Missouri’s final open fall camp practice Wednesday morning brought a little bit of everything: special teams work, one-on-ones in the secondary, and an injury scare that briefly stopped the session.
The media got five periods of practice to watch, and one noticeable change came early. Instead of opening with the usual extra points and field goals on the main fields, the kickers were moved to a third field about 15 minutes into the viewing window. That shift opened the door for some return work, with freshmen tailbacks Max Warner and Preston Hatfield and walk-on running back Brady Hultman handling kicks against a full return coverage unit.
Hatfield has now shown up in that kind of drill three times, which at least suggests the freshman may be building a role for himself on special teams.
“Everybody wants to play as a freshman, you know, but sometimes that's not how the role ends up,” Junior safety Trajen Greco said Tuesday. “Being able to play my freshman year on special teams was a blessing.”
Elsewhere, the defensive backs and receivers went to work in one-on-one coverage reps. I tracked roughly a dozen of those matchups, and most of the time the defensive back came away with the win. One of the cleaner catches came from Naeshaun Montgomery, the three-star sophomore transfer from Florida, who hauled one in through contact.
The flashiest grab belonged to three-star true freshman wideout Jabari Brady. He made the catch, but the play ended with a scary moment when Brady landed awkwardly on his leg and stayed down for a few minutes. Two staff members eventually helped him to his feet, walked him a few yards, and then carted him off the field.
Missouri will not practice Thursday before returning for a closed practice Friday and a closed scrimmage Saturday night. Eli Drinkwitz is scheduled to speak to the media after the scrimmage.
The Tigers open the season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 at the new-look Memorial Stadium.
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