<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1vLmKV_0v06dvQg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1vLmKV_0v06dvQg00" width="1750" height="1129" ><figcaption>The Mizzou football team gathers to start practice as coach Eli Drinkwitz talks July 31 at the Stephens Indoor Facility. After competing against each other for a couple of weeks in fall camp, the Tigers are ready to face someone else. They’ll get their chance in two weeks, when they host Murray State in the season opener Aug. 29. Caleigh Christy/Missourian</figcaption></figure>A sentiment shared by many Missouri players is that they are ready to play against someone else.For the last couple of weeks, the Tigers have been in fall camp competing against each other every day. Competing against one another only makes the group stronger, but when camp wraps up Tuesday, Mizzou will be ready to shift its attention to Murray State, which it hosts in the season opener Aug. 29.“When you get into camp, your mindset is ‘OK, the season’s here,’” tight end Tyler Stephens said. “Day 1 of camp to Day 1 of Murray State, it is still preparation for the game. But in terms of a player’s mindset, you kind of understand ‘Hey, baby. We’re not hitting each other anymore; it’s time to go. We’re ready to hit someone new, so, guys, get fired up.’”While players are ready to line up against a new team, they also understand that iron sharpens iron. Battles between the offense and defense throughout camp have made both sides better.“Going up against the offensive line, I can feel myself getting 1% better every day,” defensive lineman Eddie Kelly said. “We go after it. I have nothing bad to say about the offensive line.”Missouri’s secondary has the difficult task of going up against one of the best wide receiver rooms in the country daily. When asked about what makes junior receiver Luther Burden III difficult to defend, cornerback Dreyden Norwood kept it simple.“A lot,” Norwood said.The benefit of daily competition goes both ways. The offense is assumed to be the strength of the team by national pundits because of the high rate of returning contributors, but it would be careless to write off the Tigers’ defense. Despite losing five starters to the NFL Draft, the group remains tight-knit and its expectations are the same.“The guys that came back hold everybody to the standard that we play with,” Norwood said. “If somebody’s not playing to the standard, we’re going to let each other know and we’re going to step up to that standard.”The offense that competes against that defense every day sees that standard being upheld.“We lost a few, but we also have a lot of returning starters on that defense,” receiver Mekhi Miller said. “Seeing how close they are and seeing how much work that they put in, they have every right to be confident and believe that they can be just as good or better than last year.”</div></body>

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Mizzou football stays sharp as Week 1 inches closer

A sentiment shared by many Missouri players is that they are ready to play against someone else. For the last couple of weeks, the Tigers have been in fall camp competing against each other every day. Competing against one another only makes the group stronger, but when camp wraps up Tuesday, Mizzou will be ready to shift its attention to Murray State, which it hosts in the season opener Aug. 29.

Mizzou football stays sharp as Week 1 inches closer

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