Mizzou Central

What to Watch at Mizzou's Fan Night Practice ; The Buzz, August 17, 2024

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Mizzou athletics, including full TV listings.

Joey Van Zummeren

Missouri Tigers quarterback Drew Pyne follows through on a pass during practice at Faurot Field In Columbia, Mo. on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
Missouri Tigers quarterback Drew Pyne follows through on a pass during practice at Faurot Field In Columbia, Mo. on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. / Matt Guzman/MissouriOnSI

Fans will get a peak at the 2024 Missouri Tigers Saturday night at the team's Football Fan Night at Faurot Field. The team will hold an open practice from 7-8:30 p.m, followed by a showing of the children's movie "Zootopia."

Depending on how much head coach Eli Drinkwitz and the staff chooses to keep guarded, there should be some new insight gained from the final practice of fall camp that either the media or public will have access to.

Here's a few things to keep an eye on if your in the stands Saturday night.

Young Receivers

Sophomore receivers Daniel Blood and Joshua Manning have been two of the most popular names through the offseason. In a scrimmage to wrap up the second week of fall camp, Drinkwitz estimated that Manning had six catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Blood also made multiple catches in the two scrimmages of camp.

READ: Twitchy Missouri Receiver Daniel Blood Looking to Create Separation During Fall Camp

The receiver room is already pretty crowded room with plenty of talent at the depth chart. It'll be an uphill battle for both Manning and Blood to see the field but they're both taking the right steps so far to earn opportunities.

Running Back Usage

It's still a little blurry on what exactly Missouri's running back rotation will look like. Nate Noel, a transfer from Applachian State, seemingly has an upper hand over Georgia State transfer Marcus Carroll as an every down back. Carroll is more of a downhill runner. They're two distinct players. The rotation could be opponent based. Monitor the usage of both along with sophomore Jamal Roberts.

New Defense

The messaging from players, Drinkwitz and assistant coaches has been pretty clear on the switch to defensive coordinator to Corey Batoon. There won't be much of a change on scheme nor philosophy. This, again, is dependent on how much 11-on-11 the team actually runs but watch out for any new wrinkles to the defense. Otherwise, Batoon has a very different personality than Blake Baker, his predecessor. Interesting to see the difference in coaching styles.

Recent Results

Soccer: Missouri won 2-0 in its home opener over Missouri State Wednesday evening. Keegan Good and Milena Fischer scored goals for the Tigers.

Did you notice?

• Quarterback Brady Cook will be signing autographs for fans Friday, August 23 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Wendy's on Ninth Street in Columbia.

• Brenan Goering, originally committed to Missouri baseball in the Class of 2025, reopened his commitment due to roster shrinkage.

• Missouri's NFL rookies will have another chance to prove themselves this week in the NFL preseason with roster cutdown day set for August 27. Here's the schedule for Missouri's six rookies and its heralded running back.

Saturday, August 17:
- Darius Robinson (Arizona Cardinals) at Indianapolis Colts, 6 p.m.
- Javon Foster (Jacksonville Jaguars) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, August 18:
- Ty'Ron Hopper (Green Bay Packers)* at Kris Abrams-Draine (Denver Broncos), 7 p.m.
- Cody Schrader (San Francisco 49ers) vs. New Orleans Saints, 7 p.m.

San Francisco 49ers running back Cody Schrader (38) runs the ball against the Tennessee Titans
Aug 10, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Cody Schrader (38) runs the ball against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports / Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

* Hopper has been dealing with an ankle injury that prevented him from playing in the Packers' preseason debut last weekend. He returned to practice Tuesday in indivual drills and returned to full capacity in practice Friday in joint practices against the Broncos

Safety JC Carlies and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw are also both recovering from injury. Rakestraw missed most of the Detroit Lions practices this week with an ankle injury. Carlies was dealing with a hip injury but returned to practice Wednesday.

Countdown to Missouri Football's season opener:

12 days.

More from Missouri on SI:

Mekhi Miller is Embracing his Role in Missouri Football Receiver Room

WATCH: All Things Mizzou Podcast: Week 2 of Fall Camp, Drafting a 7-on-7 Missouri Team

Competitions at Running Back, Left Tackle Seem to be Settled for Missouri

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Joey Van Zummeren

JOEY VAN ZUMMEREN

Joey Van Zummeren is a sports journalist from Belleville, Ill. He's currently a freshman at the University of Missouri studying journalism, and joined MizzouCentral as an intern in 2023. His beats include football and basketball.