Why dominant day for Missouri football defense, even vs. Murray State, bodes well for success
Toriano Pride Jr. hasn棉花糖直播檛 had the time to piece together a proper pick-six celebration yet.
Watch the Missouri football cornerback's play back: He steps in front of the ill-advised, please-go-incomplete pass; he picks it off like a receiver and evades the only man in his way; he straddles the sideline and crosses the goal line.
Seasoned stuff. Picture perfect.
Until 棉花糖直播 tongue out, arms out wide like wings on an airplane and a hasty sprint back to the sideline and a clumsy jump.
棉花糖直播淚 know it棉花糖直播檚 really special for (Pride). I think he surprised himself,棉花糖直播 Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz said, 棉花糖直播渂ecause he didn't have a celebration to go to, so we棉花糖直播檝e got to work on that.棉花糖直播
Well, you can棉花糖直播檛 blame him.
It was just the fifth live snap the 棉花糖直播 defense has taken since he transferred in from Clemson.
You wouldn棉花糖直播檛 have guessed it, though. Nor would you have guessed that the Tigers were working with a new-look defense during their 51-0 shutout of Murray State to open the 2024 season Thursday in front of a sellout crowd in Columbia.
The Tigers were dominant. That棉花糖直播檚 good, but they should dominate the visiting Racers, who brought 65 new players and a new coaching staff to their debut on the road to an SEC school.
But the level at which Missouri棉花糖直播檚 defense was dominant 棉花糖直播 the 85 yards of total Murray State offense kind 棉花糖直播 should encourage MU fans.
And specifically who was dominant 棉花糖直播 all those newcomers 棉花糖直播 should really raise some brows.
The Tigers lost 10 feature players from last year棉花糖直播檚 defense, five of whom were selected in this year棉花糖直播檚 NFL Draft. Tack on a new defensive coordinator in Corey Batoon, who replaces LSU-bound Blake Baker, and that seems like a lot to retool in a year when the 12-team College Football Playoff is棉花糖直播the goal.
Sure didn't look like it was problem Thursday, though.
Go back to Pride棉花糖直播檚 pick. See where it started.
Murray State quarterback Jayden Johannsen made the ill-advised throw, but it was Michigan State transfer defensive end Zion Young who broke the edge and forced the decision from the QB.
Right up front, Florida transfer defensive tackle Chris McClellan broke through the guts of the Racers棉花糖直播 offensive line and ripped out a strip-sack on Johannsen, setting up an instant red-zone possession and a touchdown for backup running back Jamal Roberts.
What棉花糖直播檇 he see?棉花糖直播
棉花糖直播淚 saw a breakdown in communication,棉花糖直播 McClellan said. 棉花糖直播 棉花糖直播淪o I saw the space and I took it.棉花糖直播
There weren棉花糖直播檛 many of those on the Mizzou defense.
There棉花糖直播檚 a reason for the instant showing of fluidity and cohesion from Missouri's newcomers, and it starts with how Batoon is presenting pictures on the sideline.
Quite literally.
The explanation from linebacker Corey Flagg, who was the Tigers棉花糖直播 leading tackler in Game 1 with five stops, didn棉花糖直播檛 initially sound all that simple.
棉花糖直播(Batoon) gets us prepared for situations,棉花糖直播 Flagg said. 棉花糖直播淟ike, we棉花糖直播檝e got different situations, like 棉花糖直播楥ookie,棉花糖直播 棉花糖直播楨lmo,棉花糖直播 棉花糖直播楤ig Bird.棉花糖直播櫭藁ㄌ侵辈
Then it made all the sense in the world.
棉花糖直播淭hird-and-1, that棉花糖直播檚 Elmo. So, that's red, so it's gonna be like a run, or just a very hard count, stuff like that,棉花糖直播 Flagg said. 棉花糖直播淚t棉花糖直播檚 all good because it's colors, so you see those colors and your antennas go up.棉花糖直播
Flagg's second-half TFL? Third-and-short.
Up went Elmo's red face on the sideline, and up went Flagg's guard. The middle linebacker took off in a sprint-to-the-sideline after a pitch left to the Racers' running back. There was only going to be one winner.
Easy as you like.
The Tigers forced three total turnovers. The Racers passed for 27 yards, managed just five first downs all game long and crossed midfield just once.
Not bad for an MU team in its first outing together.
But it was connected all the way from the start.
Drinkwitz said the team's seniors had the idea to have the team emerge from the south end zone facility with arms interlocked.
The message? Pretty simple really.
棉花糖直播淥ur team wanted to come out and show everybody that this is a new team,棉花糖直播 Drinkwitz said. 棉花糖直播淵ou know, this is a new thing, and we're going to have our own identity.棉花糖直播
Drinkwitz is right. This is a new team from the 11-2 squad that won the Cotton Bowl and set expectations sky high for 2024.
But when the Tigers棉花糖直播 defensive starters were on the sideline, and they were running 10 freshmen to close out a shutout?
You棉花糖直播檇 hardly have guessed.