COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri has a rich history when it comes to the tight end position.From the days of Kellen Winslow, a consensus all-American taken 13th overall in the 1979 NFL draft, to more recent draft picks like Chase Coffman and Michael Egnew, some of Missouris greatest pass-catchers have been tight ends. The latest crop wants to restore some luster to the position.We all want to be great, sophomore Kendall Blanton said. I want to be one of the best tight ends in the nation if not the best tight end in the nation. Our tight end group as a whole ... we all are pushing each other.It would appear the pushing has paid off and the position is a bright spot in a down year for Missouri (2-5, 0-3 SEC), which hosts Kentucky (4-3, 3-2) on Saturday.In 2014, Missouri tight ends caught 21 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. Last season, tight ends combined for 33 catches, 279 yards and a touchdown.This season has been even better: Tight ends Sean Culkin, Jason Reese, Tyler Hanneke and Blanton have combined for 28 catches totaling 321 yards and four scores, 25 percent of the Tigers receiving touchdowns.Reese, who has eight catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns in five starts, attributed his improvement to his confidence level.If I know what the defense is doing and Im fully confident in what I know I can do, then thats just going to make my game excel, he said.Blantons confidence appears to be growing, too.In the 51-45 loss to Middle Tennessee State last Saturday, Blanton turned heads at Faurot Field with a diving, one-handed touchdown catch. His 6-foot-7, 260-pound frame was fully extended and he maintained possession as he hit the turf, giving the Tigers a 14-13 lead late in the first quarter.It was an awesome play he had, Culkin said of the 15-yard score. Its awesome to see a guy just develop. Hes got a lot of raw talent thats starting to be seen on Saturdays.Missouri coach Barry Odom joked that Blanton possesses the stature of an offensive lineman, but is pleased with his production at tight end.I think hes been a huge upside, Odom said. Hes 6-7 and hes got great skills. Hes gotten a lot better over the past couple months.Blanton has eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.As you can see, hes a physical specimen, Reese said of Blanton. That guy has been great since the day he stepped on campus. Hes been focused. Hes been waiting for his chance. I knew once his chance came, he wasnt going to let that go to waste.Reese sustained a rib injury against Middle Tennessee State, and his status for the game against Kentucky remains unknown. If he is unable to play, look for Blanton and Culkin to pick up the slack. Nike Schuhe Schweiz . 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While Iyer hasnt yet recovered from a quadricep injury he picked up during India As tour of Australia last month, Lad is suffering from back spasms. Mumbais chairman of selectors Milind Rege said Lad had had a recurrence of an old injury. We will wait on his progress in the next five to seven days, but we hope that Iyer will be fit for the next game [against Baroda in Delhi from October 13], he said.Iyer was the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy 2015-16 with 1321 from 11 games at an average of 73.38. Lad has established himself in the middle order in recent times, and scored a crucial 88 in the final against Saurashtra last year. Injury to two key players could translate into a debut for Armaan Jaffer, who has been a heavy run-scorer for Mumbai at the Under-19 level. He was more-recently part of Indias Under-19 World Cup squad.Shifting of venues The Rajasthan-Saurashtra game in the opening round has been shifted to Vizianagaram from Chennai because of the hosting of the senior womens one-day league. The second match in Chennai between Karnataka and Jharkhand from October 13 to 16 has also been moved to Greater Noida in the wake of the tense situation in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka following the Cauvery verdict.Tamil Nadus camp in Dehradun Tamil Nadu has had a week-long preparatory camp in Dehradun to get accustomed to the conditions they will be facing during the first half of their campaign in the northern states. Tamil Nadu play their first three matches in Lahli, Bilaspur and Dharamsala.Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund said his team wanted to practice on black soil-based pitches. Our main intention was to practice in mostly similar weather and also similar pitch conditions, Abhinav said. The Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun, where we trained, is one of the best facilities I have been in aacross India.ddddddddddddWhatever we asked for - be it the pitches, the gym, the food - we got it.We tried all sort of pitches here - there were a couple of those where the ball kept low, some of those had good carry. We did match scenarios and had center-wicket practice every day. So, from a preparation point of view, things were very good.Unmukt to lead DelhiUnmukt Chand will lead Delhi in their opening game against Assam in Vadodara in the absence of Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, both on national duty. Unmukt had led India to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2012 in Australia. He has also captained Delhi on a few occasions in the past. However, Unmukts returns in Ranji Trophy 2015-16 were middling, as he managed only 439 runs from 14 innings.Focus on uniformity in pitch preparation Daljeet Singh, the chairman of the BCCIs ground & pitches committee, said the emphasis was on making good cricket pitches for the Ranji Trophy. The pitches will be prepared by curators of the host state associations, while the boards curators will travel to different venues at various points to monitor the pitches.We had a two-day workshop in Mumbai where curators of all associations were present, and the only thing that was discussed was about making good pitches for a four-day match, Daljeet told ESPNcricinfo. A good four-day match starts with a little grass and then flattens out to become a good batting track later before having wear and tear in the end.When asked about the instructions given to curators a few years ago to retain 4mm grass on the pitch, Daljeet said there were never any standing guidelines. The 4mm grass was the interpretation of a few people. If you have 4mm grass in Lahli, the match will be over in one-and-a-half days, he said. It is only about uniformity in pitch-preparation, and we have only given general guidelines about good cricketing pitches. ' ' '