Missouri excited about playmakers entering season

HOOVER, ALA. — Backto-back SEC East titles are a distant memory for the Missouri Tigers.

But after consecutive losing seasons, Mizzou certainly should field an exciting team to watch, if not a winning one.

The Tigers boast a collection of playmakers few teams in the SEC can match. Among 10 returning starters on offense is 3,000-yard passer 1,000-yard receiver

and

Lock, J’Mon

1,000-yard rusher

Crockett. Drew Moore Damarea

“We have a lot of playmakers all over the offense,” Moore said. “We can have as many explosive players as we want and we can have as much possible production as we want.”

During last season’s 4-8 finish under first-year coach Barry Odom though, the Tigers’ offense was hit or miss and always at the mercy of a struggling defense.

Missouri totaled more than 700 yards last season at Tennessee but gave up nine touchdowns during a 63-37 loss. The offense and defense were equally bad during a 40-14 loss at Florida, finishing with just 98 passing yards and yielding 287 rushing yards.

Lock, Moore, Crockett and an offensive line returning four starters should give the Tigers a chance in a lot of games, even though the defense returns just three starters.

Moore said the offense is placing the 2017 season on its shoulders.

“When we get on that field if we don’t put points on the board with all this talent we have, we’re going to have issues,” he said. “We understand with all the tools we have we have to score points.”

said no player on his squad prepares harder at practice. McElwain compares Callaway’s approach to two of the best receivers he ever coached.

“I've been around some really good players,” McElwain said. “I don't want to put him in these categories, but these guys that have been successful, like a guy that I coached at Louisville, (one-time Super Bowl MVP) Deion Branch, who practiced every day like it was a game. (Atlanta Falcons’ All-Pro) Julio Jones when he was at Alabama. I mean practice. I'm talking about as soon as you walked through the gate, man, it was on.

“Antonio is one of those guys. He just loves to play the game.”

McElwain said he has yet to decide whether he will suspend the team’s top offensive player for the Sept. 2 opener against Michigan due to his citation for marijuana possession in May. Callaway has a court date set for Monday, but has faced repercussions, including education and more frequent testing. for this four-team event, so nine more years to go. It's simple. Four lets us keep the focus on the regular season, the best, most compelling, most meaningful, as I said, regular season in sports, a regular season that every other sport in America would love to trade for.

“Why monkey with a good thing?”

The four-team playoff is set to begin its fourth season as college football’s postseason model with the national championship game set to take place at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 8, 2018.