COLUMBIA, Mo. - A season ago, Missouri's defense needed production from freshmen, especially outside the box. The calculus has changed for coaches all across the country this year thanks to the new redshirt rule, but the Tigers could benefit similarly from freshmen on the other side of the ball this year.
Whether looking for starters or backups in 2017, Missouri played Adam Sparks at cornerback and Joshuah Bledsoe and Tyree Gillespie at safety, Jamal Brooks and Aubrey Miller Jr. at linebacker, and Kobie Whiteside, Chris Turner and Akial Byers on the defensive line, and got good results. Turner and Sparks are starters entering Saturday's 3 p.m. season opener against Tennessee-Martin, and the other six are all present on the two- or three-deep at their positions.
The Tigers named five freshmen to the offensive depth chart Tuesday, and all have a chance to play the entire season if Missouri coach Barry Odom and Co. choose to do so. That group is headlined by running back Tyler Badie, who is behind Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III there, but listed first at kick return, backed up by Rountree.
Badie has shown flashes in camp of being not just a change-of-pace back, but a pass-catcher and kick returner as well, so much so redshirt senior offensive lineman Paul Adams compared Badie to a young Marcus Murphy, who wore the same No. 6 Badie does now.
"One hundred percent," Drew Lock said in agreement of Adams' assessment. "Obviously Badie has a lot to prove to be compared to Marcus Murphy, but if there's a guy wearing a '6,' can come in the backfield, go play the slot, get open in the two-minute drill and have no one really be able to cover him in space, and do punt return and kick return, that kinda sounds a little Marcus Murphy-ish to me.
"If he can be that guy, you're going to see a lot of good Mizzou teams, including this year and years to come, because that Marcus Murphy player made a difference on really good Mizzou teams. If Badie can be that guy, that speaks a lot to him as a player."
Kam Scott and Khmari Thompson are behind Emanuel Hall at one wide receiver spot entering Week 1, Jalen Knox is listed with Alex Ofodile behind Nate Brown and Dominic Gicinto is second behind Johnathon Johnson at both slot receiver and punt returner as Missouri waits for Richaud Floyd to return from an injury.
Odom said the presence of six total true freshmen on the depth chart, including Nick Bolton at linebacker, is a good indicator if those players continue to play well, they won't redshirt, and added there will be other true freshmen with a chance to add their names to the list as the season progresses.
"The four games built in for the possibility of redshirting a kid, that's great," Odom said. "That's a great rule that we passed as a committee and the NCAA. It'll help the game of football. But also, if we've got those guys that play four games, and they're helping us win games, we're not gonna pull back and say, 'We've got to maintain the integrity of the four-game thing,' we're just going to keep rolling."
III
As Lock and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Derek Dooley get used to working with one another, they can identify and address perceived weaknesses in the senior quarterback's game. Right now for Lock, that's mostly the mental side of things, starting with overcoming the hotel doldrums leading up to a night game.
That led to Lock and Dooley calling former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS analyst Tony Romo for advice.
"Night games, it's like my biggest - sitting in a hotel all day, you've been there since Friday, you get stagnant. You don't want to look at your play-call sheet all day, but then again you don't want to sleep all day. So we called Tony and talked a little bit about what he did in night games. He gave me a couple good pointers I'm going to use this year."
The numbers in the two full seasons Lock has been Missouri's starter are mixed on whether he plays better in day games versus night games, which for purposes below include all games that kick at 6 p.m. local time or later:
In nine day games in 2016 (vs. Delaware State, Middle Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Arkansas; at West Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee), Lock went 173-for-322 (53.7 percent) for 2,406 yards and threw 15 touchdowns against six interceptions. In three night games (vs. Eastern Michigan, Georgia; at LSU), Lock completed 64-of-112 passes (57.1 percent) for 993 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
In five day games in 2017 (vs. Missouri State, Purdue, Idaho, Florida; at Arkansas), Lock was 96-for-157 (61.1 percent) for 1,797 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In eight night games (vs. South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee; neutral vs. Texas; at Kentucky, Georgia, UConn, Vanderbilt), he was 146-of-262 (55.7 percent) for 2,167 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Southeastern Conference announces the start times for games two weeks in advance. Of the four times that have been announced for the team, two - 6 p.m. against Wyoming and 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Purdue - are night kicks.
Below is Missouri's offensive depth chart:
Quarterback: Drew Lock, senior; Micah Wilson, redshirt sophomore or Taylor Powell, redshirt freshman.
Running Back: Damarea Crockett, junior or Larry Rountree III, sophomore; Tyler Badie, freshman.
Wide Receiver: Nate Brown, redshirt senior; Jalen Knox, freshman or Alex Ofodile, redshirt junior.
Wide Receiver: Emanuel Hall, senior; Kam Scott, freshman; Khmari Thompson, freshman.
Slot Receiver: Johnathon Johnson, redshirt junior; Dominic Gicinto, freshman; Barrett Banister, redshirt freshman.
Left Tackle: Yasir Durant, junior; Hyrin White, redshirt freshman.
Left Guard: Kevin Pendleton, redshirt senior; Samson Bailey, redshirt senior.
Center: Trystan Colon-Castillo, redshirt sophomore; Jonah Dubinski, redshirt junior
Right Guard: Tre'Vour Wallace-Simms, junior; Case Cook, redshirt freshman.
Right Tackle: Paul Adams, redshirt senior; Larry Borom, redshirt freshman.
Tight End: Albert Okwuegbunam, redshirt sophomore; Kendall Blanton, redshirt senior.
Kicker: Tucker McCann, junior.
Kick Return: Tyler Badie, freshman; Larry Rountree III, sophomore.
Punt Return: Johnathon Johnson, redshirt junior; Dominic Gicinto, freshman.