Missouri Football: Protecting the QB is key to success
By Matt Green
There are 14 days till college football season, which means two Saturdays from now we will have football. Today’s countdown is all about protecting the quarterback.
Quarterback is the most important position on a football field, which is why the two most important aspects of football are getting to the quarterback and protecting the quarterback. The Missouri football team in 2017 is centered around their explosive passing attack.
Drew Lock is in his second full season as Missouri starting quarterback. If the Tigers are going to be a contender in the SEC East, it’s going to be Lock leading the way. Last season, the Tigers were the best in the Southeastern Conference at protecting their signal-caller, and that leads us to no. 14 on the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.
Missouri Tigers allowed 14 sacks last season, fewest in the SEC
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The 14 sacks that Missouri allowed last year were the fewest in the SEC, and tied for 11th fewest in the nation. But even more impressive, was that Missouri also led the SEC in passing attempts. Lock attempted 434 passes last season. Austin Allen was second in the conference with 401.
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Missouri returns 10 starters on offense, including all five starters on the offensive line. According to a story from rockmnation.com, they return 99.5 percent of their offensive line snaps from last season. South Carolina is the only other team in the SEC that returns 10 starters on offense.
In Phil Steele’s 2017 College Football Preview, he projects Tyler Howell (Sr.) and Paul Adams (Jr.) at left and right tackle, Kevin Pendleton (Jr.) and Tre’vour Simms (So.) at left and right guard, and Alec Abeln (Sr.) at center.
Like we said earlier, if the Missouri football season is going to be a success, it will be because of Drew Lock and their explosive passing attack. But for all of that to be possible, the offensive line will have to keep their junior quarterback upright. They were the best in the SEC at that last season, and we should expect more of the same this season.