Mizzou Football Offensive Presser Notes

Here are some quotes and notes from coaches and players on the offensive side of the ball:

Kirby Moore | offensive coordinator

• “I think he’s done a really good job when it comes to lengthening plays. His eyes are in the right place and I thought he did a really good job in live situations on Saturday.” Quarterback Jake Garcia transfers to Miami
• “I think it was a good transition for Luther [Burden] moves into the slot. He’s done a really good job of running his route and finding things from the quarterback.
• “When I say FBI, that’s football intelligence. His FBI is very good and he can play outside or inside and offers a lot of versatility on offense.” About his early impressions of Mekhi Miller
• “I would say I stayed in that bubble for quite a long time. I like Tacos 4 Life over here, I’ve been there about 8 times. Everyone is excited; My three-year-old daughter already knows Go Tigers! About what he liked best about Columbia so far

Mark Johnson | Offensive Line Coach

• “He’s a strong, physical specimen. I saw a one-on-one pass rush drill the other day and it sucked. But his ability to bounce back and get out of bad situations is unique to him because he’s so nervous and athletic. There aren’t many guys who play as a freshman offensive lineman in this conference.” On Armand Membou sophomore
• “Attitude and mentality, physicality. Ending blocks, chasing the ball as soon as it breaks the line of scrimmage. For me, it doesn’t even take skill and talent to be great at the little things.” On what he would like to see improved in this year’s O-Line group
• “These guys know they’re being evaluated every day, regardless of their position. No matter what you did last year, everyone has a clean slate.”
• “He’s extremely athletic and nervous, he just needs to get used to playing on the right, which he’s never done before. So many people think that with O-Linemen, you just throw big guys out and let them go. That is far from the truth.” On Eastern Michigan transfer Marcellus Johnson
• “I can sleep a little better at night. Thank god he made the decision to come back and this team looks up to him. He is a no-nonsense worker who never complains.” To Javon Foster deciding to return for this season

Eric Link | Special Teams/Tight Ends Coordinator

• “We have a number of people working in those two positions. We added a few new guys to the roster who are getting reruns. It’s definitely not one man’s job, and there are several people working on the punt and kick returner. What the competition looked like at punt/kick returners. Theo Wease wasn’t one of the newbies to take reruns.

Curtis Luper | Running back coach

• “The nice thing is we had and still have so much support.” On going through his son’s health struggles last year. Luper explained that he actually reached out and spoke to Kansas City Chiefs’ Trey Smith, who went through something similar in college with blood clots.
• “Cody refuses to be outworked. Cody graduated at 3pm on a Saturday in December and we had bowl practice that day. He missed it, but coach Drink took a video of someone training on the field at night when it was in their 20s. And it was Cody. He was sent the practice script and he did it himself. So you better be more talented and work as hard as him to beat him.” What so impressed him about Cody Schrader that he came to the team as the sixth or seventh RB on the depth chart

Jacob Peeler | Trainer for wide receivers

• “Experience, it always helps when you have someone who has seen a lot. He has the ability to take the edge off defense and put some emphasis on safety. About Oklahoma’s transfer Theo Wease Jr.
• “Barrett [Baniser} has been around for a bit, he’s training for the NFL Draft right now so he’s in town. I’ve kinda begged him to come help me a little bit, he’s limited in that he can’t just be coaching but he’s out there observing and I’ll ask him what he sees.” On the role departed WR Barrett Banister has played this offseason
• “I knew immediately after the first couple of times we met that there was going to be a good marriage. He understands how to attack coverage because he’s seen it from playing wide receiver.” On his early impressions of new OC Kirby Moore
• “Last year, we did our first walkthrough right before spring practice and he looked wide-eyed with how fast things were. Things have slowed down for him now, and we call him kinda our ‘glue’ guy. He can play multiple positions.” On Mekhi Miller
• “First one that comes to mind for me is ‘Peanut,’ Demariyon Houston. He was a guy last year that had a freak, weird injury deal that he sustained in the summer. It kept him out until the last four weeks of the season. He just brings it every single day, and he has a speed element to him and works extremely hard. I think he has a bright future.” On what receiver that people aren’t talking about right now can be a major contributor in the fall
• “Last year, we just wanted to limit him in terms of not putting too much on his plate. We thought playing outside, because of how confident we were in our slot room, was the best position for him. In the slot, he’s gonna get a bit more free access and the ball comes out a bit faster because he won’t have to deal with press corners every play.” On Luther Burden making the move to slot receiver

Armand Membou | Sophomore | Offensive Lineman

• “As I got more experienced during the season, I was able to play a bit faster and have more confidence in my place on the line.”
• “I’ll say, a lot of the time last year, you would see plays where it was four guys doing the right things, but then there’s one guy that has a mess-up or something that results in a negative play. The emphasis is on five guys playing as one.” On the mindset of the O-line room this season

Javon Foster | Graduate Student | Offensive Lineman

• “I’ve never seen anything like that, honestly. I know the kind of shape I was in freshman year, and I was not near where he was.” On Armand Membou
• “Me, I have to step up in being a leader. Xavier Delgado has been stepping up as a veteran as well. Marcellus [Johnson]he just came in, but he’s also a veteran.” So far on the tour he can be seen in the O-Line room
• “Our second and third groups worked very hard. They don’t make it easy for any of us beginners; there are no guaranteed starting places.” To the depths of O-line space

Mekhi Miller | Second graders | wide receiver

• “We’re really not trying to push one or two people into taking on that role. We all do it among ourselves to hold each other accountable.” The lead in the WR room with Banister and Lovett has now been dispensed with

Cody Schrader | graduate student | Back race

• “Now I can work on more skills and nurture relationships with my teammates instead of trying to prove myself and win a job. Player development is a big thing in spring and I’m really focused on improving my passing protection.” About how this off-season is different for him than last year
• “Just seeing how a man reacts to what he’s been going through was really inspiring to have been in that dressing room after the game and seen it all.” On Nathaniel Peats’ reaction to the fumble at the Auburn game
• “It’s always been my number since freshman year in high school. We are a large family of numbers and the number seven was God’s chosen number with the seven days of creation. When I became a Christian in high school, I just felt attached to that number.” When moving to 7th place this season
• “It’s generally a great honor for these guys to see me as a leader. Regardless of the stats you have, if you can influence people, that’s something that means a lot.”
• “I think passport protection will always be crucial for me, I will continue to work on that. I need to learn defense types and schemes so I can spot pre-snap blitzes.” What he thinks he needs to improve the most this season

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