COLUMBIA, Mo. • While making the rounds at the team hotel for bed check last Friday night, Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Henson stopped by Alec Abeln’s room. The sophomore offensive lineman was making his first career start the next day.
“I said, ‘Hey, man, you nervous?’ ” Henson said. “He just started laughing. I said, ‘You are.’”
Henson first discovered the St. Louis U. High lineman at a Mizzou camp. He was undersized at 6-3 and on the lighter side of 300 pounds, but Abeln flashed other ingredients to catch Henson’s eye, especially his quick feet and explosive hips.