BRANSON MO NEWS: Football is back. Sort of.No, the season is not around the corner quite yet, but the start of spring camp marks the next meaningful step toward that opening Saturday in September. Missouri will do just that Tuesday when it opens its 15-practice 2018 spring training camp, which will conclude on April 14 with the annual Black & Gold Game.With the return of senior quarterback Drew Lock and a pair of proven talents in Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III in the backfield, the biggest questions surrounding the Tigers’ offense come not on the field but instead on the sideline with first-year offensive coordinator Derek Dooley.
The former Tennessee head coach joined Missouri’s staff in January following five years spent with the Dallas Cowboys and is now tasked with taking over an offense that finished eighth in total offense in 2017. In his introductory press conference on Jan. 12, Dooley was vague when asked what sort of system his offense would run but hinted that it will likely feature a mix of several different schemes.“I think there will be elements of the pro style and elements of the college tempo … and some spread,” Dooley said. “What we’ve got to do is make sure that we have a good feeling for who our best players are, how we can put them in positions to succeed, and go from there.”Given the recent success of Missouri’s offenses and the offensive talent remaining on the Tigers’ roster, Dooley will be graded on a pretty unforgiving curve next fall.Further unknowns lie on the defensive side of the ball. After an encouraging second half of the season that saw the Tigers’ defense improve significantly, Missouri enters 2018 without a number of the key cogs that kept the defense afloat.After losing safety Anthony Sherrils and …
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