Notebook: Observations And Updates From Tigers’ First Fall Camp Practice

Mizzou football took to Stephens Indoor Facility for its first practice of fall camp. The team was in half pads, and it seemed like the main emphasis of day 1 was getting players conditioned. In the 30-minute viewing period for media, players were in a constant rotation of drills, no matter the position.

There were sights of Darris Smith taking pitches out of the backfield in a pursuit drill, Jason Dowell working on fielding kicks and a slew of other interesting out-of-position scenarios.

This was just practice 1 of 15. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and Co. aren’t going to be giving away much out of the gates. Still, there were some notable findings on fall camp’s opening day.

Sterling Webb Reporting for Duty

• Webb was back at practice after winning his court case, wearing No. 90, a change from No. 10 last season, which now belongs to Daeden Hopkins.
• While some players looked more in shape than others, it was clear that Webb needs time to get his legs under him, but understandably so.

Curtis Peagler Leads Breakdown

• Peagler huddled the team together and hyping them up before getting into drills. Peagler is set to start again on the interior of the offensive line and is growing into a leader for the team, per Dominick Giudice at media day.
• Mizzou lost three offensive captains last season – Cayden Green the lone returner – so it’s safe to say Peagler will be considered.

Josh Atkins on a Crutch

• Atkins was projected to start at right tackle before injuring his leg in a spring practice. He was putting weight on that right leg comfortably, but a limp was apparent.
• He had a setback on the road to recovery in June, and Drinkwitz said that his best guess for a return would be midseason.

Drills

• Once Mizzou broke out of its warm-up, it was in a steady rotation of drills for around 20 minutes.
• It was reminiscent of a peewee football team with several drill stations set up, and once you do one, you go on to the next.
• Pass rush for all three levels of the defense seemed to be an emphasis during this period. The secondary worked on some blitz packages and getting off the ball early.
• Linebackers and edge rushers did a lot of pad work to tune up pass rush moves. The most active pass rush drill was something I’m calling sled-and-shed, which is exactly what it sounds like.
• Quarterbacks and running backs did a lot of drills at 50% with no defense. They were practicing over-the-shoulder throws out of the backfield early on and then went into an RPO drill later to work handoffs and throws in the flat.
• Fumble recovery work. One of the first drills that everyone had to participate in was where coaches rolled a ball out in front of a player and they had to dive on the ball. Tight ends later did a goal-line fumble recovery drill.
• Punt/kickoff fielding was simulated by a coach throwing a football high in the air from about 10 yards away with different rotations.

From what was seen at the first practice, there were no discernible leaders in ongoing position battles or even an inkling of what a first-team offense/defense might look like. The only clear leaders at their positions were Austin Simmons at quarterback, Jamal Roberts in the backfield and Darris Smith on the EDGE.

Practices will ramp up as players get their conditioning back, and more answers will come soon.