Mizzou touts four in On3 Player Impact Rankings
Each week, On3 uses its in-house impact stats. And after Week 3, Mizzou has two in the top 50 and four in the top 100.
The Tigers’ four listed in the top 100 ties for fifth in the country alongside Ohio State, Oregon and Clemson. Texas A&M and LSU lead the country with six in the top 100, while Penn State and Texas have five.
LSU leads with four in the top 50, while Ohio State touts two in the top-10, Nos. 1 and 2.
You can find the full rankings here.
For Mizzou, the four are Ahmad Hardy, Damon Wilson, Kevin Coleman and Cayden Green.
I talked to Clark Brooks, also known as SEC Stat Cat, about what led to the rankings.
No. 16: Ahmad Hardy
Hardy was No. 51 in the rankings going into Week 3, but his 250-yard, three-touchdown performance against Louisiana has garner a lot of attention.
He was also the No. 4 running back in the rankings before last week.
Now, he’s No. 1 at the position and has jumped an astounding 35 spots in the rankings.
“The conference’s most voluminous rusher 0 and a recently donned ON3 Impact 5 Star – has shown why he was a highly sought after portal target” Brooks said. “His experience repping outside zone has translated to immediate gains. Nearly a quarter of his runs have topped 10 yards. His 326 yards after contact are more than what the SEC’s RB2 has overall. And, he presently sports the conference’s most broken tackles.”
No. 37: Damon Wilson
Wilson came into the season with big expectations as the top-ranked edge rusher available in the transfer portal.
His two sacks in Week 1 were a good start, but he didn’t land a hit on Jalon Daniels in Week 2. He got back into the sack column with one in Week 3, which has helped him stay in the top 50 of overall players. He is eighth among edge rushers.
“Now that he’s not asked just to occupy space, he’s been one of the SEC’s best chaos-creating defenders and is poised to be a star,” Brooks said. “I was a little worried if he’d be used in a similar fashion and be a little less flashy. But over a fifth of his snaps have resulted in an impact play (havocs + stops).”
No. 77: Kevin Coleman
Coleman has become Beau Pribula’s key option quickly as the leader among the Missouri pass catchers.
His Week 2 performance in the Border War got him into the top 100, but his follow up of eight more catches for 84 yards has put him firmly at wide receiver No. 10 and player No. 77.
“A threat horizontally, vertically, underneath and outside the numbers,” Brooks said. “He’s a constant threat opponents have to account for. We just saw last week even when he doesn’t get the ball how he can open up things for his teammates. But for what it’s worth, two-thirds of his targets this year have found success – a top-5 mark among SEC wide receivers.”
No. 83: Cayden Green
There are only five interior offensive linemen in the top 100. If Green had stayed at left guard, he almost certainly would have been the sixth.
As is, he is tackle No. 12 in our list with 15 in the top 100.
After struggling in Week 1, Green posted the highest pass-blocking grade among all tackles in Week 2 according to PFF. Then he was the highest-graded tackle who played more than 25 snaps in overall performance in Week 3.
“Green has had some growing pains kicking outside,” Brooks said. “But his upside remains strong. He’s 1-of-11 tackles to spot a +78 PFF run and pass block grade.”
Honorable mentions
Beau Pribula: Quarterback No. 28 in the rankings
“He’s been much better than I anticipated,” Brooks said. “We all knew he could scoot, but his opportunistic downfield passing has added extra potency to Missouri’s offense and has them right where they want to be with conference play looming. Entering Week 4, he’s top-3 in the league in accuracy percentage, passing success rate and interceptable pass rate.”
Keagen Trost: Offensive tackle No. 24
“Trost has been an early gem among portal linemen,” Brooks said. “Though he had experience, I was worried his floor would be lower than some other options. But he’s proved me wrong, because he joins Green among those 11 special tackles to start the season. The pair have been vital to Missouri’s efforts controlling the edges and forging Hardy’s run lanes.”
Josiah Trotter: Linebacker No. 16
“He’s been every bit as good as I expected,” Brooks said. “He’s a mobile brick house that has been impactful in every facet. And his 5 TFLs are the most by a Power-4 linebacker ahead of Week 4.”
Daylan Carnell: Safety No. 26. Jalen Catalon: Safety No. 50
“The safeties are downtrending,” Brooks said. “Not terrible, but I wanted to see a better start. Definitely seeing how SEC play foes for them.”
Chris McClellan: Interior defensive lineman No. 22
“Chris McCellan has also been a steady performer,” Brooks said. “Not quite as active as his hot start last year, but certainly one of the more valuable D-linemen in the SEC.”
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