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There was a point last season that Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz looked around his team and saw two healthy linebackers with in-game experience.
Ty’Ron Hopper had gone down with an injury. Likewise, Chad Bailey. That threw Triston Newson into the picture and veteran Chuck Hicks into an expanded role.
The forced hand, looking back, has paid dividends. Hicks and Newson are this season’s listed starters at the position, and part of a near-set-in-stone rotation with Miami transfer Corey Flagg and South Alabama newcomer Khalil Jacobs.
But that forced hand has also been somewhat of a lesson on early season development. Especially, like Drinkwitz said, “if you want to play a long time” in a single season.
“As these games get going, Weeks 7 through 12, it’s about the competitive depth that you have in order to win,” Drinkwitz said. “And that competitive depth may show up on special teams units. It may show up on third-down packages. It may show up on first or second down.”
Mizzou’s reserves got reps in all of the above in Week 1. The newly top-10 Tigers cycled through 71 total players during their season-opening, 51-point win over Murray State last Thursday on Faurot Field.
The defensive players, in particular, appear to have caught the MU coach’s attention, as they closed the door on a shutout and helped the Tigers finish the first full week of the season as the national leader in total yards allowed (87); passing yards allowed (27); yards per play (1.7); and fewest first downs allowed (five).
More: Depth reps: 3 takeaways from Missouri football’s reserve appearances in opening day win
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Linebackers Jermemiah Bealsey and Nicholas Rodriguez, both freshmen, got specific props from the head coach. Safety…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-building-competitive-depth-top-080940345.html
Author : Columbia Daily Tribune
Publish date : 2024-09-04 08:09:40
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