Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Missouri depth chart observations

The Tigers are plugging some holes on offensive line. So I decided to take a look at their depth chart last night to see what I could find. Here's some general observations:
QB James Franklin
  • The backup quarterback is a redshirt freshman, Corbin Berkstresser. I think he's one of the guys that got in trouble recently. He was 5/5 last week for 60 yards and a touchdown against SE Louisiana.
  • Did you know that TJ Moe (their most experienced, athletic player) serves as their holder on placekicks? I don't guess it's out of the question at all for a wide receiver to hold for kicks, a spot usually reserved for backup quarterbacks or the punter. But this bit of news also got me thinking of how convenient it would be to run certain fake kicks if necessary. 
  • Last season Moe was 2/3 passing for 71yds and a touchdown. Not sure if those 3 passes were off of fakes or on offensive gimmicks. Probably the latter. 
  • I heard Richt mention the size of their receivers. Whoa boy! Moe is one of their smallest. And they have like 38 receivers on the roster. I'm kidding, but not by as much as you think. Most of their "Y X and Z" targets are in the neighborhood of 6'3" and up. Prince Miller would be lost in those woods my friend.
  • Of course everyone is talking about their freshman receiver Dorial Green-Beckman (6-6, 220lbs). But it seems as if he has yet to emerge as a starter and every down threat. Remember that the Tigers have a balanced offense. So their receivers must be ready to block just about every play. My guess is Pinkel needs to see that aspect develop more first. 
  • We'll see plenty of Green-Beckman, but Moe is clearly the guy to keep closest tabs on. Other than QB James Franklin that is.
  • The offensive front is definitely SEC caliber in terms of size. Average right at 300lbs and everyone's over 6'3". Corn fed, for sure. But they're clearly still worried about losing their senior RG Jack Meiners (questionable) who they've replaced with a junior named Max Copeland. They also started the true freshman you've probably heard about, Evan Boehm, at LG in the spot of injured (and out for the year) Travis Ruth. That's a freshman in a senior's spot. So from LT over to RT you have a senior, freshman, sophomore, junior and junior.
  • Defensive front is about average in terms of size as well, but their linebackers are small. All three starters Gooden, Ebner (questionable with a stinger) and Wilson are all around 230lbs.
  • They really spread the ball around in terms of rushing, just like they do through the air. Their senior tailback Kendial Lawrence got most of the carries last week. But they're also pretty high on Marcus Murphy, a soph from DeSoto TX. Murphy also returns kicks and punts.
  • Speaking of which, Murphy is probably their biggest threat on kick returns. In 2010 as a freshman he averaged nearly 20 yards a return. On punts just last week alone he averaged 36 yards and had two touchdowns. (And we thought Gurley had a big day) Russell Hansbrough got the only kickoff return last week for Missouri. He took it 56 yards. Again, against SELA, but still. We need Marshall Morgan to keep booming to the endzone.
That should set us up pretty well for a look and some keys for Georgia going into this game. If you can't tell, I'm getting a little amp'd up for this one. Ready to touch down in STL and have Mizzou fans "show me" their state. 

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