Even during its two-year SEC East run in 2013-14 that saw 23 wins, Missouri wasn’t known for putting many points on the board. But 2015 saw the Tigers hit a new low, finishing 127th out of 128 FBS teams with a mere 13.6 points per game.

Now under construction with a new head coach in Barry Odom and new offensive coordinator in former Oklahoma play-caller Josh Heupel, Missouri looks to make some serious strides toward a formidable, balanced attack in 2016.

Heupel told the St. Louis Dispatch’s Dave Matter that while there is still much work to do, the offense has already made some noticeable progressions early on in the offseason.

“I’m really excited about the direction we’re headed,” said Heupel. “The most important thing is your kids are getting better every single day. We’ve done that. Some days have been smaller strides forward than other days, but I like the way we’re starting to compete.

“I think our kids are starting to gain confidence in themselves as players,” he continued. “They’re starting to master their technique and really understand the schemes and nuances of what we’re trying to do. If our kids continue that through the summer and through training camp, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to be a really explosive offense.”

From 2011-14, Heupel served as Bob Stoops’ co-offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. The Sooners finished inside the top 25 in scoring in three of those four seasons, including No. 10 in 2011 and No. 15 in 2012.

He brings the same championship-like mentality over to Columbia.

“Yeah, we’re chasing the same thing every single day,” said Heupel. “Our kids are competing that way every single day and starting to understand the expectations being set by coach Odom and what’s being demanded of our players by our entire coaching staff in our facility every single day.

“That’s what Coach Odom was looking for when he was building this staff, guys who are extremely competitive and want to chase championships every single day. And they want to do it the right way as far as having a great relationship with our players.”

Missouri will hold its annual Black and Gold spring game today at 5 p.m. ET, and that can be viewed on the SEC Network.