Dylan Thompson announced as Starter vs Mizzou

Hoping he plays with more confidence than was shown in his previous showings. We gotta play keep away from mizzou while scoring points.

very young, And with that comes the out of position and misreads that lead to big plays. Which is why you see DB's cutting guys loose thinking they are in zone when they are in man coverage. LB's jumping in the wrong gap resulting in big runs. The injury to Quarles is really gonna sting as he was a force in the middle eating blocks, I expect to see teams try to run up the gut now and test that area.
But the secondary is the bigger issue although they are coming around (albeit slowly) the key position in our defense is the spur and we have not had consistant play from that position.

You may have some trouble with our offense then. Don't be fooled because none of our offensive playmakers are at the top of any lists - we spread the ball around too much. We have 3 RBs very capable of 100+ yd games. Last weekend, Henry Josey ran for 136 against Florida, and 7 or 8 different receivers caught passes. But, Mauk is going to be prone to mistakes as a RSfreshman, and the playmakers saved him from a couple of picks last week. He has a great arm, but tends to run when he gets pressured, so Clowney could have a monster day.

Our weakness on defense is the secondary. We can also be gashed up the middle, so I expect your stud RB to have a good day.

ETA - we have a preview thread on the Mizzou board - do you mind if I add your comments there?

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Can y'all tell me about your defense, other than Clowney? He gets all the press, but what about the other pieces of your defense?

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They're talented, but young.

On the line we might be without Kelcey Quarles (stupid Tennessee knee killers...), our best DT. JT Surrat has been showing up lately at the other DT position and Sophomore Phillip Dukes is going to have to step up if Quarles is out. A lot was expected out of Chazz Sutton opposite Clowney at DE, but he has been pedestrian at best. The line, when playing together and healthy can be stout, but we'll have to wait until Saturday to see if they want to show up.

Our LB group is replacing five contributors from last year. We have one Jr in the three deep with the rest being RS Sophomore or lower. TJ Holloman at MLB has been playing better as of late and Marcquis Roberts (WLB) and Sharrod Golightly (SPR) are the other starters. One of the Freshman who has stepped up big in a supporting role is Skai Moore. His number 10 will be seen on a lot of plays for a guy coming off the bench.

Our two starting corners (Vic Hampton, JR, and Jimmy Legree, SR) are upper classmen who have shown both flashes of brilliance and a penchant for WTF moments. I, personally, have really appreciated the play of Legree in both coverage and run support. The best corner behind those two is Ahmad Christian who continues to improve as he sees more of the field. (It was his coverage on North for that miraculous catch that got them within field goal range. He did pretty much everything you could ask on that play and had the opportunity to knock it away.) Safety has been hit or miss all year, but getting Chaz Elder back at FS should help shore it up a bit. As a unit it, it's probably our weakest by perception, but they are sitting at third in the conference at just under 200 yards per game.

Earlier in the year our defensive inexperience was much more apparent, but has strengthened as they get more games under their belt. They were outstanding against Arkansas and kept us in the game with UT while our Offense floundered. As they continue to improve around Clowney it only helps to elevate his game.

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You may have some trouble with our offense then

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Semo the only offense we haven't had trouble with was Arkansas, take that for what it is worth.

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You may have some trouble with our offense then.

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Hell the only trouble are defense hasnt had with was UNC, Arky, and majority of UT game.
I fully expect Mizzou to pull out the W.

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Well Shaw is practicing so DT might not get the start after all.

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I think that's a mistake. Shaw has struggled mightily in hostile environments his entire career, and I expect Mizzou to be no different. With Thompson getting first-team reps, I think he can be better prepared to handle the experience.

I hate it, cos I really like Connor Shaw. But I just don't trust him to win a major game on the road.

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I think that's a mistake. Shaw has struggled mightily in hostile environments his entire career, and I expect Mizzou to be no different. With Thompson getting first-team reps, I think he can be better prepared to handle the experience. I hate it, cos I really like Connor Shaw. But I just don't trust him to win a major game on the road.

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Agree and agree.

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I think (hope) Dylan is going to be fine with a full week preparing and knowing he's getting the start.

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I think he will be. I'm not worried about Dylan.