What's On
Greg Brown and Ryan Walters are mic'd up!
I like Brown a lot. (Walters, too, though he's more familiar to me.)
The Missourian: Greg 'The Wizard' Brown looks to take Missouri's cornerbacks to the next level
Although the Missouri defensive backs have had success as a unit, Brown is not one to get complacent. He described himself as a "what have you done for me lately?" kind of coach.
"Whatever they accomplished, which was tremendous last year, is in the past," Brown said. "We're in the process right now of putting in a defense, getting some chemistry together and learning how to play and compete."
In Brown's system, [Aarion] Penton should be penciled in as a starter, but the spot opposite of him, once belonging to Kenya Dennis, is open. [Logan] Cheadle is one of the players fighting for the opportunity, while learning from Brown at the same time.
O-line depth is ... problematic
Must Reads
The Trib (David Morrison): MU Notes: The "O-Line Getting Thin" edition
Post-Dispatch: Mizzou puts faith in rebuilt O-line
Post-Dispatch: Odom impressed with MU's remade O-line
[R]edshirt freshman Tanner Owen and newly arrived junior Tyler Howell are splitting reps at left tackle, Odom said. Alec Abeln, another junior, and sophomore Samson Bailey (formerly just Sam) are working at center. Crawford and sophomore Kevin Pendleton have been the top guards, left and right respectively, and sophomore Paul Adams has been working with the first unit at right tackle. It’s a group that lost five seniors from last year’s rotation. Odom had some praise for the group and first-year position coach Glen Elarbee.
"From day one to (day) five today I would say that group, the way he’s coached them, I’ve been most impressed with them," Odom said. "From where they started on day one to where they were today, he deserves credit for the work he’s done through five practices. He won’t take a compliment. He’s going to keep working and we’re going to find the right five to put out there."
The Missourian: Missouri offensive line looks to fill leadership void
Linebacker nerdery
The Trib (David Morrison): Stat Spotlight: Tackling MU's Linebacker Usage
Mizzou got the first of (probably) many OL commits yesterday
Must Reads
The Trib (David Morrison): Texas OL Hyrin White commits to MU's class of 2017
Morrison: How much growth potential do you feel like White still has in him?
Todd Peterman (White's HS coach): "He has an incredible upside. I can't stress this enough: he's 16 years old. He's a 6-6, 6-7, 315-pound 16-year-old. The sky's the limit for Hyrin. His projection of what he can be is off the charts. He's a really good football player right now. He's a tough kid. Works hard and has got a great mom and dad at home. Missouri got a good one. He was adamant on committing. He felt like that was it for him. We had Marcus Murphy as a DeSoto kid. I called Marcus" on Wednesday "while Hyrin was there at Missouri and told him, 'Hey, Hyrin is really liking it. Tell me about Coach Odom and how he felt about the environment at Missouri.' Marcus had incredible things to say about Coach Odom. He said the players loved him, the coaches loved him. He cares about kids. And" Murphy "had great things to say about the University of Missouri. So that's all I needed to know. Marcus, I coached him here at DeSoto as well. You add up all those things together, we had a DeSoto player go to Missouri and be successful."
Post-Dispatch: Texas O-lineman commits to Mizzou
Day 1 at the NCAA Wrestling championships was ... okay
MUtigers.com: #6 @MizzouWrestling in Fifth Place after First Session of 2016 NCAA Championships
Cox earned his third fall in his last four matches, pinning Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers) at 1:18. Cox scored a takedown 30 seconds into the match and recorded the fall after his second takedown.
Four Mizzou grapplers; redshirt junior 133-pounder Zach Synon (Cary, Ill.), redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.), redshirt 157-pounder Le'Roy Barnes (Belton, Mo.), and redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.), lost their opening matches and will wrestle on the consolation side of the bracket.
Redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.), redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.), redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa), and junior J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) will all wrestle in the quarterfinals, seeking one win to guarantee an All-American spot.
#TigerStyle sits in fifth place after two sessions with 17.5 team points, tied with Iowa and Virginia Tech. Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points, followed by Ohio State and Oklahoma State who each have 24.0 points. Nebraska is in fourth place with 20.0 points. [...]
Redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.) Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) by way of a major decision, 13-2, in the consolation first round. Butler wrestles Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) tomorrow.
Three Mizzou grapplers, redshirt junior 133-pounder Zach Synon (Cary, Ill.), redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.), and redshirt senior 157-pounder Le'Roy Barnes (Belton, Mo.) all lost their second match of the day and did not advance in the tournament. Synon finishes the season with a 16-14 record, while Manley sits at 28-8, and Barnes 26-11.
The Missourian: Four Missouri wrestlers advance to NCAA quarterfinals
Cox, the No. 2 seed in the 197-pound weight class, is looking for his second individual national title. His first came two years ago during his freshman season.
On Thursday, it took Cox just 1:18 to pin Rutgers’ Hayden Hrymack in the opening round, and he won by major decision in the second round. He wrestles Princeton’s Brett Harner, the No. 7 seed, Friday morning.
Lots and lots going on in the Mizzou universe at the moment
Women's basketball
MUtigers.com: @MizzouWBB Opens NCAA Tournament Against BYU Saturday Evening on ESPN2
Swimming & Diving
MUtigers.com: @MizzouSwimDive Earns Sixth-Place Relay Finish During Day Two at Women's NCAAs
Baseball
MUtigers.com: @MizzouBaseball Opens SEC Play at No. 1 Florida
Softball
The Trib: Tigers' feet don't fail them
Golf
MUtigers.com: #22 @MUWomensGolf Opens MountainView Collegiate in Arizona
Tennis
MUtigers.com: Home stand for @MizzouTennis Continues with Auburn and Alabama