The permanent suspension of Mizzou RB Derrick Washington has a handful of consequences. First, it means Kendial Lawrence and De'Vion Moore will handle the majority of the rushing duties. Those two don't have much experience but they'll need to produce quickly.
It also means that two freshmen won't get redshirts in year one.
It was possible Henry Josey and Marcus Murphy would have played anyway but this likely confirms that they will.
Josey is 5'10" and Murphy is 5'9" and they're both under 180 pounds. They're both scatbacks like Lawrence and Moore.
None of the players are in exactly the same mold as the 215-pound Washington.
Pinkel says he's just looking for consistency from his running backs moving forward.
"You’re always just looking for mastery of the game plan and great work ethic, trying to improve and get better," Pinkel said. " But the consistency of their play, they’ve been doing that all throughout two-a-days, so they’ll be ready to go."
It'll be interesting to see how these freshmen fit in the mix moving forward. At least in the early goings, it may be more of a community effort until someone pulls ahead of the pack.