Missouri’s Nate Brown out for 6-8 weeks with high ankle sprain

Missouri didn’t get a lot of production out of its wide receivers in 2015, but it wasn’t short on the quantity coming back. The Tigers had 14 receivers entering fall camp.

On Wednesday, Barry Odom announced that junior Nate Brown, the team’s second-most productive receiver in terms of receptions and yards, suffered a high ankle sprain in camp that’s scheduled to sideline him for most of the next two months.

Brown was a highly-touted recruit out of North Gwinnett High School in Georgia in 2014. After catching five passes for 45 yards in 2014 as a reserve, he assumed a starting role this past season with 27 catches, 326 yards and four touchdowns.

He wasn’t the most consistent wide receiver throughout his two years, but he’s had a lot more game experience than others. Brown’s injury opens the door for a plethora of other unproven receivers early in the 2016 season. Emanuel Hall, Keyon Dilosa, DeSean Blair, and emerging freshman Dimetrios Mason come to mind as replacements for an outside receiver spot alongside presumed starter J’Mon Moore.

Missouri was looking for a Bud Sasser-like season from Nate Brown this year but will have to wait a while to see if he can deliver that. The Tigers look to survive the last week of fall camp next week, and hope Brown will be the last major injury before the season kicks off on September 3.