With preseason practices underway, it's only a matter of time before injury bug starts rearing its ugly head. Unfortunately for Missouri, this includes new quarterback Kelly Bryant and star tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, both of whom had to be carted from the field Monday with injuries.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Okwuegbunam went down first during a red zone drill. Minutes later, Bryant suffered a non-contact injury when he slipped while rolling out of the pocket. Both were able to walk off the playing field to the medical tent, but were carted away for further examination.
The silver lining, though, is that coach Barry Odom didn't seem particularly worried that he would lose either player for an extended amount of time. Odom said that Bryant had a hamstring injury and Okwuegbunam had a knee injury, but did not have an initial timeline for their return.
"Kelly went down today for a little bit with a hamstring strain. Albert went down with a knee sprain. Those guys will be back," Odom told reporters. "I hate it. That's the worst part of this deal. But injuries are going to happen. But fortunately, looks like they're going to be back and be ready to go."
Bryant is slated to start for the Tigers after transferring from Clemson. Okwuegbunam has all-conference and All-America potential after catching 43 passes for 466 yards and six touchdowns a season ago.
