How Mizzou’s running backs could see more catches in Kirby Moore’s offense

Special to the Post-Dispatch
23 hrs ago
COLUMBIA, Mo. — While Missouri’s offense ran quick-tempo plays during a recent preseason camp drill, graduate running back Nathaniel Peat trotted out to an interesting position: the far left edge of the formation, just a dozen or so yards from the sideline.
MU football schedule
Aug. 31: 7 p.m. vs. South Dakota
Sept. 9: 6 p.m. vs. Middle Tennessee
Sept. 16: 11 a.m. vs. Kansas State
Sept. 23: TBA vs. Memphis (in St. Louis)
Sept. 30: TBA at Vanderbilt
Oct. 7: TBA vs. Louisiana State
Oct. 14: TBA at Kentucky
Oct. 21: TBA vs. South Carolina
Nov. 4: TBA at Georgia
Nov. 11: TBA vs. Tennessee
Nov. 18: TBA vs. Florida
Nov. 24: 3 p.m. at Arkansas
Note: Aug. 31 is a Thursday; Nov. 24 is a Friday. All other games played on Saturdays.
A running back lining up there, in a traditional receiving position, could be a more frequent occurrence under new offensive coordinator Kirby Moore.
Tasked with overhauling the Tigers’ offense for this season, Moore is looking toward the backfield as a source of potential production in the passing game.
“I definitely think running backs are going to be more involved in the pass game,” said running back Cody Schrader, a graduate student.
Last season represented something of a regression for backfield receiving production under Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz. Schrader and Peat, MU’s two returnees at running back, combined for just 200 receiving yards from 28 catches and 43 targets last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
That volume was a fraction of what standout tailback Tyler Badie’s final season at Missouri, in 2021, entailed: Badie hauled in 52 passes for 333 yards and led the Tigers in targets — 66 — all while setting MU’s regular-season rushing record.
So will 2023 be the year of the running back receiving renaissance for MU?
“There’s going to be certain concepts, yeah,” Moore said.
His philosophy around throwing the ball to running backs seems to center around the defender who will be covering their routes.
“Depending on how a defense plays, that might be the best matchup on the field, right?” Moore asked. “The running back on a specific linebacker or D-lineman if they’re dropping those guys.”
For the play-designing mind behind the offense, those mismatches are something that can be manufactured. And positioning is part of that process.
“I think what you’ll see in Coach Moore’s offense is a variety of where the running back alignments are throughout, whether it’s empty formations, in the backfield,” Drinkwitz said. “He does a really good job of utilizing those guys in multiple ways.”
That’s where Peat lining up on the outer edge of Missouri’s formation comes into play. Schrader and Peat are Mizzou’s most experienced tailbacks and leading candidates for touches this fall, backed by redshirt freshman Tavorus Jones and freshman Jamal Roberts, an All-Metro standout at St. Mary’s High last season.
Alignment is only one piece of the puzzle, though. Quarterbacks need to recognize a mismatch and an open running back before throwing the ball in that direction.
That’s a consideration for Brady Cook, last year’s starting quarterback and prime contender in this summer’s signal-caller competition.
“I think the majority of the running back touches in the pass game are going to be checkdowns,” he said. “But they’re also going to be some first-read options.”
From there, actually getting the ball into the running back’s hands is the next domino to fall. Last year, Peat and Schrader only caught 65% of their targets, a drop from a completion percentage of 79% to Badie in 2021.
Whether that was the fault of the quarterback or the running back seems to be a moot point for the Tigers. Both position groups united in the offseason to establish a better connection.
“The running backs have done a great job of working with the quarterbacks as far as the pass game goes,” Cook said. “They’ve been present at all of our throwing sessions. They’ve showed the ability to catch. They’re going to have chances to do that.”
The running backs added more skill development work on top of catching live throws.
“We really focused on just a lot of hand-eye coordination, getting as many catches as we can in a day on Jugs machines, tennis balls,” Schrader said. “It was a huge one for us.”
The start of preseason camp might be signaling one other, less-talked-about component of the passing game that factors into running back receiving production: wide receivers’ blocking ability.
Whether a running back catches the ball out of the backfield or from out wide, an unblocked cornerback can easily disrupt the play. Other receivers, then, need to secure their blocks to let running backs make use of their athleticism and the space that a quick pass theoretically provides.
Drinkwitz left the first week of preseason camp frustrated with what his wideouts were bringing to perimeter blocking.
“It’s embarrassing for me right now, to be honest,” Drinkwitz said Saturday. “That room has got to be better and take more pride in blocking on the perimeter.”
MU adds basketball recruit
Coach Dennis Gates has added a second four-star recruit to the Missouri basketball program’s 2024 recruiting class, securing a commitment from forward Marcus Allen on Monday. Allen, a 6-foot-7 prospect from Norland High in Miami, chose the Tigers over finalists Arkansas, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and Stanford.
He’s rated the nation’s No. 52 overall recruit for 2024 by Rivals.com, giving Gates two more four-star pledges for next year’s class.
In 28 games as a sophomore during the 2020-21 season at Norland, Allen averaged 18.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. He transferred to Arizona Compass Prep for his junior season, where he played with current Mizzou freshman Trent Pierce, but will return to Norland for this coming season.
In June, four-star point guard Antonio Barrett (ranked No. 114) from Edmond, Oklahoma, became Mizzou’s first 2024 commitment.