COLUMBIA, Mo. — In a typically sweltering August morning, the Missouri football team completed its first practice of this preseason on Monday, a two-hour workout on the Kadlec Practice Fields. It was the opening prelude to coach Eli Drinkwitz’s third season in Columbia.
A few updates:
• Center Bence Polgar, a transfer from Buffalo, has been ruled ineligible for the season by the NCAA for a matter related to his time at the Mid-American Conference school, Drinkwitz confirmed after Monday’s practice. The school appealed the ruling and was denied, Drinkwitz said. He declined to elaborate further on Polgar's status other than saying he'll be with the team for the season but can't appear in games. Polgar was on the field in uniform for Monday's practice.
Without Polgar this fall, that leaves the competition to three contenders: redshirt freshman Connor Tollison, sophomore Drake Heismeyer and senior Richard Taylor. Whoever wins the job will be replacing two-year starter Michael Maietti, who played nearly every snap the past two seasons. Polgar started 11 games for Buffalo last season.
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“All three of those guys are very capable,†Drinkwitz said. “Knock on wood, today we didn't have any snaps that were that were errant. So that was that was exciting to get through a day of practice and not a bad snap.
• F°ù±ð²õ³ó³¾²¹²Ô Ja’Marion Wayne (Parkway West High) opened camp at safety after coming to Mizzou as a wide receiver. The move isn’t necessarily permanent, but he’ll spend the fall on defense, Drinkwitz said.
“We talked to him a couple of days ago about the opportunity, and I thought he had a really good summer,†Drinkwitz said. “He's a long, fluid athlete. We recruited him as an athlete. There's an opportunity for us to see what he looks like at the safety position with that length and speed. We're going to let him do that. We're going to commit to that through January but then bring it back.
“With us transitioning to more of a three-safety defense instead of a three-corner (defense), when you look at the safety position, it's probably got the lowest numbers (on the roster) and felt like with (receiver) Demariyon Houston, even though he didn’t practice today, but at the wide receiver position, we're deeper than we are at the three safety positions. So it felt like for his opportunity to get on the field this year, we can see that happening at safety. I wouldn't say it's permanent. I would say we're exploring.
“The thing about him is the team comes first. I’ve never had a player send me a text right after that said, ‘Thanks for the opportunity.’ So he's an amazing kid.â€
The Tigers have four upperclassmen among their top safeties — Martez Manuel, Joseph Charleston, J.C Carlies, Jalani Williams — and need to develop some younger players at the position. Wayne and Isaac Thompson are the only true freshmen in the group. Meanwhile, the wide receiver group includes four newcomers — freshmen in Luther Burden III and Mekhi Miller, plus junior college transfers Houston and Micah Manning, a walk-on and older brother of newly committed receiver recruit Joshua Manning. At 6 feet 2 and 186 pounds, Wayne has intriguing range in the secondary — and experience playing defense. He picked off five passes as a senior and made 54 tackles. Â
• Offensive tackle Hyrin White took part in the open periods of practice, though he’s expected to miss the first portion of the season because of a lower leg injury. He started the bulk of last year’s games at right tackle. ... Defensive tackle Ky Montgomery (knee) and cornerback Marcus Scott II (knee) will miss the first couple of weeks of camp after recovering from offseason surgeries. ... Freshman safety Isaac Thompson appeared to practice at full speed. He missed most of his senior season at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University High because of a knee injury.
• For most of the open periods, the quarterbacks were stationed far away from the media’s view. During one passing session, Brady Cook, Tyler Macon and Jack Abraham worked on one side of the field, while freshmen Sam Horn,ÌýBrett Brown and Tommy Lock were in another group. Brown, a first-year player from Brentwood, Tennessee, is a walk-on, along with returning redshirt freshman Lock, the younger cousin of former Tigers QB Drew Lock.
• How did Horn’s first official college practice go?
“It was Day One,†Drinkwitz said. “He made some Day One mistakes. He forgot to motion somebody, some of that kind of stuff. But there's a high level of talent there. He looked to the wrong side, realized it, flipped back, makes the throw to the flat and we still get the play right. He's got a natural ability to put the ball (where it’s supposed to go.) He finished the 3s right there with a touchdown throw that I thought maybe the ball was going somewhere else. He's got arm talent and sees the field. He’s just going to have to pick up the speed of the game and the understanding of the Xs and Os, which is kind of what the expectation would be coming into this thing.â€
• “Cut it loose.†It’s a phrase Drinkwitz has said a lot lately about his plans for the passing game in 2022, no matter who wins the QB job. He’s been critical of last year’s conservative play-calling and vows to take a different approach this fall.
“I just felt like as a play-caller, you kind of got into a bunker mentality and (I) tried to outlast the other team,†he said. “It worked some games and in other games it didn’t. And that's not who I really am. And that's not what we're going to be about.â€
• The team will elect captains near the end of camp, Drinkwitz said. There should be plenty of candidates with all the veterans on the roster.
• The Tigers are not lacking in size across the D-line, with five tackles listed at 300 pounds or more: returning starter Darius Robinson (300), Oregon transfer Kristian Williams (312), Auburn transfer Ian Mathews (6-4, 302) as well as freshmen Jalen Marshall (6-4 6-2, 302) and Marquis Gracial (6-4, 331). Don’t be alarmed by that number next to Gracial, a rookie from St. Charles High. He seems to hide the weight well in his 6-4 frame. He’s a monstrous freshman.
• Speaking of big freshman, rookie offensive lineman Curtis Peagler tips the scales at a team-high 360 pounds. The Tigers have recruited some massive O-linemen: junior college transfer MaKyi Lee (6-6, 319) and freshmen Armand Membou (6-3, 316), Valen Erickson (6-5, 300) and Tristan Wilson (6-4, 284).
• It would be unlikely anyone other than Burden returned punts this season, but others taking reps at punt returner included wideouts Chance Luper and Dominic Lovett plus cornerbacks Dreyden Norwood and Kris Abrams-Draine.
• Another wideout who put together a strong summer: Mookie Cooper, who’s coming off an injury-marred debut season. “Great work ethic,†Drinkwitz said. “He he's mentally in the right space. He's out there being consistent. And he's a guy that can make plays.â€
• It’s a three-man battle for the punting job between Sean Koetting, Luke Bauer and Jack Stonehouse. Koetting is the only one’s punted in a game — 2021 at Arkansas — but it’s a pivotal competition this month. “All three of those guys got big legs, but it's got to be consistent and you can't outkick your coverage," Drinkwitz said. "You can't miss the ball inside the hash. And so that's going to be something to watch through camp.â€
Photos: Missouri Tigers hold first football practice
The Missouri Tigers held their first football practice on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, at the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex in Columbia, MO. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com