Tiger Training Camp: Defense takes scrimmage
The Missouri Tigers football team held its second scrimmage of training camp Thursday, with the defense ending up on top 34-20. It was an unspectacular game, and each side showed it had some work to do before the September 5th season opener against Illinois.
“It was kind of sloppy in some respects,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “I thought the (first-team) offense was a little lethargic out there, made a lot of mistakes. When you have penalties, when you have sacks, it just dissolves execution. So I’m disappointed in that, but the good news is that we get better. All those things are correctable.”
Sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert started with the first team and completed 14 of 21 passes for 121 yards and had an 11-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Danario Alexander.
Gabbert and the starting unit had trouble clicking early in the scrimmage, but played better as the game went on.
“We just had to get going,” Gabbert said. “When (the defense) is making plays, we’ve just got to stop the bleeding. It took a little while to do that today, but we ended strong.”
Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Costello and freshman QB Blaine Dalton took snaps with the second team offense. Both are vying for the backup job to Gabbert.
Costello led the team with 18 completions in 25 attempts with 137 yards passing. He connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Rolandis Woodland on a 29-yard touchdown pass but also threw an interception.
Dalton was 12 of 22 passing for 72 yards and a touchdown, but it appears Costello has the edge over the freshman.
The defense played well early on in the scrimmage and disrupted any rhythm the offense developed.
“(The defensive line) really got to the quarterback today,” senior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “On third down we had a lot of pressure, so that always helps us. If we can get back there and kind of disrupt some things, then we can make plays on the back end.”
Other than some late breakdowns, the defense played well. They consistently got to the quarterback, registering five sacks and seven tackles for a loss.
The Tigers will have one more scrimmage in the two-plus weeks left before the opener in St. Louis. These coming days will be important to the development of both an offense that is still coming into its own, and also to an improving defense.