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Blocking Terry Beckner Jr. is like "blocking a ghost," according to Mike Scherer

Here are today's Mizzou links.

By Bill Connelly
Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

Mizzou Tigers pennant What's On

Just for grins, the two most entertaining Mizzou season openers of the last 10 years.

Mizzou Tigers pennant Depth Chart Reactions

DEPTH CHART

8 true freshmen listed on first depth chart

Bill C.

Yes, Drew Lock is playing. Which other freshmen made the cut? And without injured Wesley Leftwich, the Mizzou receiving corps is HILARIOUSLY young.

DEPTH CHART

8 true freshmen listed on first depth chart

Post-Dispatch: Mizzou notes: Beckner among eight freshmen in MU's plans

"Nate [Howard] has steadily improved," defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski said. "The things that he does best (are) he plays physical and with a lot of excitement. His energy makes plays. I think if he continues this way he can have a really good year."

The staff expects the same, if not more, from Beckner, who rotated steadily in a four-man mix at defensive tackle in all three scrimmages. He’s officially listed as the top backup to junior Josh Augusta.

"I don’t know how (Beckner) does half the things he does, but he makes it to the ball every play," middle linebacker Michael Scherer said. "He’s very talented. It almost looks like offensive linemen are blocking a ghost, which is hard for a 315-pound kid. But he seems to do it."

PowerMizzou: Depth Chart is out

Will be interesting to see what happens when Leftwich comes back. As we said on the board last week, we didn't expect Justin Smith to shed the redshirt. He looked great in scrimmages, but isn't quite there. May be evaluated over the first few weeks of the season and could still play, but for now, not.

The others, Dilosa over Blair is perhaps a mild surprise. Best news is that J'Mon Moore is healthy and playing.

Mizzou Tigers pennant Pinkel at media day

MUtigers.com: @MizzouFootball Press Conference - Week 1

On whether or not he will play Drew Lock for a series per game…

"In my background, I've done that often. Many times I've done that. First of all, a player has to earn that.  If he practices at a high level, then what you like to do is get him some playing time. That's going to be up to him and how hard he is working. We've done it many ways.  Sometimes a series in the first half, sometimes a series in the second half. We've done it with James Franlkin, Blaine Gabbert.  We did it even more so with Chase [Daniel] and Brad Smith. We've had success doing that here. It's ideal to do that. I did it at Washington and Toledo.  At Washington I did it a lot, we had a lot of NFL quarterbacks. It's worked out in a favorable way. One thing we've always done. It's good because it allows your backup players to get to play at their position. A lot of things go into it in terms of how the game is going. Do we want to interrupt that in the second half? Those are the decisions we have to make."

On how hard it is to make a decision regarding redshirting a player…

"Anybody who can help the team, we're not going to put a redshirt on them.  That's pretty simple. The team is the number one priority at every position."

On the whether all of the freshmen listed on the depth chart will not be redshirted…

"I think so. The plan is to play them. Emmanuel Hall at wide receiver, we've been working to get him into the gameplan. Terry Beckner has had great camp and has tremendous potential. Josh Moore is at the fifth tackle – you always need to have a fifth player ready to play. Nate Howard at defensive end – he's doing exceptionally well. Then you have a Terez Hall and Cam Hilton.  They're playing at a very high level.  A lot of things happen.  You look at the depth, you look at a guy's ability to learn, is he physically ready to play?  Are they mature enough to go out there and play in front of 70,000 people on national TV?  There are a lot of components that we're looking at. All of these things were a part of it. It's a very talented class. There are some guys who have great opportunities."

The Trib (David Morrison): MU Notes: The "D-Line Youth" edition

True freshman Josh Moore is the fifth tackle and redshirt freshmen Spencer Williams and Rocel McWilliams are the extra ends.

Eight players, seven of them never having played a collegiate game before. Zero combined career tackles.

"That doesn't make me nervous at all," said defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski, making a face that betrayed his words. "It would be nice to be able to say otherwise. But hey, they want to play, they want to win. So we've got to get a way to get it done."

Thankfully for Kuligowski, he feels as if the raw material is there to construct another one of his standout defensive lines.

Post-Dispatch: Gary Pinkel meets the press
PowerMizzou: Media Day Notebook: Week 1

If the quality matches the personality, this team's going to be pretty good.

Mizzou Tigers pennant Russ

The Missourian: Despite a quiet veneer, Russell Hansbrough provides powerful presence for Tigers

Teammates noticed leadership qualities in Hansbrough, whom they voted as a captain just before fall camp began.

The decision prompted a media member to ask a teammate whether Hansbrough spoke up enough to be one.

"People always think he’s real quiet, but Russ talks a lot," safety Ian Simon responded. "Sometimes you can’t get Russ to shut up."

Even if he were as silent as he’s made out to be, Simon said it wouldn’t matter.

"Russ is one of the hardest workers on this team," he said. "To me, Russ doesn’t need to say much because his actions speak louder than his words ever could."

Mizzou Tigers pennant How much are you bidding?

GaryPinkel.com: Gary Pinkel Auctions Visor for Charities

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football head coach Gary Pinkel will give back to the local community this season as he will auction off his Nike Mizzou visors to benefit local charities. All proceeds from the auctions along with a $1,000 donation from Pinkel himself each week will be donated to seven local charities following Mizzou home games. The winner of each visor and that week’s charity will also win a VIP fan experience.

Following each home contest, Pinkel will list his Nike Mizzou visor on eBay and the bidding will begin. Each auction will last for three days with the visor and the VIP experience going to the highest bidder. The auctions will be held following all six home games and Mizzou’s neutral-site battle with BYU in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. The VIP experience will include a tour of the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex (MATC), an autograph session with Coach Pinkel, a dinner at MATC and a look at Mizzou practice for the winner and the charity for that week.

Mizzou Tigers pennant WHATNOT

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