Is it August 31 yet?

We’re just over a week away from Mizzou Football game day. Fall camp has wrapped. Preparations for South Dakota State have begun. We just wait in limbo for next Thursday, our breath baited.

Dave Matter gave a report out from camp yesterday focused on Luther Burden’s well-documented position change. Burden is confident his move to the slot will unlock his full potential, with Eli Drinkwitz and Kirby Moore’s offensive philosophies both running through the all-important playmaker position.

Drinkwitz has handed the playbook to first-year coordinator Kirby Moore, but his brief track record as a play-caller at Fresno State also reflects a heavy lean toward slot receivers. Fresno’s two primary inside receivers last season, Nikko Remigio and Erik Brooks, combined for 111 catches for 1,243 yards and nine touchdowns with Moore calling plays. Mizzou’s Mekhi Miller, coming off a promising freshman season and impressive preseason camp, will get plenty of looks in the slot, too.

Meanwhile, which QB will be throwing to him is still undecided. Eli Drinkwitz has said that the quarterbacks may take shifts in the first few weeks of the season, suggesting there’s still minimal distance separating the top of the depth chart. Brady Cook still may have the upper-hand, though, given that he’s been named a team captain.

“It’s the best honor I can think of,” Cook said Friday, the day after being confirmed as a team captain. “That’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. To be a second-year captain, it’s truly a dream.”

Outside of the program, Pro Football Focus continues to heap praise on the Mizzou defense. They named the Mizzou linebackers as one of the best units in the country, an honor the program was quick to celebrate.

Yesterday at Rock M

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• John Tonje is barely a Mizzou Tiger thus far, but he’s still out there making us proud!

• Mizzou Soccer is off and running in the 2023 season, moving to 2-0-0 with their first road win of the season over Creighton.

After an early own goal, Mizzou had to turn the first half around and did so quickly. Sophomore Kylee Simmons scored her second of the season in the eighth minute from classmate Bella Carrillo. The game remained tied at one until sophomore Mallory McGuire buried her first career goal as a Tiger in the 43rd minute.

Simmons earned her second of the game and third this season in the second half. The forward slipped it past the Creighton keeper off a pass from sophomore Elena Zuchowski. The assist was Zuchowski’s second of the day, after getting the helper on the McGuire goal. The final score for MU effectively put the game away.

• Sunday evening marked a Mizzou tradition, running through the columns for Tiger Walk! Here’s how the Tiger athletic teams celebrated.

• The #Tigerstyle team is back on campus. What better way to welcome them than a whole heaping mess of food?

• The new Mizzou Volleyball season gets underway this week, and you can still get tickets!
• Watch Kerrick Jackson’s full interview with KOMU8’s Ben Arnet. KJ also visited with D1 Baseball.

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