Josey impresses in home opener

The freshman tailback lit up the scoreboard against the Cowboys.

By John Montesantos

Published Sept. 14, 2010

The Missouri running game was thrown for a loop after the permanent suspension of senior Derrick Washington, but the Tiger’s rushing responsibilities may be more defined after Saturday’s blowout against McNeese State. Freshman tailback Henry Josey took advantage of the playing time, scoring on three of his first four carries.

The 5-foot-9-inch, 180-pounder rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries. A 62-yard score off a jet sweep brought him up to 16 yards per carry as he piled up more yards than the other six Tiger rushers combined.

Coach Gary Pinkel saw a lot of potential in the youngster’s play but knows that one game means little in the long run.

“He’s learning the offense well and he’s got a lot of ability,” Pinkel said. “This is one game, so we don’t need to build any statues yet but he did a lot of good things. The most important thing is that the kids keep getting better.”

Pinkel added that he’d like to see Josey break a few more tackles in the future, a skill that the freshman may not need if he continues to outrun everyone on the defense. Josey is considered the fastest on the 2010 team and recalls running a 4.38 in his last 40-meter dash.

“Speed wise he’s off the charts,” junior quarterback Blaine Gabbert said. “Seeing him over the summer and in two-a-days, I knew he was a legit, fast threat on the field. With his speed and his vision, when he hits a hole there’s always a chance for him to break it.”

While fans and teammates looked on in wonder, Josey never let the big numbers get to him during the game.

“I didn’t look up on the board at all,” Josey said. “I always stay hungry and humble. I was ready to do more for my team, whatever they needed me to do.”

Putting the team before personal performance is one of the reasons coach Pinkel is impressed with the freshman’s maturity.

“In order to play at this level as a freshman, you have to have a maturity level,” Pinkel said. “With all the stuff that happens in the arena here, in front of 60,000 people on national television, all the good and bad, you have to deal with it all and stay focused.”

Josey fought off any pregame jitters and seemed to tune out the bright lights and screaming fans of Faurot at game time.

“I thought I was going to be really nervous because I used to be always in high school,” he said. “But I wasn’t nervous at all about the game. My heart was beating pretty fast but I was ready. It was good to be back on the field.”

Only getting one carry in the week one Illinois game, the McNeese State matchup was Josey’s first real action since high school. Josey was an all-district running back in each of his last two seasons at Angleton High School in Angleton, Texas. The football, basketball and track star was ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 39 overall prospect in the "athlete" category.

When Josey isn’t going hard in practice or suiting up on game day, he tries to make time for his favorite pastime: fishing.

“I love fishing,” Josey said. “There’s no football, you’re just out there. It helps keep the stress level down and just focus.”

Next up for Josey and the Tigers is another home night game at 6 p.m. Saturday. They will look to top San Diego State and stay undefeated in week three.