COLUMBIA, Mo. - On paper, it would look like Missouri's offense improved by leaps and bounds from 2015.
A year ago the Tigers were last in every yardage category in the Southeastern Conference; in 2016 they led the conference in yards. Yet, it is easy to get lost in some of the big numbers the offense put up without thinking they left room for improvement; it is worth noting 698 of those yards came against winless-FCS foe Delaware State on Sept. 23.
The following two games at LSU and at Florida saw the Tigers gain 265 total yards and 363 yards, respectively. Missouri did finish on a high-note, including getting a school-record 740 yards in the second-to-last game at Tennessee.
Despite the inconsistencies, you'd likely be hard pressed to find anyone who would have guessed sophomore quarterback Drew Lock would have led the SEC in passing yards (3,399) and redshirt junior wide receiver J'Mon Moore led in receiving yards (1,012).
With a full offseason and camp to be the starter, Lock finished 237-of-434 with 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His passing yards are the fifth most for a Missouri quarterback in a season.
It wasn't all good for Lock as he still struggled at times with decision making and staring down receivers leading to interceptions. In the game against Tennessee, for instance, Lock threw two picks. But it was still encouraging to see him take a step forward after being thrown in as a starter as a freshman in 2015 and admitting he was lost at times.
"It's exciting but it also kind of stinks at the same time, all the progress we made," Lock said. "We could have played a lot better but the strides that our offense made has been incredible compared to last year being the worst offense in the SEC to this year, you know, being one of the best as far as total yards per game and getting more points up on the board. The strides we've made have been unreal and it's a positive, as far as my outlook goes."
Ten of the team's 11 starters return in 2017. Senior tight end Sean Culkin is the lone graduating senior, and wide receiver Chris Black is the only other real contributor leaving. Missouri, however, still has enough experience replacing the two.
Moore also led the team with 62 catches and eight touchdowns. Freshman Dimetrios Mason went from scrimmage darling to finishing second on the team in catches (47) and receiving yards (587). Redshirt freshman Johnathon Johnson only caught 24 passes but had 18.1 yards per reception in showing a knack for explosive plays. Sophomore Emanuel Hall chipped in with 19 catches and 307 yards.
Despite the breakout, Moore admitted he needed to be more consistent with drops and not disappearing in games like the LSU and Florida ones where he had one catch in each. Drops as a whole plagued the unit throughout the year.
"It's higher than we want, absolutely," Heupel said. "Drops are, man they kill you. In some ways you would rather be in first-and-15 than second-and-10 because you have one more down. It's something we stressed going into the season, it's not where we want to be and we got to get better here as we turn into next year."
Replacing Culkin will likely be freshman Kendall Blanton or sophomore Jason Reese. Blanton had 16 catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns, and Reese had eight catches for 97 yards and two scores.
Missouri also returns its top three running backs from 2016.
Freshman Damarea Crockett burst onto the scene since being named the starter Oct. 22 against Florida, rushing for a Missouri freshman-record 1,062 yards with 10 touchdowns. His season did not end on a good note, however, as Crockett was arrested in a university parking lot Nov. 20 for possession of marijuana and was suspended for the season finale against Arkansas.
Backing him up is junior Ish Witter and freshman Nate Strong. Witter had a career-high 750 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Strong had five carries for 198 yards and two touchdowns. The Tigers also saw redshirt sophomore backup quarterback Marvin Zanders finish third on the team in rushing with 198 yards.
Zanders was originally used as a change-of-pace quarterback to Lock, but he only appeared in eight games. Zanders finished 10-of-12 passing with 114 yards and a score.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for Missouri's offense was the offensive line. No starters returned from 2015, yet the unit of Paul Adams, Kevin Pendleton, Samson Bailey, Alec Abeln and Tyler Howell was perhaps better than the unit from a year before. Adam Ploudre and Jonah Dubinski also subbed in at times during the season and coaches praised their efforts.
"I think you look at where we were as far as number of sacks a year ago, rushing average, number of zero yard games and you lose two guys that get drafted, and lose a couple more that were starters and another guy that's a projected starter," Heupel said. "You know, this group's fought, battled, competed and continued to get better. And I think that speaks a lot of coach (Glen) Elarbee and the job that he's done with those guys up front and the way those guys have continued to compete and battle as the year's gone on."