Tigers looking to bring back high-intensity offense
The Tigers are looking to make a significant return to a more productive offense. Before last season, the Tigers acquired former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant shortly before their postseason ban. He added some great talent as a dual-threat quarterback but he wasn’t highly explosive.
Last season, the Tigers were ranked 93rd in the nation (10th in the SEC) in points (25.3) and 93rd (10th in the SEC) in total yards (374.3). The Tigers return only starters from last season as they look to more productive this season.
As a product of Gus Malzahn, Eli Drinkwitz will take the responsibility of developing and running the offense. Last season at App State, the Mountaineers were ranked ninth in the nation in points per game (38.8). They had one of the most well-balanced offenses in the Sun Belt. Drinkwitz developed a top-15 scoring offense and total offense for Boise State in 2015 where he was in his first season as offensive coordinator.
Drinkwitz has the experience and the knowledge to build this offense again at Missouri. The loss of a spring did not help the Tigers develop before the upcoming season.
The Tigers have a mess at the quarterback decision when the season kicks off. They have to choose between four legitimate quarterbacks to lead their team. TCU transfer Shawn Robinson looks to make a legitimate claim as the starting quarterback as he has the experience playing in an RPO offense. In 2018, he passed for 1,334 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns on 49 rushing attempts.
Missouri is also expecting two-year backup Taylor Powell to compete for the starting role.
Last season, junior running back Larry Rountree III’s role expanded but his impact reduced by 39 carries and 387 yards than in his sophomore season. He was highly efficient in the RPO package with Bryant at quarterback. This season, the Tigers are dependent on the leadership, talent and experience of Rountree to compete for a productive offseason in the SEC.
Rountree has rushed for 2,748 yards (sixth all-time in the program) and 26 touchdowns (eighth all-time in the program) on 537 carries. He has a chance to develop himself into a top-tier player for the program this season. They need more impact in the rushing game as they were ranked 74th in the nation (ninth in the SEC) in rushing yards per game (151.7).
At first glance, the Tigers’ receiving corps look to be lacking with efficiency with the lack of returning starters. This season is a great chance to back their productive passing offense due to the talent they are projected to start at wide out. The Tigers will benefit with Virginia Tech grad transfer Damon Hazelton who played 35 games with 25 starts. In his three seasons at Ball State and Virginia Tech, Hazelton caught 133 passes for 1,834 yards and 20 touchdowns. He will be a guaranteed new coming starter while the Tigers are promoting two role players to starters.
Last season, Jalen Knox played in all 12 games with five starts as he caught 19 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers will also rely on junior wide receiver Barrett Banister.
The offensive line is a position group that needs improvement the most in the remaining offseason. They started strong in the first half of the season but they continued to decline in the efficiency of protecting the quarterback and creating push for the run game. During the second half of the season, when they experienced the 1-5 streak, the Tigers’ offensive line allowed 17 sacks and 42 tackles for loss.
Overall, the Tigers gave up 27 sacks during the season. They return two starters on the line of scrimmage from last season in guard Case Cook and tackle Larry Broom. Both returners are projected to start at their natural positions on the right side of the line in 2020. The Tigers are projected to start grad transfer Michael Maietti at center. He started 33 games for Rutgers over the past three seasons.