I'm sitting down to write the post scrimmage content from today's 23-3 defensive victory over the offense, but I wanted to post some quick take-aways from the afternoon.
1. Rough, rough day for the offense. There was a lot of talk about the young receivers today after the practice, and they certainly had their share of struggles. Drops, wrong routes, sloppy-blocking were commonplace. But, the quarterbacks still threw seven interceptions, including two by Mauk, and not all of them were clearly on the receivers.
Mauk was asked if those picks were more on the receivers, and to his credit, he said the quarterbacks should all take the blame for them. But, no matter, certainly a rough start for the offense.
2. Russell Hansbrough should be limited now. There's nothing for him to prove this spring, really. He'll be the starter and feature back, and his 65-yard touchdown run where he outran guys that looked like they had an angle gives some credence to his teammates' statements that he's gotten faster. But he has a lingering shoulder issue (based on what Maty Mauk said) and, with Trevon Walters now gone until September with a torn ACL, the team should be even more protective of Hansbrough. With Morgan Steward still injured, and three more scholarship running backs not arriving until the summer, Hansbrough's carries should be limited for the rest of the spring.
3. Strong showing by every level of the defense. From the line to the linebackers to the secondary, Missouri's defensive dominance shouldn't be ignored based on offensive struggles. The line -- especially Marcus Loud, Charles Harris, Harold Brantley and Rickey Hatley -- got a lot of pressure. I noticed Kentrell Brothers, Clarence Green and Donavin Newsom specifically as having strong days for the linebackers. The secondary may have been the best, especially Aarion Penton and Kenya Dennis.
Again, they're going against a young, inexperienced group of receivers, but the physicality of those two against green receivers seems unfair. On one play, Dennis (legally) bodied Keyon Dilosa all the way downfield, and Dilosa couldn't get an inch from Dennis. The pass was way overthrown.
It's tough to figure out exactly where the offense and defense stand when they're only going against each other -- and the reps between the first-team units on both sides are limited -- but the defense certainly looked promising today.
4. Marvin Zanders is all over the place but exciting to watch. Zanders goes 1,000-miles an hour, that's for sure. He's dropping snaps, he's breaking off a 15-yard run, he's nearly throwing a pick, he's throwing a 39-yard completion. But, for a young player, he certainly isn't tentative. His running style looks like James Franklin -- not as physical, but always getting upfield and weaving back and forth. He's quicker to run right now, and with those green jerseys, it may give him an unfair advantage. But he's worked his way up to the third-string position, and he got some reps with the second-team today. So, it will be interesting to see his progression over the final two weeks of practice.
5. New favorite targets emerging?: I don't have the exact stats, but the tight ends were targeted A LOT today, and that's without starter Sean Culkin. Mauk said they were the first read a lot of times today, and they were open. But, he also said that he just likes throwing to Jason Reese, too. There weren't a ton of yards to be gained, but getting the tight ends involved more seems to be a change from last season.
1. Rough, rough day for the offense. There was a lot of talk about the young receivers today after the practice, and they certainly had their share of struggles. Drops, wrong routes, sloppy-blocking were commonplace. But, the quarterbacks still threw seven interceptions, including two by Mauk, and not all of them were clearly on the receivers.
Mauk was asked if those picks were more on the receivers, and to his credit, he said the quarterbacks should all take the blame for them. But, no matter, certainly a rough start for the offense.
2. Russell Hansbrough should be limited now. There's nothing for him to prove this spring, really. He'll be the starter and feature back, and his 65-yard touchdown run where he outran guys that looked like they had an angle gives some credence to his teammates' statements that he's gotten faster. But he has a lingering shoulder issue (based on what Maty Mauk said) and, with Trevon Walters now gone until September with a torn ACL, the team should be even more protective of Hansbrough. With Morgan Steward still injured, and three more scholarship running backs not arriving until the summer, Hansbrough's carries should be limited for the rest of the spring.
3. Strong showing by every level of the defense. From the line to the linebackers to the secondary, Missouri's defensive dominance shouldn't be ignored based on offensive struggles. The line -- especially Marcus Loud, Charles Harris, Harold Brantley and Rickey Hatley -- got a lot of pressure. I noticed Kentrell Brothers, Clarence Green and Donavin Newsom specifically as having strong days for the linebackers. The secondary may have been the best, especially Aarion Penton and Kenya Dennis.
Again, they're going against a young, inexperienced group of receivers, but the physicality of those two against green receivers seems unfair. On one play, Dennis (legally) bodied Keyon Dilosa all the way downfield, and Dilosa couldn't get an inch from Dennis. The pass was way overthrown.
It's tough to figure out exactly where the offense and defense stand when they're only going against each other -- and the reps between the first-team units on both sides are limited -- but the defense certainly looked promising today.
4. Marvin Zanders is all over the place but exciting to watch. Zanders goes 1,000-miles an hour, that's for sure. He's dropping snaps, he's breaking off a 15-yard run, he's nearly throwing a pick, he's throwing a 39-yard completion. But, for a young player, he certainly isn't tentative. His running style looks like James Franklin -- not as physical, but always getting upfield and weaving back and forth. He's quicker to run right now, and with those green jerseys, it may give him an unfair advantage. But he's worked his way up to the third-string position, and he got some reps with the second-team today. So, it will be interesting to see his progression over the final two weeks of practice.
5. New favorite targets emerging?: I don't have the exact stats, but the tight ends were targeted A LOT today, and that's without starter Sean Culkin. Mauk said they were the first read a lot of times today, and they were open. But, he also said that he just likes throwing to Jason Reese, too. There weren't a ton of yards to be gained, but getting the tight ends involved more seems to be a change from last season.
