomore tight end Sean Culkin (broken left pinkie) returned to practice with a cast on his hand covered by a specially designed glove.

“It’s like a splint,” Pinkel said, motioning that it pinned his pinkie and ring finger together.

In other injury news, junior cornerback Ernest Payton (ACL surgery) remains limited, but defensive line Lucas Vincent (concussion) fully participated in practice.

Pinkel has long been on the record in support of providing select student-athletes with a stipend, but he doesn’t support unionizing college athletics — a potential reality after the Northwestern players’ suit cleared a legal hurdle.

“Honestly, I don’t know the legal side of it,” Pinkel said. “I’m for giving players at our level some kind of stipend in their scholarship. But as far as having a union, obviously I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2014 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Missouri’s rising seniors look to bridge receiving gap after losing Washington, Lucas."