Yesterday, we looked at what the Missouri Tigers do well and what they don’t do particularly well. Today, we’ll look at the players who make good things happen for the Tigers.
Offense
The Missouri Tigers offense is powered by junior quarterback Drew Lock. Currently, Lock is 176-for-290 for a whopping 2,795 yards and 31 touchdowns. He averages nearly 20 completions per game and nearly 16 yards per completion. You may hear folks talk about Lock being involved in the running game as well, but the stats don’t really bear that out for this season. He’s rushed 28 times for a total of 45 yards in 2017.
Lock does a good job of spreading the wealth, as four wide receivers all average over three receptions per game. Leading the way is senior J’Mon Moore (44 catches for 740 yards and eight touchdowns, an average of 82.22 yards per game). Sophomore Jonathon Johnson is next with 34 catches for 563 yards (62.56 per game) and four TDs, and junior Emanuel Hall follows him with 26 catches for 604 yards and four TDs. Sophomore Dimetrios Mason also averages over three receptions per game but has only 119 yards on the season.
The Tigers rushing attack is by committee, with three backs sharing the load. Senior running back Ish Witter leads the way with 504 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Damarea Crockett and freshman Larry Rountree have 481 and 369 yards and two and four touchdowns respectively. Crockett, however, has been injured and is not expected to play against Tennessee.
Defense
The team’s leading tackler is sophomore linebacker Cale Garrett, who has 67 so far this season. Junior linebacker Terez Hall is right behind him with 64.
Where the defense excels, though, is behind the opponent’s line of scrimmage, and leading the way there is junior lineman Terry Becker, Jr.. He has six sacks for 29 yards and six solo tackles for loss. Also making things rough for offensive lines are senior lineman Marcell Frazier (3.5 sacks, 4 solo TFLs), Garrett (2 sacks, 4 solo TFLs), and Hall (a sack and 8 solo TFLs).
The secondary appears to be led by a pair of seniors, Logan Cheadle and Thomas Wilson. Cheadle has an interception, three pass breakups, and four passes defended, while Wilson has an interception, two pass breakups, and three passes defended.
Special Teams
Sophomore kicker Tucker McCann (a fictional name if I’ve ever heard one), is 8-of-10 on field goals this season with one block. He’s had touchbacks on only 31 of 50 kickoffs.
Punter Corey Fatony is almost as good as our own Trevor Daniel, as he ranks 8th in the nation in punting average with 45.6 per punt.
Sophomore Richaud Floyd is the team’s main punt returner, and he took one to the end zone against Idaho.