This time last year, Mizzou replaced a mass exodus of receiving talent with three collectively-solid seniors.

The Tigers don’t have that luxury this spring. Not a single Missouri receiver has reached double-digit college receptions.

The man thought to be the group’s standout, Nate Brown, is out due to a Grade 1 MCL strain in his left knee. At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Brown should be a difficult physical matchup in the slot for SEC linebackers and nickelbacks.

But Brown, whom the team said may return after spring break, remains out. Spring practice ends in about two weeks as the team stages its Black & Gold game on April 18. If he can get healthy in time for the summer, he and quarterback Maty Mauk will want to get together as often as possible to build on-field chemistry, but it won’t be a substitute for good reps in organized practice.

At least four players from the ’15 signing class should practice at receiver, but none of them will arrive on campus before this summer. We haven’t heard much about three redshirt freshmen — DeSean Blair, Thomas Richard and Keyon Dilosa — all of whom could prove worthy of playing time by the end of fall practice.

Junior walk-on Eric Laurent has practiced with the first-team offense in the slot. I’m not sure if we’ve “learned” something from that development, but it has reinforced Mizzou’s lack of depth at receiver.

“The potential and athletic ability that these young guys have is something that Mizzou might not have ever had before,” Mauk said, according to the Columbia Tribune. “There’s so much depth there and so many people that can do different things.”

Mauk and others have praised Laurent, a sure-handed 215-pound pass-catcher. Perhaps he can take advantage of so many unexpected practice reps. (You think Laurent got many in ’13 when Dorial Green-Beckham, Marcus Lucas, L’Damian Washington, Bud Sasser, Jimmie Hunt and Darius White were all on the team?) But Mauk has been blindly bullish on the receivers since the offseason started, and Laurent is on the field only by default.

Anyone who has attended a Missouri spring practice surely has noticed a peculiar lack of height at the position, given the team’s collection of towering receivers just a few years ago. In this bunch, J’Mon Moore, currently the starter at the “X” position on the outside, looks like a giant. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, and may not even be that.

Although he doesn’t lack for confidence, Moore himself admitted his hands are problematic, and he remains a raw physical talent who needs to learn how to run more precise routes and get a better burst out of his breaks.

On the other side, at the “Z” position, is senior Wesley Leftwich — the only scholarship upperclassman on the entire receiving corps. He’s got decent speed, reportedly running a hand-timed 4.43-second 40-yard dash this offseason, but has caught three passes in his entire college career. Now he’s been thrust into a leadership role with the younger players.

“I don’t see it as much of a burden as it is kind of a struggle sometimes,” Leftwich said, according to the Kansas City Star. “Usually, there’s two or three seniors, but it’s just me, so I’ve got to lay the hammer down, discipline them every once in a while, lead them the way they need to be led. I’ve always got to have my ‘A’ game on no matter what.”

So, to recap, the three current first-team receivers include a walk-on in the slot, a raw sophomore at “X” with suspect hands and not enough polish to be more than a deep-ball specialist entering the spring, and a little-used senior with limited upside.

Getting Brown healthy will help, as will relying on a strong running game. But the team is going to need production out of at least one or two of the group of incoming true freshman. If we didn’t know that before, we sure as heck know it now.

Receivers coach Pat Washington hardly has gone out of his way to hide it: “If I’m a freshman that’s sitting at home that just signed with Missouri, I’m getting into the playbook to see if I can come and win a job, too.”

The good news for the Tigers is that the season doesn’t start until early September. The program prides itself on player development, and this is the perfect opportunity to show the rest of the SEC and the country just how well coach Gary Pinkel and his staff do it.

It’s a cliche to say that the Mizzou receivers can’t waste a day between now and September, but it’s not far from the truth.

“It’s working and working and working, that’s all it is,” Pinkel said, according to the Jefferson City News Tribune. “It’s a continuous effort of getting better. Especially the quarterbacks and receivers, just throwing all summer long. You’ve never got it.

“You see veterans in the NFL, they’re All-Pro, and they’re working out just like they were rookies, because it’s just timing. It’s working together. The good news is with a great work ethic, you’ve got a great chance to improve, and that’s what we’re looking for.”