The Mizzou and Arkansas Razorbacks softball teams are scheduled to meet in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama, on Thursday, May 9.
No. 5 seed Mizzou, ranked No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, enters the game 41-14 overall.
Most recently, Mizzou defeated No. 13-seeded Ole Miss 3-1 on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament.
Cody Schrader sat in an office inside the Missouri football facility last week in search of advice.
The walk-on running back turned MU single-season rushing record holder turned All-American is getting a shot at the next level, and he wants to make the most of it.
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, Schrader will face something of an uphill battle in trying to land on a pro team’s roster or practice squad during training camp.
So, he turned to somebody who knows a thing or two about running up hills: Brock Olivo.
The former Mizzou running back, whose No. 27 jersey was retired not long after a storied, record-setting career on both offense and special teams, works with the Tigers as a special teams analyst.
Prized among Olivo’s infamous workouts were hill runs
first a hill by his childhood home in greater St. Louis, later a steep slope he happily discovered near the MU campus in Columbia.
Olivo and Schrader have a lot in common. They hail from the same part of the state and play the same position, setting records at the same school. Schrader, too, is well known for his diligent workouts.
And both signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents after their Mizzou careers.
That led Schrader to stop by Olivo’s office last Wednesday afternoon.
“Coach, what did you do to get in shape for training camp?” Schrader asked his coach before the meeting.
