Competition continues as Mizzou fall camp begins to wind down
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football team only has a little less than a week left of fall camp, before game-week preparation for the season opener against Murray State will begin.
On Tuesday, the Tigers put practice No. 13 of camp in the books. You can watch extended highlights of that practice in the video player below.
Although there are a lot positions that are locked up for the 2024 season, some key battles still remain. In fact, defensive tackle Marquis Gracial said the competition on the defensive line is still wide open. With a slew of seniors and captains graduating following the 2023 season, there's even more opportunity for him.
"With the older guys kind of leaving, my mindset has changed a little bit, you know, knowing that I could go out there. I mean, I felt like that when I was younger, too, but there's no senior, there's nobody that can come in, you know, like 'I'm not gonna play, for real,'" he said. "My main thing is if we're winning, that's really the main thing I care about. If I'm not playing a lot and we're winning, I'm happy. If I'm playing a lot and we're winning, I'm happy."
You can watch the full interview with Gracial in the video player below.
Safety Marvin Burks Jr. will also look to see his role expand in 2024. The sophomore saw action in all 13 games of his debut season in the black and gold, registering 22 total tackles and 13 solo stops.
In 2023, the St. Louis native looked up to guys like safeties Jaylon Carlies and Daylan Carnell. With the mentorship of that duo, Burks Jr. said he has a much deeper understanding of the game, ahead of his second year in Columbia.
"My knowledge for the game has grown. Coming in as a freshman, like I said, I was just trying to learn, not trying to make mistakes and now I'm more challenging myself, going out there and challenging routes, challenging receivers, just trying to get the most of gameday reps from 'Nasty Wideouts.' Those guys have great receivers, so I'm just everyday trying to compete and get better with those guys," Burks Jr. said.
You can watch the full interview with the Tigers safety in the video player below.
On the offensive side, redshirt freshman running back Jamal Roberts has embraced his role. In his first season in Columbia, he worked behind breakout star Cody Schrader. Now, in 2024, all signs point towards Appalachian State transfer Nate Noel getting the first-team touches.
Roberts emphasized just how important patience has been in his time at Mizzou, in an era where athletes can transfer just about anywhere for playing time.
"I've just been embracing my role on the team," he said. "Just embracing my role, doing what I can do to help the team out in any type of way, so just being patient and waiting on my shot."
You can watch the full interview with the Roberts in the video player below.
Mizzou will charge on with the last few practices of fall camp, before preparation begins for the season opener. The Tigers will kickoff of the 2024 season on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. against Murray State.
