Albert Okwuegbunam dug his cleats into ground and glared at Kendall Blanton, who he was about to face in a blocking drill with tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley monitoring.
The few NFL scouts who were taking in one of Missouri’s first preseason practices turned their attention away from star seniors Drew Lock and Terry Beckner and made their way over to watch Okwuegbunam, a 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore from Springfield, Ill.
As Okwuegbunam held his own against Blanton, scouts scribbled notes onto their clipboards and kept their eyes on him during individual drills.
It’s been a while since NFL scouts flocked to Columbia to scout the Tigers’ tight ends, but that could be changing under new offensive coordinator Derek Dooley.