Missouri Tigers: Damarea Crockett Continues To Produce As True Freshman
Hidden within the subpar record for the Missouri Tigers this season has been the impressive play of running back Damarea Crockett.
As a true freshman, running back Damarea Crockett has stepped in and immediately made a significant impact on the Missouri Tigers’ offense. While the offensive unit has failed to steadily produce, Crockett has consistently been a bright spot. Crockett is the team’s leading rusher so far this season with 546 yards on 83 carries.
Despite Crockett clearly outperforming his positional unit, the Tiger running game continues to operate largely by committee. Crockett leads the team lead in rushing touchdowns with seven, and he averages over six-and-a-half yards per carry. His fellow running backs, Ish Witter and Alex Ross, have combined for 529 yards and have both failed to surpass four-and-a-half yards per carry.
Additionally, he has already put on a couple of rather dominating performances and caught the attention of the national media. Against Florida on October 15th, he was unable to find the end zone, but still had an extremely successful day against the stout Gators defense.
He carried the ball fourteen times and ran for 145 yards, posting an average of over ten yards per carry. The next week, in their Homecoming game against Middle Tennessee State, Crockett once again carried the offense.
Despite the team failing to emerge victorious, he took four trips to the end zone and posted nearly 160 rushing yards. While the team began the year with their high-volume passing attack as the focal point of their offense, performances like these throughout the season warrant a schematic change.
Next: Mizzou's Scherer, Beckner, Jr. Out for the Season
As Missouri now needs to go on an impressive, rather unexpected run to become bowl-eligible, look for Crockett to continue to receive lots of touches each game. Coach Odom and his staff should continue to groom young players for the future, and Crockett is certainly no exception.