Missouri Football 2012: Breaking Down Spring Practice

Missouri began their first spring practice on March 6th and football has never been more exciting for Tigers fans. Not only are they in their first year in the SEC, but they also return a very talented team that includes 11 starters from last year. Not to mention they have a great recruiting class that includes wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.

It's great to be a Tigers fan right about now, as things are really looking up for the program. It may take time to adjust to the competitiveness of the SEC, but with the young talent on this roster, the Tigers are a team that every college football fan should have on their radar.

With spring currently underway for Missouri, it's time to dive into all of the details. Here's everything you need to know about spring practice for the Tigers.

Schedule

Dates are subject to change.

March 6

March 8

March 9

March 10

March 13

March 15

March 17

March 20

March 22

April 3

April 5

April 7

April 10

April 12

April 14 is the Black and Gold Game

Offensive Depth Chart

Quarterback: James Franklin, Corbin Berkstresser

Running Back: Kendial Lawrence, Jared McGriff-Culver

Wide Receiver: Marcus Lucas, Rolandis Woodland

Wide Receiver: T.J. Moe, Gahn McGaffie

Wide Receiver: L’Damian Washington, Jimmie Hunt

Tight End: Eric Waters, Jaleel Clark

Offensive Tackle: Elvis Fisher, Taylor Chappell

Offensive Guard: Travis Ruth, Max Copeland

Center: Mitch Morse, Brad McNulty

Offensive Guard: Jack Meiners, Nick Demien

Offensive Tackle: Justin Britt, Chris Freeman

Defensive and Special Teams Depth Chart

Defensive End: Michael Sam, Brayden Burnett

Defensive Tackle: Jimmy Burge, Matt Hoch

Nose Guard: Lucas Vincent, George White

Defensive End: Kony Ealy, Shane Ray

Middle Linebacker: Will Ebner, Donovan Bonner

Weakside Linebacker: Zaviar Gooden, Darvin Ruise

Strongside Linebacker: Andrew Wilson, Michael Brennan

Cornerback: Kip Edwards, Randy Ponder

Cornerback: E.J. Gaines, Robert Steeples

Strong Safety: Kenronte Walker, Daniel Easterly

Free Safety: Braylon Webb, Matt White

Kicker: Trey Barrow, Andrew Baggett

Punter: Trey Barrow, Christian Brinser

Best Position Battle

We know the quarterback and running positions are taken care of for the Tigers, but the wide receiver position has the question marks. Three starting receivers from last year, including tight end Michael Egnew, are no longer on the team.

That leaves T.J. Moe as the leading receiver for this team considering he's a senior and has 1,702 receiving yards in his three-year career. Eric Waters will likely replace Egnew at tight end, but he only has two catches in his career. L'Damian Washington will likely see a lot of playing time because of his great size and speed.

Other players that will be competing throughout the spring include Jaleel Clark, Gahn McCaffie, Rolandis Woodland, Marcus Lucas, Eric Waters and Kerwin Stricker. That's not including top prospect Dorial Green-Beckham, who will see a ton of action this season.

There is talent on this roster, it's experience that is the problem. This is a chance for some of these players to step up and earn more minutes this year.

Big Man on Campus

You'd think with all of the attention wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham is receiving, he'd be the big man on campus. But until he proves something on the football field at the collegiate level, it's got to be quarterback James Franklin.

He's one of the more gifted quarterbacks in college football as he can kill you with his arms or his legs. In his first season as a starter last year, he completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,863 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also ran for 981 yards and an extra 15 touchdowns on top of that.

He may be the biggest man on campus, but going up against SEC defenses is a different story. It will be really interesting to see if he'll be as effective as he was in the Big 12.

Biggest Shoes to Fill

Running back Henry Josey suffered a brutal injury last season, and it's still unknown how healthy he'll be this year or if he'll even be able to play this season. That leaves things up to the senior running back Kendial Lawrence, who rushed for 566 yards last season and scored five touchdowns.

If Josey isn't able to give it a go this year, Lawrence will without a doubt be the busiest he has ever been in his career at Missouri. The most carries he's ever received was 119 last year. Those numbers could easily double if Josey misses significant time this season.

He's a talented runner, but whether he'll be able to handle an expanded workload remains to be the question. It's also hard to replace somebody who rushed for over 1,100 yards in only 10 games.

Most Important Questions to Answer

Heading into the SEC, games are usually won in the trenches. Whichever team can protect the quarterback well and rush the opposing quarterback will usually win the game. For Missouri, every starter on the defensive line will be different than last year and they only return three starters on the offensive line. 

The offensive line should be in much better shape considering there are players on the line that have experience like Mitch Morse. The defensive line has more serious questions as many of the players on the roster haven't even played in a complete season. If the Tigers aren't able to rush the passer with any consistency, it may be a long year.

Another question I'm sure Tiger fans would like answered, is how productive Dorial Green-Beckham will be his first season?

It won't be easy going up against defenses in the SEC, but just looking at Green-Beckham's physical tools, he has what it takes to become an extremely successful receiver. If he's able to skip the learning curve and contribute faster than most, things could get exciting in Missouri's first season in the SEC.

This is the player that everybody is watching and talking about.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].