What Mizzou players had to say: Tuesday, August 8 edition

Football season is approaching fast, and kickoff is 23 days away, but how has fall camp been so far?

“It’s been going good so far, just taking it day-by-day and just trying to get better, so I’m enjoying it.” —Sophomore offensive guard Armand Membou

“I feel really good. I feel like our (running back) room is looking very good right now. We’re all very confident, we’re all very healthy. We’re playing very good and integrating and learning Kirby Moore’s offense, and kind of looking into my role into the offense to try and help us.” —Graduate Student running back Nathaniel Peat

“Camp has been going very good, I’m just getting better and growing every day.”—Senior linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper

The importance of continuity in the same defensive system.

“I feel like it’s really big. I’m focusing on learning everything that’s going on in the defense, why we do this, why we do that, what could be an opening in the defense, and things like that. I’m focusing on looking at offensive formations, and okay, out of this formation, we get this and that, and you know, things like that, so it’s been really good.” — Ty’Ron Hopper

“I just know, speaking from the safety room, a lot of us are comfortable. (Blake Baker) is real hard on us, especially knowing it’s year two, and we should know what we’re doing, so he’s going to be a bit harder on us and expecting more out of us.” — Sophomore defensive back Daylan Carnell

How the offensive line has been coming along

“I think the biggest thing is switching mentality. I think we’re trying to be a lot more physical and just trying to do a lot better job in finishing blocks. I think our o-line has definitely been really improving a lot this year.” — Armond Membou

“I’ve seen a lot of (opening) holes, that’s what I’ve seen, and they’ve developed a lot since last year, like Javon (Foster), X (Xavier Delgado), and Connor, and also the transfer we added too so I feel like they developed and made a lot of holes and I’ve seen just a big transition from last year to this year in their confidence in what their schemes are and what they need to do.” — Nathaniel Peat

More from Armond Membou

• On learning from the older guys: “You know Javon and Xavier Delgado, they’ve played a lot of games, and Marcellus (Johnson), he’s played a lot of games in his career too, so all that experience upfront definitely helps, especially me because I don’t have much experience...just the little tips and stuff that they’ve learned throughout their career and if I mess up on something, they always help me and tell what I need to improve on so they’ve helped a lot.”
• Transitioning from tackle to guard: “I would just say everything’s a lot closer, so everything happens a lot faster. It’s just got to be ready for the action to happen right now versus take where you have a lot more space.”

More from Nathaniel Peat

• What he’s learned from and wants to improve on from last season: “Just game situation, just knowing down and distance and time on the clock. It’s not like I didn’t know before, but just keying on to those little things, like making small moves, making somebody miss, or small things that make the game so much bigger.”
• On how he fits into Kirby Moore’s system: “I think it fits me very well, he allows us to be outside at wide receiver or to run inside the box and outside zone, so all those things kind of fit into what I can be into this offense, like catching the ball, running the ball or being a decoy, or using my speed or anything else to help the offense.”
• On playing against Blake Baker’s defense every day: “It’s definitely tough to go against this defense. They have a lot of ballplayers like Ty’Ron Hopper and D Rob. I love going against them, they make us all better...they might stop us one day, but the next day we’re gonna get our get back and try to win the day.”
• On Jamal Roberts and Tavorus Jones: “He just came in so this is my first time seeing him, but for me, he’s kind of ahead of his years, just the way he developed and the way I’ve seen him on the field and then as far Jones, he’s grown as well too, he’s kind of keyed in on the small things of the game, which made him a lot better player.”
• Comments on college football realignment: “I think it’s a little crazy. I haven’t really looked into too much of it. I’m focused on what we have here at Mizzou, but the Pac-12 right now is going pretty crazy. My boys at USC is saying like, yeah, the Big 10 is going crazy going from all the way from California to snow and like Wisconsin and stuff like that. So, it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with that.”

More from Daylan Carnell

• Stepping into a leadership role: “I’ve tried to step up and be more of a leader and really just leading by example, especially with the younger guys like Marvin (Burks Jr.) and Phillip (Roche). (Jaylon Carlies), he’s always been a leader, and Tre’Vez (Johnson), he’s taken on a leadership role, and Joseph Charleston, he’s leading the young guys too.”
• Who’s stood out in that safety room: Marvin (Burks Jr.), he’s been big time so far in fall camp, he’s made improvements through the spring, and he’s gonna be a real good player for us.”
• Playing in the STAR position: “The STAR position— it allows you to be in the pass game and in the run game. You are just very involved in the game at all times. Most of the time, the QB’s favorite target is in the slot, and that’s where the STAR is, and then in the run game, you’re always involved in it, so it’s a real fun position.”
• Improving from last year: “I’ve been working on my run fits because last year I was a big part of the pass game, so I’ve just been working to be more of a complete player and being able to be in the box a little bit more.”
• Personal goals: “I just want to be All-Conference, All-American. I mean all of that, you feel me? I just want to play to the best of my ability and I know the awards and all that stuff will take care of itself.”

More from Ty’Ron Hopper

• On what he wants to improve on: “I wanna improve on everything, every aspect of my game. I feel like you gotta feel like you should be getting better at everything, so that’s just what I wanna focus on.”
• Team chemistry: “I feel like the chemistry has been great you can tell we’ve been together before so yeah, the chemistry has been good.”