COLUMBIA, MO. • Before his teammates took the field at the Liberty Bowl on New Year’s Eve, Missouri running back Damarea Crockett sat in the locker room and cried.
He hadn’t played in a game since Mizzou’s win Nov. 17 at Tennessee, and although he returned to practice in the weeks leading up to the bowl game, Crocket decided he couldn’t play effectively on a sprained ankle. He’d have another season of eligibility, but his college career was over. That much he knew that night in Memphis. He figured his teammates did, too.
“Honestly, everybody knew I was leaving, especially toward the end,” Crockett said in a recent interview.