Missouri football close to returning 4 players with fall camp injuries

While Ahmad Hardy’s availability was the story of the day, with the star running back now expected to miss at least Missouri football’s season-opening game, Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said the team is close to returning four players who had fall camp injury concerns.

Drinkwitz, during his Saturday night press conference that followed the team’s second scrimmage of the preseason, offered updates on defensive tackle Donta Simpson Jr., tight end Gavin Hoffman, freshman wide receiver Jabari Brady and offensive lineman Braylon Ellison. 

All four players appear to either be back in practice or close to a return.

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Simpson has been “totally cleared” after a medical condition caused him to miss the opening portion of fall camp. The Miami transfer interior defensive lineman has been back in uniform in portions of Mizzou’s practices opened to the media since Aug. 18. 

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound former Hurricane had been in attendance in the earlier portion of camp, but was often working individually on the side of the field, away from his position group. He will compete for rotational reps at defensive tackle this year. 

Hoffman, a junior out of Leawood, Kansas, is expected to return to full speed from a hamstring injury by Monday, Drinkwitz said. He left the field during a practice Aug. 10 and has not been spotted since, but the head coach said it was a “grade one strain,” which typically has a quicker recovery timeline.

If he returns Monday, Hoffman will be in the running for reps in a tight end room that looks likely to be prominently involved in new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey’s scheme.

Brady, who landed awkwardly during a one-on-one drill and had to be carted off of the field during practice Aug. 19, hyperextended his knee and sustained a bone bruise. The injury, in the moment, looked particularly concerning, but Drinkwitz said he expects the 6-1 wideout is “back recovering in rehab.”

Added Drinkwitz: “I don’t know if it’ll be Monday, but I anticipate by the end of the week he’ll be back in.”

The head coach said that Ellison, a three-star signing out of Boonville, sustained an injury in the first week of camp and that his “rehab is going well.” Drinkwitz was unsure if Ellison will return to practice this coming week, but that he anticipates “by the first game he would be close.”

Mizzou opens its season Thursday, Sept. 3, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Faurot Field in Columbia.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football close to returning 4 players with fall camp injuries