4 months ago y'all had Brady Cook and Eli Drinkwitz headed to the firing squad, my how things have changed. Needless to say, Mizzou football has reinvigorated the entire fan base and then some. Super excited about the future of this program. So with that being said, these are my too early takes for the upcoming season.
My one issue with the offense last season is that we settled for too many field goals. I know we lose the entire left side of our Oline, but with the additions I think we can actually have a better line overall. If Tollison can improve on his 1 or 2 early snaps a game, that'll be a great start. Although Foster and Delgado were good, I think a combination of Reichart, Green, Richardson can be more dominate. With Norfleet and Harris having a season under their belts, I'm expecting continued use of the TEs to help convert more of those 3rd downs as well as better blocking from them.
Barring injuries, I'm expecting the offense to be more explosive than they were this season. I think Brady will sit in the pocket more and put an emphasis on showing he can be a pocket passer for the next level. We already know what we have at the WR position and it's sick. I know we brought in the 2 transfer RBs, but I think it'll be spread out more among 3- 4 backs.
On the defensive side of the ball, I'm not expecting a drop-off at all. With the additions of the transfer DEs, coupled with JW3, the pass rush could be much better. Williams, McClellan, Webb and either Gracial or Marshall should be able to replicate the production of the D-line. They're all better athletes than the former players, just have to get them to play to their abilities.
Now the back 7 is where I'm most excited about. Yeah, I get we will lose Rakestraw, KAD, Carlies and Hopper to the league, but we have some dogs coming back. Go back and watch the Arky and OSU games and lock in on #14, he's a star in the making. I love Hopper but I think Newsome has better short area quickness/change of direction to stay square on the ball carrier, something I think Hop struggled with. Hicks played well in the absence of Bailey, but I think Flagg will be a definite upgrade at the Mike position.
I'm not sure y'all know how good Pride is gonna be at CB. That boy is a baller and no I'm not saying that just because he's from the Lou, ok maybe just a little bit I am. Really looking forward to Burks, Roche and Williams in particular getting more run at the deep safety spots because I think they have higher upsides compared to Carlies and Charleston. @Carnell75 this is his defense bro. I'm expecting nothing less than All-SEC play from him. Only position that carries a question mark for me is Norwood. The jury is still out on him as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully, he steps up and put my worries to rest.
In closing, I really think we'll be a more dominant team next year. If I'm being honest, we caught a few lucky breaks this season. We can't expect to hit a 61 yard fg to win a game. We can't expect a RB to run out of bounds late in the 4th to preserve our timeout. We can't expect to convert 4th and 18 with the season on the line. The offense will be top 10 and my boy Brady will hear his name called somewhere in the draft next April. The defense will be a little better due to having better athletes all across the board...We gon continue to stand on business...MIZ
My one issue with the offense last season is that we settled for too many field goals. I know we lose the entire left side of our Oline, but with the additions I think we can actually have a better line overall. If Tollison can improve on his 1 or 2 early snaps a game, that'll be a great start. Although Foster and Delgado were good, I think a combination of Reichart, Green, Richardson can be more dominate. With Norfleet and Harris having a season under their belts, I'm expecting continued use of the TEs to help convert more of those 3rd downs as well as better blocking from them.
Barring injuries, I'm expecting the offense to be more explosive than they were this season. I think Brady will sit in the pocket more and put an emphasis on showing he can be a pocket passer for the next level. We already know what we have at the WR position and it's sick. I know we brought in the 2 transfer RBs, but I think it'll be spread out more among 3- 4 backs.
On the defensive side of the ball, I'm not expecting a drop-off at all. With the additions of the transfer DEs, coupled with JW3, the pass rush could be much better. Williams, McClellan, Webb and either Gracial or Marshall should be able to replicate the production of the D-line. They're all better athletes than the former players, just have to get them to play to their abilities.
Now the back 7 is where I'm most excited about. Yeah, I get we will lose Rakestraw, KAD, Carlies and Hopper to the league, but we have some dogs coming back. Go back and watch the Arky and OSU games and lock in on #14, he's a star in the making. I love Hopper but I think Newsome has better short area quickness/change of direction to stay square on the ball carrier, something I think Hop struggled with. Hicks played well in the absence of Bailey, but I think Flagg will be a definite upgrade at the Mike position.
I'm not sure y'all know how good Pride is gonna be at CB. That boy is a baller and no I'm not saying that just because he's from the Lou, ok maybe just a little bit I am. Really looking forward to Burks, Roche and Williams in particular getting more run at the deep safety spots because I think they have higher upsides compared to Carlies and Charleston. @Carnell75 this is his defense bro. I'm expecting nothing less than All-SEC play from him. Only position that carries a question mark for me is Norwood. The jury is still out on him as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully, he steps up and put my worries to rest.
In closing, I really think we'll be a more dominant team next year. If I'm being honest, we caught a few lucky breaks this season. We can't expect to hit a 61 yard fg to win a game. We can't expect a RB to run out of bounds late in the 4th to preserve our timeout. We can't expect to convert 4th and 18 with the season on the line. The offense will be top 10 and my boy Brady will hear his name called somewhere in the draft next April. The defense will be a little better due to having better athletes all across the board...We gon continue to stand on business...MIZ
