Published August 19, 2012 - 10:30am
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SDS is going to be looking at all 14 teams’ comeback players: one on offense and one on defense. These players were either injured or had an underachieving season in 2011 and looking to get back on track.
Missouri
Offense: OL Elvis Fisher
It was a devastating blow for the Missouri Tigers in preseason practice last year when the offensive line’s anchor and leader in Elvis Fisher went down with a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. Previously, Fisher had started 40 games for the Tigers from 2008 to 2010. Missouri will need Fisher’s leadership and experience blocking defensive linemen in the Tigers’ inaugural season in the SEC. Fisher is a sixth-year senior, and the NCAA did the right thing by granting him another year of eligibility. He will be very important to his quarterback James Franklin this season.
Defense: DT Sheldon Richardson
For the same reason Fisher is important to the offense, Sheldon Richardson is of utmost importance to the defensive front. He had off-season shoulder surgery to repair a nagging injury that kept him from being 100 percent last season. Richardson played more of a reserve role for the Tigers last year, and he looks to break out and be an impact player at tackle. Richardson was a blue chip prospect coming out of high school and one of the most hyped recruits in Missouri for a few years. He first landed in JUCO before he set foot in Columbia. He’s really impressing in camp right now, and he has a chance to be special this season, in a league known for its special defensive linemen.
