Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard reviews offseason
Missouri State head footblal coach Ryan Beard talked about his team’s performance following its final scrimmage of fall camp.
Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard had to depart the defense’s sideline to get on the team’s offensive line. He yelled at them to wake up about an hour into the Bears’ final scrimmage of the 2024 preseason.
Shortly after, a few defenders got into the Bears’ backfield with ease. Offensive coordinator Nick Petrino could be heard shouting that the offense couldn’t get anything right.
A week after the Bears’ offense struggled in the team’s first of two fall scrimmages, the unit didn’t offer further inspiration during the second. The offense, after putting up historic passing numbers last season mostly with a backup quarterback, is supposed to be the highlight of a team but has recently turned into a group you can have concerns about heading into the team’s opener at Montana.
“We have a lot to clean up,” Beard said. “Sometimes, during the last scrimmage of camp, we have a mental letdown. That’s what I addressed in the meeting with the team. You have to approach every single day like it’s the only one you have. Did you get better? Did you get worse?”
More: All of our 2024 Missouri State, high school football preseason coverage in one place
▶ Missouri State football practice: What I likeThe depth on the defensive line should inspire some hope
In my nine years of covering Missouri State football, this defensive line group is as deep as I’ve seen. Many players are rotating and giving the starting offensive line trouble. I’d expect Darion Smith to improve off his three sacks last year with more attention going to others — including Ryan Williams, Armon Wallace, Tim Brantley Jr., Sterling Smithson and Jalen Williams. Then you add Davon Townley Jr. and Caden Wiest to the mix.
Missouri State football’s experienced secondary is blanketing receivers
The Bears’ secondary is littered with familiar names and it’s dominated the team’s revamped wide receiver corps. The safety unit might be the best group on the team with Todric McGee and P.J. Hall who intercepted Jacob Clark on Saturday. Avery Powell looks like an all-conference-caliber corner coming off a Freshman All-American season.
Dallas Winner-Johnson has been my favorite player to watch in camp
Beard has hyped Winner-Johnson throughout the offseason and it’s easy to see why. The redshirt freshman has flown all over the field as a 6-foot-5 outside linebacker who could be a starter for the foreseeable future.
How Jacob Clark responds to the offense’s mistakes
Clark is still getting used to game speed after missing the final seven games of last season after shoulder surgery.
“Through the first couple practices, I remember walking up to Coach Beard and telling him ‘dang, I feel like I haven’t played football in like a year,'” Clark said. “After those first couple of practices, the game slowed down again.”
More: Missouri State AD finalist Patrick Ransdell on Plaster Stadium upgrades, upping attendance
Clark threw an interception about three-quarters of the way through the scrimmage on an intermediate throw over the middle of the field. On the following drive, he put the interception behind him before launching a deep ball over the middle of the field to Jmariyae Robinson who took the ball 60-plus yards for a touchdown.
“I think that shows that he understands that he’s the man to lead our offense,” Beard said. “When you have that kind of composure and you have that kind of confidence, the guys see how he reacts to some adversity and he picks up everybody along the way.”
Yousef Obeid appears to be a reliable kicker for Missouri State
The kicking competition is over and Michigan State transfer Yousef Obeid won it. He nailed a 51-yard field goal during the scrimmage and Beard said he will be the starter in Montana. Beard spoke highly of true freshman Stewart McDonald, saying that he has a bright future.
▶ Missouri State football practice: What I don’t likeMissouri State offensive line isn’t as advanced as I hoped it’d be
We haven’t been given too many positives from the offensive line during the two scrimmages outside of a long Wright run last week. The group is currently banged up with starting left tackle Erick Cade sitting out practice. He was on crutches with no boot or brace. Beard said he’s not sure of Cade’s diagnosis but believes he’ll be good to go. Cash Hudson was given the day off after leaving last week’s scrimmage banged up.
Much has been put into the Bears having the entire starting offensive line from an improved group from a year ago. It’s gotten beaten up by MSU’s defensive line from what we’ve seen in camp.
Missouri State wide receivers haven’t wowed me since Raylen Sharpe departure
The Bears have advertised their revamped receiving group as “deeper” with more players capable of contributing. That may be true, but it doesn’t appear as talented as in years past. The departure of Raylen Sharpe to UNLV hurts. You see the potential in the likes of Georgia Tech transfer James BlackStrain and Louisiana Monroe transfer Dash Luke but it all seems to be a work in progress. There has been a struggle getting separation from the Bears’ first-team secondary.
“I think we’re still playing with the lineup trying to see who fits best with our quarterback situation and depending on what the gameplan is,” Beard said. “I think we have four to six guys who can really play.”
Beard confirmed Marshall transfer Sean Reese is out for the season with a hip injury.
More: QB Jacob Clark ready to lead Missouri State football into this year and Conference USA
How Missouri State football played with a lack of energy in its final scrimmage
Beard said the final scrimmage of the offseason tends to see players have a bit of a mental letdown. We saw that with multiple presnap penalties and a lack of effort that was apparent. We didn’t need to hear coaches yelling at players to know it was going on.
Like Beard said, there is a lot to clean up. He’s watching the same thing as us and knows much improvement is needed before the Aug. 31 opener at Montana.
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Publish date : 2024-08-17 08:14:00
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