Mizzou Music City Bowl Practice Report

NASHVILLE — The No. 19-ranked Missouri Tigers held their final practice of the season Sunday afternoon, preparing for a showdown with the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Music City Bowl.

The media was allowed to watch the opening drills of the practice, here's some observations and notes from the viewing period.

Missouri Practice Notes- Dec. 29, 2024

• Current MMA fighter Michael Chandler, a Missouri alumnus, spoke to the team ahead of practice. He preached the message of sticking together as a team in times of adversity, and how those moments define who they are as a group.

• Quarterback Sam Horn was back practicing with the team both Saturday and Sunday of this week. The redshirt sophomore was sidelined this season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. He's not medically cleared to participate in the bowl game, but he had no apprehension launching deep passes while warming up for practice.

#Mizzou QB Sam Horn has been practicing with the team this week in Nashville.

He’s ineligible to play tomorrow but a positive sign after missing this season recovering from Tommy John surgery. pic.twitter.com/SipygCQ6JD
— Joey Van Zummeren (@JoeyVZ_) December 29, 2024

• Freshman quarterback Aidan Glover is still practicing with Missouri after announcing his plans to enter the transfer portal. This doesn't mean that he's removed his name from the transfer portal, however.

• Perhaps the greatest benefit of a bowl game like this for both teams is the opportunity to conduct over two weeks of additional practices with extra opportunities for younger, unproven players. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon spoke to those benefits in their press conferences.

"It's an awesome opportunity,," Batoon said. "You kind of get a bonus spring ball. We had 15 practices in I think, 14 or 15. You get a chance to really see some of those young guys back up on the varsity. We work some good on good early on. It kind of kick-starts you in terms of spring practice."

In the first week of preparation in early December, Missouri mostly worked on developmental practices, focused on fundamentals. The Tigers transitioned into preparation for Iowa in the two weeks that followed, taking the 24th and 25th off for Christmas break.

Missouri spent Saturday and Sunday practicing inside Vanderbilt's indoor complex for the final opportunity for the younger players ahead of the game.

"The only way to get better at football is to practice, and you have to have a mindset that always improves, right?" Drinkwitz said. "So for us, what a great opportunity for some of our underclassmen."

More from the Music City Bowl:

Mizzou Underclassmen Presented with Chance for More Playing Time in Music City Bowl
Everything Eli Drinkwitz, Kirk Ferentz Said to Preview the Music City Bowl
Top Matchups in Music Bowl Matchup Between Mizzou, Iowa