Mizzou defense stands out in 2023 Spring Game

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Mizzou football team held an indoor Spring Game on Saturday, due to the frigid temperatures in Columbia. The MU defense put on a show for the family and alumni invited to Saturday's scrimmage.

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker's group won the day, making stop after stop against the Tiger offense.

"We did good, but we can do better," veteran defensive lineman Darius Robinson said. "We want to be the No. 1 defense in the nation. We did some good things, but we can definitely continue to grow and build upon what we've been working on."

You can watch the full interview with Robinson, as well as fellow defensive lineman Realus George in the video players below.

The highlights for the MU defense included a pick-six from first-year Tiger and JUCO transfer, linebacker Triston Newson. Baker's group had some big playing the secondary throughout the entire scrimmage, making it tough for the offense to move the chains.

Wide receiver Mookie Cooper said constantly going up against this top defense in practice is making his group better, as well.

"They grew a lot, man. They like that, I can say that," he said. "It's good going against them though, because I know on like Saturday's it'll be easier. You know, there aren't too many guys like Ennis and KAD [Kris Abrams-Draine] out there, but it's just going to make the offense way better."

You can watch the full interview with Cooper in the video player below.

The offense had some hiccups in Saturday's game, but running back Cody Schrader said it just highlights what they need to work on before the season.

"I think just finishing. I think we started very fast, started strong in the very beginning, but we just got to be able to finish towards the end."

You can watch the full interview with Schrader, as well as fellow running back Nathaniel Peat in the video players below.