By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
Talk about disparity.
Missouri Southern junior wide receiver Isaac Norman, according to the roster, stands 5-foot-5 and weighs 153 pounds, and junior tight end Korie Henry is 11 inches taller and exactly 100 pounds heavier.
There’s even a huge gap between their uniform numbers — No. 1 for Henry, 81 for Norman.
But they are two returning starters among the receiving corps for the Lions.
Norman ranked second on the team last season with 46 catches for 608 yards. His 13.2 yards per catch led the Lions, and his six touchdown receptions shared the team lead.
Henry caught six balls for 44 yards and two TDs, and Scott Clipp had three for 19 yards.
“Scott and Korie are still battling for the starting job,” tight ends coach Matt Plunkett said. “They and Chris Bingham (transfer from Jones, Miss., Community College) will play a lot. They all do great things. Each of them has a little different talent they bring to the game of football. We’re counting on all three of them to be productive people in our offense.”
Norman isn’t the only wide receiver with experience. Johnny Johnson, a junior, had 18 catches for 114 yards and a score, and Daniel Thompson, a sophomore who prepped at Carl Junction, played in six games.
Two transfers — Mark Henderson from Southern University and Fred Smith from Tulane — are expected to be impact players.
“These guys are not newbies,” said new wide receivers coach Jared Elliott. “They are new faces here, but they have played before. They are really good additions.”
Among the freshmen receivers expected to contribute are Stephen Poston from Carthage and Eric Botts from Mount Vernon.
“We have a lot of new faces in the group, but it’s exciting,” Elliott said. “We have a lot of talent. We have so many guys who are good at so many different things, and that’s the thing I like about it.
“We have some guys who are really good in the run game. In any offense, you have to be able to run the football, so half the time, that means the receiver is blocking. He’s not just getting open and catching footballs. We have guys who run great routes, who are burners and get open. And we have guys who are very sure-handed.
“The biggest thing I like about the strength of this receiving corps is they are smart. A lot of these guys are coaches on the field. ... They know not only what they are doing but they know almost what everyone else on the field is doing, which is tremendous for us.”
The Lions lost record-setting receiver Colin Bado to graduation.
“No doubt about it ... when you have a player like that, obviously he’s going to be missed,” Elliott said. “But it’s not like we’re hanging our heads about it. We are very high on this group of receivers.”
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Receivers could be big for Lions
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