Storms a-comin'...
1. Day Three Practice Reports
The Trib (Dave Matter): Camp Chronicles: A receiver gets Kenji-ed
PowerMizzou.com - Saturday Practice Report
MUtigers.com: Camp Report: Day Three
PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Kenji Jackson
So it appears there have been a couple more minor injuries, but nothing series: Eric Waters is battling turf toe, and Gahn McGaffie strained a hamstring. I'm okay with anything that gives a few more reps to the young receivers.
From PowerMizzou:
*Some more secondary notes: The first-team nickel defense appears to include Kenronte Walker at safety with Matt White sliding to the "hybrid" position for right now. The linebackers in that alignment are Will Ebner and Zaviar Gooden. Second team nickel includes Braylon Webb, Daniel Easterly, Trey Hobson, Robert Steeples and Tyler Davis for now.
*Speaking of Hobson, he just keeps making plays in practice. He has to hold the unofficial school record for practice interceptions and today batted down two passes that I saw.
*There is a lot of talk about the young receivers. To me, Jimmie Hunt and Bud Sasser stand out on a regular basis. I tried to ask some of the Tiger defensive backs which youngsters look good to them at receiver, but they're well-trained. None took the bait and all praised the entire group of wideouts as working hard.
So far, it appears that there are plays being made on both sides of the ball -- the secondary breaking up passes, the receivers making great catches (like, evidently, L'Damian Washington making an amazing one over Kip Edwards yesterday). James Franklin threading the needle beautifully on one play, and a linebacker stepping in front of a pass the next. You go insane overreacting to anything you read in practice reports, good or bad, and I usually try to avoid that by just making sure that no specific unit is doing too poorly ... or too well (since they're doing well against other Missouri plays). I'm getting the balance I want so far.
(Also: Kenji Jackson hits real hard. And Trey Hobson truly is a practice hall-of-famer.)
2. The Trenches
KC Star: Mizzou offensive linemen ready to fight — and fight some more
PowerMizzou: Focus on the OL
Post-Dispatch: Mizzou experiment ends with Madison starting
The Trib: Tigers put their guard up
The Missourian: Missouri football's Matt Hoch makes transition to other side of the trench
It was apparently "Write about the lines" day among the Mizzou media, as five different outlets all wrote something about either the offensive line or their defensive counterparts.
3. Willy Mo!
Daily Dunklin Democrat: Hayti's Moore living dream as NFL player
Nothing ground-breaking, but I love anything that reminds me how many former Mizzou players we have to keep up with in the NFL now...
You attended the University of Missouri, did you receive your degree?
Yes, I have a degree in Psychology and Youth Services. After my career with the NFL I want to give back to the community. I hope to be financially stable enough to take care of myself and to start a nonprofit group for kids. I would love to coach High School Football. I just think it is really important to give back to the community and especially the kids. […]
In 2008, you suffered some injuries that kept you off the field for a little while. What do you do to stay healthy and prepare for a game?
It is all about conditioning my body. I try to do a little more than the average safety when it comes to my workout and effort on the field. I move around a lot and I have come to realize that any repetitive injuries like hamstrings can be fixed by be careful of what you eat and the fluids you take in and stretching. I do lots of stretching.