Missouri loses another wide receiver with Lawrence Lee’s exit

Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel announced Monday at his weekly news conference that freshman wide receiver Lawrence Lee had “left the program for disciplinary reasons.”

Lee — a 5-foot-10, 180-pound slot receiver from West Florida Tech in Pensacola, Fla. — appeared in eight games and made two catches for seven yards.

Without Lee, Missouri has only three wide receivers with playing experience on the roster — freshman Nate Brown, junior Wesley Leftwich and redshirt freshman J’Mon Moore — who are set to return next season.

Brown has four catches for 31 yards, Leftwich has three catches for 36 yards and Moore has two catches for 33 yards. None have caught a touchdown pass.

Lee was a three-star recruit, according to Rivals.com, and one of two true freshmen to crack this season’s depth chart along with Brown.

The Tigers do have three wide receivers who are redshirting this season — DeSean Blair, Keyon Dilosa and Thomas Richard.

Missouri also has three wide receivers — Richaud Floyd from Gulport, Miss., Emanuel Hall from Franklin, Tenn., and Ronnell Perkins from University City, Mo. — committed in its 2015 class.

Before the season, Missouri lost two of its top receivers when Dorial Green-Beckham was dismissed and Levi Copelin was suspended for the season by the NCAA after testing positive for a banned substance.

Green-Beckham wound up at Oklahoma, while Copelin has subsequently been dismissed from the team.

Senior Gavin Otte is the only backup listed behind senior Jimmie Hunt in the slot for the Tigers, who play Arkansas at 1:30 p.m. Friday on CBS.

Golden wins SEC award

Missouri senior defensive end Markus Golden was chosen Southeastern Conference defensive player of the week Monday following his two-sack game against Tennessee. He also made 2 1/2 tackles for loss, two quarterback pressures and recovered a fumble.

SEC title-game scenarios

It’s very simple in the SEC East.

If Missouri wins, the Tigers win the division outright with a 7-1 record and advance to the SEC Championship Game.

If the Tigers lose, Georgia and MU tie for the division title at 6-2, but the Bulldogs march on to the Georgia Dome by virtue of their head-to-head win.

The SEC West race, which is down to Alabama and Mississippi State, isn’t complicated either.

If Alabama beats Auburn, the Tide rolls to Atlanta for the conference title game.

If Alabama loses and Mississippi State beats rival Mississippi in the Egg Bowl, the Bulldogs win the division and the right to battle for the SEC title.

If both teams lose, coach Nick Saban’s crew advances by virtue of its head-to-head win against Mississippi State.

Penton returned from suspension injured

Sophomore cornerback Aarion Penton didn’t start and played limited reps Saturday at Tennessee.

He was returning from a one-game suspension following his arrest on suspicion of marijuana possession.

MU coach Gary Pinkel wouldn’t say whether John Gibson got the start as an extension of Penton’s punishment, but he revealed that Penton also has been dealing with a strained hamstring.

This story was originally published November 24, 2014 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Missouri loses another wide receiver with Lawrence Lee’s exit."