Lawrence, Murphy add speed element for Missouri

ST. LOUIS -- Line `em up when they're all healthy and Missouri's trio of speedy Texas tailbacks would make for quite the race.

While waiting for All-Big 12 Henry Josey to recover from a pair of knee operations that will sideline him all this season, the Tigers are counting on fellow burners Kendial Lawrence and Marcus Murphy. Both had big games in the opening 62-10 rout against lower division Southeastern Louisiana, but the degree of difficulty will be ramped up significantly when Missouri makes its Southeastern Conference debut against No. 7 Georgia on Saturday night.

Lawrence has run a 4.31 40, fastest on the team. Murphy and Josey were on opposing 4x100-meter relay teams in high school. Together, they've added a necessary speed dimension that should ease the transition to the new conference.