As Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park: “Hold on to your butts”

Welp. It’s the first day of school at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and... is there a whole lot more to be said that hasn’t been already?

At this point, the science behind having thousands of people on campus for classes is well-documented (specifically as it relates to a potential wider outbreak), and most schools seem to be soldiering on. This is the case even at Missouri, a school that has already had multiple clusters of COVID-19 pop up along with other examples of behavior that suggests ignorance at best and indifference at worst. Here’s the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs all but confirming a non-CDC compliant gathering of students over the weekend.

The beginning of school could change the flow of football as it goes this fall, but we’ll have to wait and see before we get any concrete answers.

Meanwhile, camp continues on. To get yourself really hyped for this coming week, take a gander at this article from Souichi Terada at the Kansas City Star. This may be the best thing I’ve seen out of camp this week, with some particularly juicy bits about who has impressed in the first week of camp. I found this part especially intriguing:

Who starts alongside [linebacker Nick] Bolton is a big question. MU linebackers coach DJ Smith said it’s been a rotation of four guys between those two spots so far: Bolton, Chad Bailey, Devin Nicholson and Aubrey Miller. The coaches have praised Bailey especially, Walters saying they’re finally seeing flashes of what they have expected out of Bailey coming out of high school.

CHAD BAILEY SIGHTING!

Here at Rock M Nation, we’ll be focusing on wide receivers and tight ends this week, so prepare yourselves for another week of deep dives on those positions.

Yesterday at Rock M

• Mizzou Basketball recruiting and the possibility of finally breaking through

More Links:

• Luther Burden, a five-star wide receiver out of St. Louis in the 2022 class, will narrow down his commitment in the coming week.

• At PowerMizzou, Mitchell Forde wrote about the growing hope in the defensive line after a week of camp and Sean Williams ran down a list of out-of-state targets in the 2022 class. Subscribers can also get access to an interview with Kyran Montgomery, a four-star DE who will decide soon between Mizzou and a handful of other schools, as well as an inside look at the recruitment of 2021 Hoops recruit Miles Kelley.
• Dave Matter profiled junior Tyler Badie, who created a stir with some cryptic social media posts in the offseason and who figures to play a major role in Eli Drinkwitz’s offense this fall.
• #MizzouMade in the MLB!

• The Keke Chism hype train continues to roll, as Peter Baugh profiled the D-II transfer over at The Athletic.
• Missing their leading scorer and rebounder, the Phoenix Mercury solidified their playoff spot in an 88-87 win, with Sophie Cunningham playing 12 minutes. She had a +6 in +/- but didn’t register any other meaningful stats.
• The “Mizzou Bowl” continued, as Quin Snyder’s Utah Jazz took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Denver Nuggets. Michael Porter, Jr played 23 minutes, scoring 8 points on 4-8 shooting with 4 rebounds. Jordan Clarkson played 27 minutes, scoring 24 points on 9-13 shooting. When on the court at the same time, they were often matched up together, and the announcer at one point referred to it as “Mizzou vs. Mizzou” at one point.
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