Ad Disclosure
Missouri entered the season believing it had a bona fide star at running back in Russell Hansbrough, but questionable depth behind the senior who rushed for 1,084 yards last year.
The Tigers’ season-opening victory against Southeast Missouri State didn’t do anything to change that thought, but Mizzou finds itself needing to identify at least one more back who can help carry the load.
Hansbrough was averaging more than 11 yards per carry last weekend, but only had two attempts before leaving the game with an ankle sprain that has left him questionable for this weekend at Arkansas State. Without Hansbrough the Tigers’ running game was lackluster, to say the least.
Mizzou rushed for 117 yards on 33 attempts against Southeast Missouri State and Hansbrough’s primary backup, Ish Witter, gained just 33 yards on 13 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per attempt. Missouri’s running game was particularly nonexistent until the game began to get out of hand in the fourth quarter.
If Hansbrough struggles to stay healthy it could be devastating for the Tigers’ chances at making it three straight SEC East titles, unless somebody else steps up. Quarterback Maty Mauk has the ability to be an efficient game manager, but isn’t the kind of passer anybody looks to to carry a team to glory, particularly not with his inexperienced group of wide receivers to throw the ball to.
With Arkansas State representing a significant upgrade in competition in Week 2 and the SEC schedule coming up, it would behoove the Tigers to find another adequate ball carrier and fast. It sounds as though Hansbrough can go this weekend, but you’d have to think the Mizzou coaching staff would like to be able to escape Jonesboro without putting too much strain on the ankle.
The Tigers hope Witter can get the job done. He earned some playing time last year as a true freshman, but didn’t get a lot of work playing behind both Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy and averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. Witter rose up the Missouri depth chart quickly despite being a lightly recruited three-star back in high school who chose the Tigers over offers from Marshall, Rutgers, Syracuse and Western Kentucky, among others.
Still, the Tampa, Fla., product has decent speed and some shifty moves. Perhaps more experience is just what he needs to figure out how to hit holes at the college level and get into open space where he might be able to do some damage.
If it’s not Witter who emerges, the picture gets even murkier for the Tigers. Tyler Hunt, a local product from nearby Huntsville, Mo., had five carries for 20 yards along with a 78-yard reception. But the senior started the season No. 4 on the depth chart and has failed to make much of an impact (other than the occasional special teams play) in three previous seasons.
Morgan Steward, a redshirt junior from Kansas City, had five carries for 14 yards in the opener and is coming off a hip injury that kept him out all of 2014. Junior college transfer Chase Abbington is a St. Louis native who was highly regarded coming out of Hutchinson Community College, but managed just five yards on one carry in the opener.
Even if Hansbrough’s ankle turns out to be a non-issue, the Tigers need somebody to step up just to keep him from being overworked. If the injury is something the lingers, it could be a make it a long year for Missouri.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
