Missouri star wide receiver Luther Burden expected to play against Tennessee

No. 13 Missouri won’t have to be without its top player when it faces No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday.

Tigers star wide receiver Luther Burden, whose status has been in question throughout the week, is set to play against the Vols, sources tell On3.

Burden had been classified as questionable due to an injury he suffered last week during Missouri’s 30-21 loss to Georgia.

“Well I haven’t seen practice today, but yesterday he was in a green jersey and didn’t take a whole lot of reps and we’ll just have to see how he progresses,” Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Wednesday. “So I won’t know more about that probably until after today’s practice. But I would anticipate Friday is the first time I’ll have a real feel on whether or not he’s going to be able to play or not.”

Burden ranks seventh nationally with 958 receiving yards. The Class of 2022 five-star recruit has posted five 100-yard games and had three catches for 53 yards and a touchdown against Georgia.

Led by players like Burden, Mizzou has improved to fifth in the SEC in scoring offense with an average of 32.4 points per game after ranking 10th last season.

“They create a lot of big chunk plays, designed shots down the football field,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said of Missouri’s offense. “(Burden’s) a really good player. When he gets the ball in his hands, he’s difficult to bring down. They do a good job of moving him around too, where you have to track where he’s at.”

Missouri, which fell to 7-2 with the loss to Georgia, enters the matchup against Tennessee as a 2.5-point underdog. Like Missouri, the Vols are 7-2 after a 59-3 victory over UConn last week.

Tennessee has won five of its last six games since a 29-16 loss to Florida Sept. 16. The only loss during this stretch was a 34-20 loss to a current top-10 team, Alabama, Oct. 21.

“Coach Heupel has done a tremendous job with his program, developing an identity of what they’re trying to accomplish over some tough situations and has really done a good job of building and coaching his team,” Drinkwitz said.