The Ones to Watch

We here at Rock M (not me personally, but the other guys who know football) have all made predictions about who they think will show out this season. BK is ready to pen a love letter to Damon Hazelton (despite my warnings not to curse him), Kortay consistently sings the praises of Rake, everybody loves Keke, and more. What do the players think, though?

Good thing Peter Baugh thought to poll them! In his new piece for The Athletic, Mizzou fans can read about 10 breakout candidates nominated by their teammates (and Coach Walters & Haley) that they think will make an impact.

Now, will I reveal them all? NO! It’s a subscriber only post, and you should SUBSCRIBE TO THE ATHLETIC because it’s awesome, but I will reveal a couple.

Who was the most popular nominee?

Transfer WR Keke Chism, who was nominated by Jalen Knox, Tyler Badie, Aubrey Miller, Hyrin White, and Dawson Downing. Wow. Said White:

“I think he’s going to open up a lot of eyes. His work ethic is amazing. It’s different from a lot of wide receivers.”

Also on the list with multiple nominations?

Columbia’s own Martez Manuel, a safety who was nominated by Tyree Gillespie, Dawson Downing, and Daniel Parker Jr. Said Gillespie:

“(Manuel) is stepping up to the plate...He’s there where we need him to be. He’s always asking questions in the film room, and he’s just into the game. You can just tell he’s very developed, more than he was last year.”

And a bonus one for y’all (you’re welcome).

WR Jalen Knox, who was nominated by Maurice Massey. Said Massey:

“Jalen Knox is going to blow back up this year, for sure,” Massey said. “With the offense we’ve got now, it puts everybody in the place they need to be. They use them in the right way.”

You want more? Read the article!

One more thing before we get to the links... Look at you, Nick Bolton! Hope we get a full season to watch this play out... (Full list from The AP)

On to the links!

---

Yesterday at Rock M

• Kortay had your recap of the latest Zoom call covering back to school and versality.
• Aaron wrote about Mizzou’s history with bigger WRs.
• Nate the Great completed his last game preview on the LSU Tigers.
• COMING UP AT ROCK M: loads of more hot football content
• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Sam wrote about recruiting and the possibility of Mizzou Hoops finally breaking through on Sunday.

---

More Links:

Football

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave wrote that a new offense and a new role could remake Jalen Knox. Also from Matter, Drink says the next two weeks are crucial for Mizzou and the SEC if they want to play football.
• Columbia Missourian: Max Baker wrote about Coach Drinkwitz’s concern with the crowds and mask-less students in CoMo.
• PowerMizzou (free): Gabe posted video of Drink’s MIZ-Zoom call with reporters.
• Saturday Down South: Keith Farner wrote about how Drinkwitz is pumped for an all-SEC schedule. “Nobody really cares about excuses,” he said.
• A couple Mizzou Football social media things... LOVING this graphic, and there’s a new Rookie Report.

Other Mizzou Sports

• KC Star: Souichi Terada talked with newest Tiger Hoops commit, Kaleb Brown on what made him decide upon Missouri.
• Some important reading for Cuonzo’s crew. If you’d like to read along, RJ Layton passed along the Amazon link. This is fantastic.

• That’s the look of a winner.

• So many eye emojis for this one. According to Sam, he’s due to announce around 11-12 today. (Crosses fingers, toes, eyes, all appendages)

• Don’t forget College Colors Day next Friday, September 4.

Mizzou in the Pros News

• Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about former Mizzou baseball star, Jayce “Cutthroat” Tingler, who is thriving in the Padres manager role.
• MPJ talked to Marc J Spears of The Undefeated about his racial experiences growing up, especially as it relates to being biracial. It’s a great article and I highly recommend it.
• The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen wrote about how Jordan Clarkson is becoming a key playoff piece for the Jazz after an initial “iffy” first playoff run with the Cavs.
• In a possible elimination and conclusion of the “Mizzou Bowl”, the Nuggets held off Quin Snyder’s Jazz 117-107. How’d the Mizzou guys fare? Mike scored 15 points in 34 minutes on 5-11 shooting with 5 rebounds. The nice stat here? He was +18 when on the floor, and Coach Malone praised his defense when the game was tight at the end. As for Jordan Clarkson, he scored 17 points in 26 minutes, shooting 4-7 from three. His +/- was... not great, but not the worst of his teammates, at -7. The Ringer is continually impressed with him, as seen below.

Interesting/Non-Mizzou News

These are some of the best sports stories & tidbits I recommend— Enjoy!

• Courtesy of The Commish, Rick Hummel, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch— With a lot on his mind, Jack Flaherty stays sharp on the mound as Cardinals bruise Royals.
• The NYT’s Astead W Herndon profiled LeBron James and his multimillion-dollar push for more poll workers.
• Myron Medcalf of ESPN wrote about the formation of Black Coaches United, a new alliance which hopes to encourage universities to make voting more accessible on Election Day. Former Mizzou coach Frank Haith is one of the coaches mentioned here.
• In news that kinda sucks, but makes sense, Sports Illustrated’s Brian Straus wrote about how the MLS expansion will mean the end of the USL team Saint Louis FC at the end of this season.
• Feast Magazine wrote about Waves Cider Co, from the guys at Logboat, which has officially opened its doors in CoMo.
• Jemele Hill and Cari Champion’s VICE TV episode remembered Kobe during #MambaWeek.

• Speaking of Kobe, Sean Hurd of The Undefeated wrote about how Kobe continues to inspire WNBA Dallas Wings star, Arike Ogunbowale. Great stuff.
• WOW.

• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now! (** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)