Tobias Teng: Spring Football! – Rock M Nation

Texas reportedly only has two sports: football and spring football.

Missouri currently hosts many great sports, but those Texas words rang true Saturday afternoon. Thousands of people gathered to watch the black team, filling almost all of Four Law (the lower bowl on the east side – still impressive!). on Brady Cook's show against a Gold team headlined by Luther Baden III and other star receivers.

Mizzou won!

I watched Team Black win and took photos of Tiger's past, present, and future stars.

this is spring football Tobias Ten!

1. prez and coach

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UM-System Chancellor and President Mun Choi stopped by to watch the Mizzou game. Before kickoff, he chatted with head coach Eli Drinkwitz, and from what I could see, the two seemed to be having a great time. The last time I saw the two together on the football field in December, Choi was congratulating Drinkwitz on winning the Cotton Bowl. He could have congratulated Drinkwitz on Saturday's win, but he was still the coach of both teams.

2. Man of the Hour

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Missouri's three biggest receiver stars from last year, Luther Burden III, Mookie Cooper, and Theo Weese, all wore gold to the game, while the black team's players included Marquis “Speedy” Johnson and Joshua Manning. and acquired other wideouts.

Manning completed one of his two touchdowns on a pass from Brady Cook and made no mistake in his celebration. (The other was an 82-yard TD thrown by Theo Weese (!!) to Mookie Cooper. “Coming to the 12 spot,” Weese said to Cook on Twitter.)

3. Star of Tiger's past

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Many of last year's star players visited the stadium to see their old teammates and the next generation of Tiger players. Cody Schrader, Darius Robinson and Harrison Mavis were recognized at halftime along with several others.

Mavis is seen here dwarfed by Robinson, a first-round prospect, but he's standing at about the 50-yard line, not far from where he made his famous kick. (More on that later…)

4. My first time with Noel

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The spring game was very important to all of us in the press corps. That's also because I had a chance to watch some of the transfer players play against each other.

Running back Nate Noel (8 years old, left), a transfer from App State, tried to break through the offensive line, but Chris McClellan (7 years old, right), a transfer from Florida, literally stopped him on his own.

And this is when McClellan isn't even in full lineman position! He's barely standing! I don't want to walk past him. However, Noel looked great in other reps.

5.STP LB3

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Unlike my camera, fans could barely see star wideout Luther Baden III during the game. That's because he's dealing with an ankle tweak (via Adam Boussac of The Missoulian). I found him right after the game ended.

Notice some of the words on his wristband: Nasty Wide Outs, Elite Edge, and STP (Something To Prove). The message appears to have remained from last year, as Drinkwitz has repeatedly urged his team not to rest on their laurels.

6. Awkward wideouts

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WR coach Jacob Peeler (center)'s Twitter handle is @naoya_0219, and that's exactly what he's developing at Mizzou. After the game, he posed for a photo in the receiving room. Headliners include #3 Luther Baden III, #2 Marquise Johnson, #0 Joshua Manning, #10 Mekhi Miller, #5 Mookie Cooper, and #1 Theo Weese. This year we aim to have one of the deepest WR rooms in the country…

7. Taunt, 15 yards

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After the Gold team's goal-line stand failed, the Black team's Daylan Carnell shamelessly provoked the Gold and called “no.” But it appears he was waiting until Coach Drinkwitz had his eye on something else.

8. For kids

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After the game, chaos ensued as children, and later their parents, rushed onto the field to get autographs with almost every player. As someone who was taking pictures on the field during the Kansas State game, I didn't see anything like that, but I think it was pretty close on Saturday.

9. Big Man on Campus

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It was really interesting to be able to see in real time which players the crowd of fans most wanted to interview. Naturally, the most wanted was St. Louis' Brady Cook, with dozens of fans waiting with his John Hancock on posters, hats and shirts.

10. Make it into a poster!

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Of course, the big autograph seeker was Luther Baden III, who spent the entire day signing autographs for young fans (actually signing autographs for 25 minutes before everyone retired to the locker room).

Noteworthy: This game was on the 16th, but a few days after the 314th (March 14th). This day was known by all St. Louisans as a celebration of their city because of the 314 area code. Burden, a son of St. Louis who grew up just east, was happy to spend the day signing autographs for local fans.