Missouri senior tight end Michael Egnew stared intently at replays of himself on the Snyder Stadium video screen Saturday, waiting with both patience and nerves for the call on whether or not he crossed the goal line.
With his team down 24-10 to Kansas State in the middle of the fourth quarter, Egnew’s seven-reception, 83-yard performance wasn’t enough. He wanted a positive replay call. He wanted a Tiger touchdown.
On Saturday, Egnew worried about whether or not he had crossed the goal line. In previous weeks, he worried whether he would even get the ball.
“We just ran the plays that we worked on in practice,” Egnew said after the 24-17 defeat. “It just so happened that I got the ball a few more times this game.”
But Egnew’s breakout performance certainly played the part of a greater emphasis to get the 2010 All-American the ball. Egnew recorded seven receptions, took a reverse, saw a few more targets and was the primary read on several plays.
“We got him the ball more, and he made a lot of good plays the other day,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “Just as we mentioned a week ago, he was a first-team All-American last year. I thought he responded well and did some great things on Saturday.”
The performance nearly doubled his season totals entering Saturday’s game. Through the first four games, Egnew had just eight receptions for 87 yards and one touchdown.
The previous season was much the opposite. In his first start against Illinois in 2010, Egnew reeled in 10 receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown. The instant-stardom performance was merely the start to an All-American campaign of 90 receptions, 762 yards and five touchdowns.
Egnew quickly drew comparisons to some of the famous tight ends to play for the Missouri Tigers — names like Kellen Winslow Sr. and recent all-Big 12 Conference performer Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman.
His reputation, as well as Missouri’s reputation as a nesting ground for pass-catching tight ends, left his early season inactivity a mystery to just about everyone.
“We have to re-evaluate that a little bit,” Pinkel said following Missouri’s 38-28 loss at Oklahoma two weeks ago, a game in which Egnew recorded just two receptions for 40 yards. “We need to get him more involved in the offense. There’s no question about that.”
The attempt to introduce Egnew back into the flow of the offense started from the very first play from scrimmage Saturday. Sophomore quarterback James Franklin dropped back and quickly zipped the ball in Egnew’s direction, but Kansas State’s double coverage on the tight end resulted in an interception.
“I was planning to throw to Mike (Egnew) but he got jammed up,” Franklin said. “I am not supposed to throw if he goes over top, only if he comes underneath. That is what I need to do. If he does not, I need to look for another receiver and go to the other side, which, I did not do. That one was on me.”
Franklin said he forced the ball into tight coverage. Egnew said he ran a poor route.
Either way, the Tigers have missed their biggest receiver.