The Missouri Tigers took to a new field surface in a new conference Wednesday morning.
The Tigers continue to prepare for their first season in the Southeastern Conference and at the same time got a first taste of the new FieldTurf surface on Faurot Field in a 2½ hour workout. The stadium, which opened in 1926, was covered with FieldTurf in 2003 but given a makeover this past offseason as the Tigers prepare to welcome in Georgia on September 8 to officially kickoff the SEC coming to Columbia for conference games.
“Overall, it was a good practice, it was kind of fun being in the stadium, we hadn’t practiced on the new turf yet, that’s good,” said coach Gary Pinkel when it was over. “I thought it was a good practice, thought we got a lot done. We’ve got some guys banged up a little bit, but that’s the norm, you’re going to be sore, you’re going to be tired during two-a-days. For the most part, the only injury change for us is (freshman tight end) Sean Culkin, he ended up breaking a finger. The extent of it we don’t know, will he need surgery I don’t know, they might pin it, but we’ll find out later this afternoon after the medical staff takes a look.”
That came on top of more injury news that came after Tuesday’s workout as a couple of offensive linemen who were being counted on for extended playing time this season were lost to injuries that will keep them on the sidelines indefinitely.
Senior Travis Ruth, the expected starter at left guard, has been diagnosed with a torn left triceps tendon and will have surgery on Thursday. Redshirt freshman Taylor Chappell tore his ACL in his left knee and will have surgery within the next couple of weeks. Chappell opened camp at No. 2 on the depth chart at right tackle, but was taking the majority of practice snaps with the No. 1 offensive unit because of an injury to Justin Britt, who is out with a foot injury but is expected back.
More Tiger news on the injury front concerns the rebound of quarterback James Franklin, who continues to recover from a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder suffered during spring drills that required surgery.
“He’s a pretty special guy,” Pinkel said at the time. “He’ll heal quick. He works tremendously hard in that training room, and so much of that it is having a great attitude.”
Franklin missed the majority of the spring and that didn’t sit well with the 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior from Corinth, Texas.
“I want to be out there,” he said in the spring. “I want to be getting better because I know I had a lot I wanted to work on from last season.”
As a sophomore starter, Franklin threw for 2,865 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for another 981 yards and 15 touchdowns, so Missouri is handling him carefully this fall.
“I thought James did pretty good overall,” Pinkel said after getting his first look at Franklin this fall. “If you just walked out here and didn’t know he had surgery, you wouldn’t think anything was up. I kind of marvel at him, he’s a remarkable athlete to be able to do what he’s doing after having that surgery, you know, we have about a month left before we play, so that’s very, very encouraging to think where we were back in spring football. He’s got a great attitude, and obviously he’s genetically gifted.”
Franklin did not throw Tuesday or Wednesday, but took part in all other aspects of practice. This was part of trainer Rex Sharp’s plan prior to training camp to give Franklin periodic rest as he continues to build himself back from the surgery. Franklin, however, has had good practices and continues to be pain-free. With Franklin restricted from throwing in the drills, backup quarterback Corbin Berkstresser has been running the Tigers’ offense.
Also rehabbing from a serious knee injury that ended his season after 10 games and 1,168 yards last season is junior tailback Henry Josey. He has been rehabbing on the side as he continues to build strength from his season-ending injury.
Pinkel says that Josey is on schedule but still doesn’t know when to expect the tailback to return to full work.
“Time will tell,” said Pinkel. “I would suggest that it’s going to be difficult, just in terms of timing. The most important thing is he’s healed and he’s 100 percent and he’s ready to go. That’s the most important thing because he’s got two years left and we want to be smart about what we do.
“He’s just got such a great attitude, is such a great kid, you know. And it’s so neat to see him just out here. He’s always had a great attitude. That’s why he’s going to come back from this. His surgeries are over; he’s got a tremendous work ethic.”
Missouri will take to the practice field twice on Thursday at 7:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.