To junior right guard Max Copeland, the essence of the slew of injuries that has decimated Missouri’s offensive line can be captured by the song “Bridge to Cross” by Black Label Society.
It’s the tune that Copeland — the eccentric, long-haired, bandana-wearing rock ‘n’ roll aficionado, turns to when “things get heavy.” It’s a tune the former walk-on has listened to all too often this season.
First, senior Travis Ruth was lost for the season with a torn triceps. Next was a season-ending ACL tear for freshman Taylor Chappell. Then, in the Tigers’ final preseason scrimmage, Jack Meiners suffered a knee injury, which relegated the senior to the sidelines for the start of the season.
Senior left tackle Elvis Fisher, who missed all of 2011 due to injury, succumbed to injury in Missouri’s second game of the season against Georgia and missed three games. Meiners injured himself again after returning to action in Fisher’s absence. Sophomore Mitch Morse has been in and out of the lineup.
Junior Justin Britt became the latest casualty in the long line of injuries to the unit with his ACL tear Saturday against Florida.
With Britt out, things are once again heavy.
**“My spirit is bent and there’s blood on my hands
The more I’m down, the less I understand”**
Coach Gary Pinkel doesn’t know what to make of it. Fisher has never seen anything like it. It has offensive line coach Bruce Walker dumbfounded.
“I think God’s getting even with me for the rugged life I’ve lived,” Walker quipped Monday.
Missouri’s projected starting line from the onset of camp – Fisher, Ruth, Morse, Meiners and Britt – has missed a combined 22 games thus far. Four of the 10 linemen on the original two-deep depth chart are currently sidelined, three of whom are done for the year.
The 2012 season has been a game of musical chairs for the Missouri offensive line — when the whistle blows, another lineman finds himself unable to continue playing, and those remaining aren’t where they began.
“Rock ‘n’ roll claims many fatalities,” Copeland said.
**“All is black and white
Wouldn’t change even if I could
I’ll take what I’m handed
Whether it’s damned or if it’s good”**
Copeland was in the pile with Britt when he heard his good friend groan in agony.
“There are few sicker feelings that I’ve felt than seeing a brother go down,” Copeland said.
Much to his chagrin, it’s a punch to the gut Copeland has familiarized himself with in his first season of action with the Tigers.
The injury-plagued unit has come under fire this season, as it’s surrendered 2.56 sacks per game, a number more than 75 percent of Division I teams. Junior quarterback James Franklin and his backup, redshirt freshman Corbin Berkstresser, have had to flee the pocket to extend plays and have taken vicious hits with regularity, causing Franklin to miss all or parts of five separate games this season.
“It’s been hard, but this ain’t an easy game, and we all knew that signing up for it when we were in second grade,” Copeland said.
The few healthy Tiger linemen have been mixed and matched to compensate for the absences of the injured. Morse played center, guard and tackle during last week’s 14-7 loss to Florida. Meiners has played right guard as well as right tackle. After starting at left tackle last year in Fisher’s place, Britt had been entrenched at right tackle.
A true freshman, Evan Boehm — the first true freshman lineman to start during Pinkel’s tenure at Missouri — is the only blocker who will have started all 10 games at the same position.
The few healthy linemen aren’t sulking in the situation or using the rash of injuries as an excuse for their play.
“It does suck, granted that,” Fisher said. “But (injuries) happen, and you’ve got to be able to move on, and you’ve got to have guys ready to step up and play.”
Copeland echoed Fisher’s sentiments.
“Everything ain’t always going to be nice and solid,” Copeland said. “Sometimes it’s helter-skelter, and you got to take what hand you’re dealt. That’s one of the things about rock ‘n’ roll: You got to take the hand you’re dealt and play it hard.”
**“Once so found, now so lost
I ask no questions — it’s just one more bridge to cross”**
Because of the way Copeland assesses the situation, plenty of positives have arisen from the less-than-ideal situation the Tigers have experienced in the trenches this season.
One of them is the next-man-up mentality the group has adopted.
“You see one of your other brothers say, ‘Hey, I’m going to honor that dude that just went down,’ and it gives you goosebumps,” Copeland said, shaking his arms. “I’ve got goosebumps right now just thinking about it.”
Such was the case when redshirt freshman Brad McNulty was thrust into his first collegiate action against Georgia’s daunting defense earlier this season.
“That dude just battled his ass off because he needed to honor his brother that went down,” Copeland said with regard to McNulty, who played two plays with just one shoe during that game.
And though 2012 has certainly been unprecedented for the Tigers, Copeland and his fellow linemen are taking it in stride, with each new injury serving as simply another bridge to cross.
“There ain’t no magic sauce to beat defensive linemen,” Copeland said. “It comes down to fundamentals and digging your hand in the dirt and just rocking and rolling.”
