Call sophomore Henry Josey the “forgotten man,” if you will. Throughout the preseason, talk centered around Missouri’s four-headed running back. The Tigers boasted tremendous depth at the tailback position, but Josey was primarily considered the fourth option.

In a matter of two weeks, the first three backs were nursing injuries on the sidelines, and the spotlight turned to the sophomore tailback as the only healthy, experienced running back.

“It is a lot on my shoulders, but I knew I could take over the role to help my team out any way I could,” Josey said. “Those guys are still helping me out just as if they were here playing.”

Instead of simply making up for his teammates’ absences, Josey looked like he was trying to personify them Saturday night. After all, as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

“He was Kendial Lawrence on the first (touchdown),” sophomore quarterback James Franklin said. “He was De’Vion (Moore) on the second one. On the last one he was himself. We gave him a hard time because he was in a red jersey at practice and then he comes out here (like he’s been) faking it the whole week.”

As he has often done when given the chance, Josey took the opportunity and ran with it. Josey compiled 263 yards and three touchdowns in Missouri’s 69-0 romp over Western Illinois, good enough for fourth all-time in the Missouri record books for yards in a game.

The kicker: Those numbers were compiled in just one half because coach Gary Pinkel decided to sit the sophomore only 56 yards away from reaching Devin West’s school-record 319 yards against Kansas in 1998.

“What was the record?” Pinkel said after the game. “Someone should’ve told me.”

The rushing outburst was even more impressive considering the amount of carries Josey received. He averaged 18.1 yards per carry, on only 15 rushes from scrimmage. Pinkel said Josey’s speed after he turned the corner led to most of those long gains.

“I’m not sure what it was, but he’s kind of deadly,” Pinkel said. “You’ve got to watch out for him because he’s going to hit the seam fast. (He has) great speed, we got him out early and he only played until halftime so that was good.”

In fact, most of Missouri’s starters were rested in the second half, since the Tigers held a 42-0 lead over WIU by halftime. Missouri’s 744 total yards were the most in program history, with 461 of those coming from the ground game. Josey gave his offensive line credit after the game.

“They opened some amazing holes tonight and I just took advantage of everything they were doing for me,” Josey said. “(Red shirt senior lineman Jayson) Palmgren was cutting off the nose guard real well, and every time he did it, I took advantage for 10 to 15 a pop.”

The question now is whether Josey can have the same effectiveness later this week at No. 1 Oklahoma, but the sophomore said his doubts have been relieved after his near-historic game.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that ‘marked man’ stuff,” Josey said. “It’s a big confidence builder going into the next game. I can’t wait for it.”