The chilly temperatures in Columbia forced Missouri’s second scrimmage - final before the spring game - into the Devine Pavilion on Saturday, which forced the 100 or so fans in attendance confined to the perch above the field or behind strategically placed white gates on the sideline.

And that made it hard for the reporters to see and track what was going on.

That’s OK because I was focused on the running backs, a position I haven’t reported a lot on, but has seen a lot of young players emerge as threats for the starting spot. One running back that made an immediate impression during Saturday’s scrimmage was De’Vion Moore.

Moore has steadily gotten better with each week of spring practice, which bodes well for his fall outlook. Moore said he’s spending more time watching film and learning plays and it’s paying off. Moore looked quick, agile, and drew praise from coach Gary Pinkel.

“I think those out here who’ve seen him play, he’s a pretty special guy,” Pinkel said. “He’s not close to as good as he can be, but he runs tough, he’s got great quickness and it’s kind of exciting to watch.”

Moore and sophomore Derrick Washington were the most impressive running backs during the scrimmage, thought Jimmy Jackson rattled off a couple big runs in his limited time. Jackson will be the initial starter because he’s a veteran, makes few mistakes, and that’s usually rewarded in this program, but Pinkel hasn’t ruled out a rotation between his backs.

“We’ll make that decision in August, right before our first game,” Pinkel said. “Jimmy Jackson is a senior veteran, he’s played a lot. Derrick Washington keeps getting better, too. And Earl (Goldsmith), we still have Earl on deck there if we need him. I think it’s a really strong position for us with two real talented young players. And they’re also tough. If you want to be a great running back, I think Tony (Temple) proved that. You can have all the quickness and all the ability that you want, but you’ve got to be able to run tough to be physical and all those guys do that.”

While I was watching the running backs, starting quarterback Chase Daniel was scouting his fellow quarterbacks. Daniel, who spent most of the scrimmage on the sideline with his helmet in his hand, said he was most impressed with junior-to-be quarterback Dominic Grooms. Both Grooms and Jimmy Costello spent a lot of time on the field and both scored touchdowns. Costello was on the field for two scores, including a pass to receiver Adam Casey that found its way through three defenders.

“Me and coach Yost and coach Pinkel were talking that we thought Dominic Grooms had one of the best scrimmages he’s ever had,” Daniel said. “He’s getting a lot more mature with the offense. He’s making decisions, he’s going with it, he’s doing what he’s supposed to and throwing completions.”

The standout walk-on performance of the day was that of walk-on receiver Brandon Gerau. The Columbia Rock Bridge product was working with the second string Saturday and was making some nice catches from quarterback Chase Patton.

Speaking of Patton, he had another rough scrimmage, which is a little out of character. He threw the day’s only interceptions to Trey Hobson and Kevin Rutland, and struggled to find any consistency. He didn’t play as much as he did in the first scrimmage, but should see a ton of time in the spring game. Daniel said he didn’t think he would see much time in the spring yielding the first string to Patton.

“I doubt I will (play more in the spring game),” Daniel said. “A lot of people will, but I don’t think I will at all.”

But Daniel’s still hoping the spring game brings nicer weather than today’s scrimmage and most of Missouri’s spring practices that have been forced indoors.

“I’m just hoping the weather’s nice, that’s all I’m worried about,” Daniel said of the spring game. “Hopefully we can have 20,000 fans, more than that if we possibly can. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t Expectations and excitement around Missouri football are at an all-time high so it would be good to have a lot of people there.”

Missouri will start its final week of spring practices on Tuesday. The spring game is April 19 at 1 p.m.

** One other note, Caleb Freeman, the brother of Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, was at practice. He’s walking on to Mizzou next year.

Stats from the scrimmage:

Scoring Plays
Trey Hobson 45-yd. interception return
De’Vion Moore 16-yd. run
Jared Perry 32-yd. pass from Chase Daniel
La’Roderick Thomas 35-yd. pass from Chase Patton
Adam Casey 8-yd. pass from Dominic Grooms
Derrick Washington 1-yd. run
Grooms 5-yd. run
Titus Wonsey 2-yd. run

Passing Leaders
Chase Daniel – 8-9, 97 yds., 1 TD
Chase Patton – 9-19, 102 yds., 1 TD, 3 INTs
Dominic Grooms – 17-27, 118 yds., 1 TD
Jimmy Costello – 6-11, 59 yds.

Rushing Leaders
De’Vion Moore – 13-64, 1 TD
Derrick Washington – 9-42, 1 TD
Jimmy Jackson – 9-40
Shawn Scott – 7-34

Receiving Leaders
La’Roderick Thomas – 8-89, 1 TD
Brandon Gerau – 3-42
Jared Perry – 1-32, 1 TD
Chase Coffman – 3-31
Jeremy Maclin – 4-28

Interceptions
Kevin Rutland – 2-30
Trey Hobson – 1-45, 1 TD