Missouri Suspends Dorial Green-Beckham, Others For Vanderbilt Game

Sep 29, 2012; Orlando, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (15) makes a reception resulting in a touchdown against the Central Florida Knights during the second quarter at Bright House Networks Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

Missouri freshman wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, Torey Boozer and Levi Copelin were arrested for marijuana possession on Wednesday night, and are suspended for the Vanderbilt game this weekend.

Green-Beckham, a five-star recruit and widely regarded the nation’s top prospect in the 2012 signing class, had a breakout performance in Missouri’s 21-16 win at UCF. He caught just one pass, but that lone reception was good for 80 yards and a touchdown. It was his first game breaking single digits in the yardage column since Week 1’s route of FCS opponent Southeast Louisiana.

Vanderbilt ranks No. 8 nationally against the pass, thanks in part to holding South Carolina to just 67 yards through the air in Week 1. The Commodores last time out, they gave up 250 yards on 18-24 to Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray. Green-Beckham’s presence might have given Mizzou an element missing from its offense much of this season against the Commodore defense: big yardage plays.

“When you’re forced to have 14 play drives and not make any mistakes, that certainly causes a lot of stress on the offense,” said MU head coach Gary Pinkel in his weekly press conference. “A great catch, a great run, a great throw, a great run after catch – and I think we have people who can do that.”

Someone other than DGB must now step into that big play ability role. Might his absence and VU’s prowess against the pass send Missouri back to a more rushing-based offense? Though balanced, MU went to the ground more than it threw against Arizona State and South Carolina. This was particularly true of its quarterbacks. Avoiding forcing passes is key, because gaining more takeaways is a strategy Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin said his team needs to ignite to get back on track.

“The interceptions and tackles for loss [decreasing] have hurt,” he said “Last year, we were able to get huge momentum plays at times, and we just haven’t had that this year.”

Both the Tigers and Commodores enter Saturday’s game winless in SEC play.