COLUMBIA, MO. • The departures were too fresh for Missouri coaches and players to delve into spin mode Thursday. On Wednesday the Tigers learned two core players were no longer with the team. First-year coach Barry Odom dismissed defensive end Walter Brady for breaking team rules and defensive tackle Harold Brantley for academic reasons.
“Man, that hurt,” said Rickey Hatley, MU’s senior defensive tackle, after Thursday’s practice. “Especially Harold. He came in with me. It was like losing another classmate. We worked all this summer. We know he had that big injury.