Donning a red no-contact jersey, quarterback James Franklin roamed around Missouri’s practice on Thursday with a playsheet in one hand and a gigantic bag of ice on his throwing shoulder.
The ever-optimistic Franklin seemed to be in good spirits as he cheered on his teammates during scrimmages and chatted with fellow quarterbacks Corbin Berkstresser and Ashton Glaser. But the sideline is the last place the Tigers want their upstart sophomore quarterback to be, especially with their debut season in the Southeastern Conference ahead of them. But apparently Franklin will be back in action in only a couple weeks after suffering a sprained shoulder during Tuesday’s practice.
Although coach Gary Pinkel chose to defer to the medical staff on a timetable for Franklin’s return, offensive coordinator Dave Yost said he hoped to have Franklin back after spring break.
“I don’t think it will set him back, I think it just kind of pauses his development,” Yost said. “You could see from the first practices, he was really on. He was lighting it up, locked in and getting comfortable again with the offense. What I hope this just does is be a little pause, and when he gets back we can kind of pick up right where he was at and continue that.”
Redshirt freshman Corbin Berkstresser will take first-team snaps in Franklin’s absence. Berkstresser looked sharp during Thursday’s scrimmage, leading the offense within one play of a win. Although he looked a little hurried on a few throws, Yost seemed pleased with the player he called a “different guy” from a year ago.
“The last few days, he’s looked like a quarterback,” Yost said. “He had a low snap the other day, and he just went down and got it. Took his time, and they were blitzing, and he didn’t get (rattled). He’s getting more comfortable with the whole process. He’s taking strides faster than I thought.”
Because he redshirted last year, all the Missouri coaches can only judge Berkstresser from how he’s performed in practices. If his deep balls on Thursday are any indication, the young man has a gun. But there are times when to use it, and Yost liked the decision-making he saw from Berkstresser this week.
“He loves to throw downfield,” Yost said. “He wants to do that on every snap. He’s gotten better at not forcing everything downfield. He did that last year. When he got his reps, he never took the underneath. It was always ‘Look at my arm!’ We know you can throw it hard, now throw it to our guys. Throw completions.”
Franklin, for his part, had no problem hitting his receivers early in the spring. Yost attributed that to his comfort level with his receivers, particularly with junior Marcus Lucas. The two hooked up for 414 yards and five touchdowns last season, and seemed to be on the same page on every throw. Yost sees these next two weeks as Berkstresser’s chance to build his own chemistry with Lucas and the other first-team receivers.
“As you play with a guy, you get a feel for their speed, their release, how fast they get on top of things,” Yost said. “You get more comfortable that way. They’ve thrown together, and he’s a guy James has thrown a lot with this offseason, so you can see the timing there. I think we missed the one corner down here (in the endzone). Corbin threw it up to Marcus a little too far. James has a good feel for where he has to throw it for Marcus to go get it.”
As Pinkel put it, Franklin’s injury sent a “message” to the team about being prepared. Instead of seeing the injury as a step backward for the program, the Missouri coaching staff hopes the team will come out with a higher intensity and work ethic now that they’ve watched their starting quarterback spend a day on the sidelines.
“That could happen at any time, to any player on that field,” Pinkel said. “Our backups had better get ready to play. That’s our job as coaches (to make) the urgency of the backup players to get themselves ready to play. I don’t mean just to go in, to fill in. We’re not talking about filling in. We’re talking about playing at the level you need to play to win.”