COLUMBIA, Mo. - Barry Odom doesn't think it's a stretch for a punter to be considered a weapon.
In fact, Missouri's head coach said Corey Fatony is a "huge, huge, huge weapon" for the Tigers. Multiple publications tabbed Fatony as a Freshman All-American and All-Southeastern Conference performer.
"He changes the field position," defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross said, "and he's a weapon for us and we hope he's at his best this year in each and every game. He can flip the field and put us in favorable positions."
A three-star recruit in 2014 from Franklin, Tenn., Fatony received a rare Missouri scholarship for a special teams player out of high school. He picked Missouri over Auburn, Stanford, UCLA and Tennessee, and started immediately for the Tigers.
Fatony punted 81 times for 3,477 total yards - both school records - for an average of 42.9, 23 inside the opponent's 20-yard line and 21 punts of at least 50 yards. He even added a 26-yard rush on a fake punt at Vanderbilt.
Fans took notice of the freshman phenom in the midst of Missouri's 5-7 season in 2015. Still, he wouldn't go so far as to consider himself a fan favorite.
"Punters can't be one of those," Fatony said with a smile during Missouri's fan day. "I'm not one of those. My punt unit, we did a good job last year, but I'm not one of those."
Redshirt senior long snapper Jake Hurrell also returns from last year's punt unit.
Hurrell has started the last three seasons for the Tigers at long snapper, and his experience helped ease Fatony's path from high school to college. Fatony said he might not have been a freshman All-American without Hurrell placing the ball where he wants it, and thinks Hurrell is someone who fans should know about.
"He's amazing at what he does," Fatony said of Hurrell. "He not only helped me with amazing snaps, he also helped me with the transition, he was like my mom in all that. He was there for me."
In practice, Fatony tries to stay loose. He spends much of the downtime between drills laughing with teammates and dancing along to whatever song is played over the loudspeakers at the team's practice fields.
Fatony wants to help get his teammates going, especially on days where some might be sluggish or tired. If he can't get some players going, he's at least still happy to be on the field every day.
"I'm just happy to do what I do," Fatony said, "I do what I love every day so I try to bring the energy to these guys."
Freshman kicker Tucker McCann said he definitely sees that up-tempo attitude rubbing off on his teammates.
"He definitely brings a lot of energy to us," McCann said, "he encourages us and motivates us to do a lot more than we think about, and he's just always in a good mood and always striving to be the best."
Here are some more tidbits from Tuesday's practice.
Absent from practice was running back Ish Witter (bruised right knee) and safeties Finis Stribling IV (concussion protocol) Anthony Sherrils (family matters). None, however, are expected miss extended time.
Odom is still deciding who is going to play in Missouri's season opener Sept. 3 at West Virginia. He said the team got some work in planning for the Mountaineers, but the team's focus is still on positional competitions. Odom is also keeping former coach Gary Pinkel's routine of having Mondays off, though he will hold 70-minute practices Sunday.
The Tigers held a closed scrimmage Saturday. Offensively, Odom said Witter, J'Mon Moore and the tight end group as a whole did well. On defense, he said defensive end Charles Harris is "playing at a different level than he did last year," while also saying defensive tackle Ricky Hatley has had an "unbelievable" camp. Defensive linemen Marcell Frazier, Spencer Williams and Jordan Harold, and linebackers Michael Scherer, Cale Garrett, Terez Hall and Joey Burkett were also singled out for playing well.
Cross said sophomore Josh Moore might be a sleeper to steal time at defensive end. Moore switched from defensive tackle. Harris, Williams, Harold and Frazier will likely be the top four in the rotation when the team's first depth chart is released.
Odom talked about playing a two-quarterback system again, this time on how defenses plan for it.
"When you know two are going to play, and you prepare for that, it takes time," Odom said. "As a defensive guy, you always want to make sure your balance is right on the time you're spending on each one."
Odom is referring to incumbent starter Drew Lock and Marvin Zanders as the two quarterbacks who might see time this year. Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said Lock and Zanders both have a better understanding of defenses this season.
Heupel is comfortable with using Witter, Oklahoma transfer Alex Ross and true freshman Damarea Crockett as a running back rotation, though he said he hasn't decided on a starter. Heupel added depth at the position will be important during the course of the season and the physical nature of the position.
The Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Chicago Bears all sent scouts to the team's practice Tuesday. Also in attendance was new Missouri baseball coach Steve Bieser.