Depth chart, NCAA appeal and Kelly Bryant highlight SECMD

The first depth chart revealed

As is usual around this time of the summer (and coinciding with Missouri’s SEC Media Day appearance), the program unveiled its first official depth chart on the year.

There weren’t many personnel changes from the spring, though Dave Matter at the St. Louis Post Dispatch did note some positional restructuring.

Mizzou has tweaked the way it’s presenting its defense. In the spring, Odom listed 12 positions, including a third linebacker and three safety positions. Now the Tigers are down to two linebackers but still three safeties. The base defense essentially remains a 4-2-5 system.

It’s also worth noting, given our post on the roster last week, that Taylor Powell is still listed as the backup QB. There’s plenty of time for something cough Shawn Robinson’s transfer waiver cough to change, but it won’t matter if Kelly Bryant can stay healthy.

NCAA appeal to be presented this week

The big news of the day, more on the outskirts of SEC Media Day, was this report from Dennis Dodd, which states that Missouri is scheduled to go before the NCAA Appeals Committee this week.

We’ve heard a lot from Jim Sterk — and even a little from Greg Sankey — about the Tigers’ appeal. And while this report doesn’t give any clues on how the Appeals Committee might be leaning, it does shed some more light on what Missouri will be highlighting in the appeal itself.

As part of its appeal, Mizzou is questioning the participation in the process by infractions panel member Carol Cartwright, a member of the reform-minded Knight Commission as well as a member of an NCAA working group seeking a clearer definition of academic fraud.

Some cursory research on Cartwright doesn’t reveal much in the way of anti-Mizzou bias (which makes sense), though her inclusion on this sort of decision making does seem odd given her career focus on learning strategies and educational infrastructure. I’m not privy to all her experience or lack thereof, but given her inclusion in this report, it would seem as though she may have played a major role in the severity of the sanctions levied against Mizzou.

As we’ve stated since the beginning, it would (seemingly) behoove the NCAA to reward schools like Mizzou who actively seek out reform and correction. In the end, though, all that can be definitely stated is how screwed up everything seems to be in the offices of college sports’ governing body.

Kelly Bryant in the spotlight

There’s plenty to be excited about this year’s team, but there was one obvious narrative that everyone jumped all over: the SEC “debut” of Kelly Bryant.

Bryant’s following noticeably outgrew any athlete or coach that spoke Monday, including LSU’s Grant Delpit, who is widely considered to be a first-round 2020 NFL Draft selection, and Florida starting quarterback Feleipe Franks.

Bryant’s transfer to Missouri automatically made him one of the faces of the team and he’s aware of the standard he can set.

Bryant was by far the biggest draw of the week’s day one proceedings as he told the same stories he’s been telling local media for months: how Derek Dooley and Barry Odom impressed him in the recruiting process; how Missouri wasn’t his first choice, but surprised him along the way; how the bowl ban only strengthened his resolve to have a memorable final season.

He also told a lesser known story about a chance meeting with his Tiger predecessor.

A few days before he officially became the face of the Mizzou football program, Kelly Bryant walked to the practice fields behind Missouri’s Athletic Training Center and found his predecessor, Drew Lock, throwing on the backfields for one of the final times at MU before starting his rookie season with the Denver Broncos.

The two make for a fascinating combo: one entrenched as a four-year legend, the other on track to have just as memorable a career, even though he hasn’t yet played one down at Faurot Field. But that’s the potential of a QB with College Football Playoff experience, one who has shared orbits with DeShaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.

Bryant was so popular, even his mom couldn’t stay out of the spotlight (credit: Mitchell Forde of PowerMizzou.)

The SEC Network also got in on the action, producing a small doc to coincide with Missouri’s media schedule.

There was so much Kelly, you’d almost have forgotten that two of Missouri’s longest tenured, most talented players were also there representing.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Ranking every game on Mizzou’s schedule on a must-win scale from 1-10

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More Links:

• Ben Frederickson went through Missouri’s schedule with a Kelly Bryant comb, examining where the Tigers might have a quarterback advantage.
• Elite 2020 shooting guard Adam Miller announced his Top 10 schools yesterday and, surprise surprise, Mizzou made the cut.

Our very own Sam Snelling was quick to throw a bucket of ice water on the whole situation.

• In non-revenue sports, a fight is brewing over the firing of former Swim & Dive coach Greg Rhodenbaugh.

The university responded with its own press release later in the day.

• The GOAT out here having fun with friends while collecting NFL paychecks. In case you hadn’t heard: backup QB is the best job in the world.

• To bring this thing full circle, the SEC launched a new Twitter account yesterday that will almost certainly not end in hundreds of people getting blocked.

“Go easy on us!”

Incredible.