It’s almost here!

The countdown is on. Fall camp officially starts on Friday and we’re just under a month away until the September 4th season opener against Central Michigan.

Tyler Macon sure is ready!

On Wednesday, reporters got to meet with the assistant coaches on the staff for a pre-camp media availability. Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recapped the day with his takeaways here. Perhaps, the most important/interesting highlight was this:

“Mizzou fully expects freshman receivers Mookie Cooper and Dominic Lovett to become impact players in this offense — sooner rather than later.”

From Dave, here’s wide receiver coach Bush Hadman’s quotes on Cooper and Lovett:

On Cooper: “I think he’s a really good fit in the system in what Drink tries to do with the ability to get the guys the ball in space quickly.”

On Lovett: “I think he’s one of those guys who has the flexibility to play outside or inside. He’s got that short area of quickness and he’s one of our fastest guys in terms of being an outside receiver. For him, to be honest with you, it’s about not overwhelming him early and just making him feel comfortable. I don’t care who you are, when you step into these situations, even in your first year, you definitely want to build some confidence.”

Lots of other good content from Matter, including Tyler Badie replacing Larry Rountree, coaches thoughts on the SEC expansion, Steve Wilks’ defensive plans, and the offensive tackle position. Again, check it out here.

Moving on, in his second NBA Summer League game with the Heat, Dru Smith contributed for seven points, six assists, three rebounds, and a +3 on the floor in the Heat’s 94-87 win over the Warriors.

Here’s a highlight of one of his buckets:

Smith and the Heat’s next game is Sunday night against the Nuggets at 9 PM on NBATV, while Tilmon debuts with the Magic is on Monday night against the Warriors, (also on NBATV).

Oh, and how about Nick Bolton so far at Chiefs Training Camp? He got some high praise (deservingly so) from Mitch Holtus and Matt McMullen. Check it out!

Finally, Mizzou Made’s Max Scherzer made his Dodgers’ debut against MLB’s most hated team, the Astros. He allowed two runs in seven innings with 10 STRIKEOUTS! Mad Max, indeed.

M-I-Z! Onto the links!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Brandon Kiley writes that Offensive Lineman Luke Griffin is here to stay
• Meet the New Guys: O-Line Edition, from Kortay Vincent

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More Links:

(STLToday)

• From Joe Lyons: Three Mizzou wrestlers (Keegan O’Toole, Colton Hawks, and Rocky Elam) to compete for US in Russa (at the United World Wrestling Junior World Championships)
• Mizzou coaches bullish on SEC expansion’s impact on recruiting, writes Dave Matter

(KC Star)

• From Briar Napier: How Mizzou’s Casey Woods is establishing recruiting might

(Columbia Missourian)

• From Calum McAndrew: Missouri’s offense led by consistency; offensive coaches talk 2021
• Wilks brings legitimacy, experience to new MU defensive coaching staff, writes Wilson Moore

(Columbia Daily Tribune)

• Mizzou football’s revamped defensive approach under Steve Wilks aims to generate points, writes Eric Blum
• On the latest Mizzou Sports Podcast with Eric Blum and guest co-host Blake Toppmeyer, they previewed Mizzou Fall Camp, discussed the AD search and SEC expansion, and were also joined by College Football expert Phil Steele. Give it a listen!

(Miscellaneous/Tweets)

• From Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TCU AD Jeremiah Donati turns down chance to interview for Missouri AD job (from this report here despite the decline, looks like Mizzou could be going the Power Five route for their next AD).
• Oh hello there, new look basketball court!

• Tune into KOMU tonight as Ben Arnet interviews Mizzou Track and Field Coach Marc Burns on Karissa Schweizer:

• Cuonzo with some appreciation for Dru Smith. You love to see it!

• Kim English made a Shiloh Bar & Grill appearance with the family!

• Are you ready for Aijha Blackwell SZN? We are!

• Mizzou target and Chaminade/Link Year Prep product Tarris Reed will be announcing his decision tonight at 6:00 p.m. CT

• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!
• If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.
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