COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri quarterback Drew Lock is a different player than he was a year ago, and hes eager for the opportunity to prove it.The season opener at West Virginia on Saturday will be his first chance to show his improvement.Following Maty Mauks indefinite suspension in 2015, Lock became the first freshman quarterback to start for Missouri in two decades. He was 2-6 in eight starts, completing 49 percent of his passes while amassing 1,332 yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions. In a year marked by turmoil, including the threat of player boycotts and coach Gary Pinkels retirement, Missouri finished a dismal 127th out of 128 FBS teams in scoring at 13.6 points per game, the worst in school history.Lock said the Tigers 28-3 loss at Arkansas-Pinkels last game-was the low point of his season.I guess that made me a better, tougher person mentally, Lock said. Im thankful for that now and Im through it and its behind me.Though it may not have been an enjoyable experience, Lock said the experience did help acclimate him to the level of competition.You hear that practice makes perfect all the time, and I truly believe that I can look back at last year, I can think of it as just a huge practice year, in the sense of getting reps, seeing what the league is like, seeing what Division-I college football is like, he said.Lock knows he has to improve his numbers from a year ago, and gave specific reasons why he feels confident heading into his sophomore campaign.I think were just more sound as an offense as far as what our jobs are and what the little things are we have to do to make our jobs easy, Lock said. Really, just pitching and catching the ball. Just being in the right place at the right time when youre supposed to be.In addition to improving mechanics or stats, Lock is also focused on honing his leadership role.I feel like last year, I didnt communicate very much, Lock said. I was kind of a guy that kind of stayed to myself. Ran the play, watched it after practice and kind of talked about it with coach. But instead, Im actually going out there, I know what Im doing, I know what theyre supposed to be doing, and Im correcting it on the field with them.Though only a sophomore, Lock has more experience than the majority of the quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference. Only four quarterbacks in the conference have made more starts than Lock, all of whom are older.You have to have experience to become a leader, Lock said. I feel like I had a pretty rough experience last year to where people know that Ive been through it.Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has seen improvement in Lock since arriving during spring camp.I think hes got a much better understanding of defense, said Heupel, who coached current NFL quarterbacks Landry Jones and Sam Bradford at Oklahoma. I think hes got a much better understanding of fundamentals and things that he needs to do to be successful on a consistent basis.Lock said the offense has several goals this season, but is focused primarily on making smart plays.Making the right plays when we need to, he said. Just not playing scared. Just attacking the defense. Instead of more so being on our toes reacting off them, were going to hopefully come out and play super hard and make defenses react to us. Cheap Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . 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The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cheap Los Angeles Rams Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots officially activated running back Dion Lewis to their 53-man roster Saturday, the team announced. The move comes almost one year to the day that Lewis tore his left ACL in a Nov. 8 game against the Washington Redskins.The Patriots had an open roster spot after waiving running back Tyler Gaffney on Thursday, and Lewis activation was widely anticipated. The team had until Nov. 17 to either activate him or place him on the injured reserve list.The 5-foot-8, 195-pound Lewis had opened the year on the physically unable to perform list after experiencing a setback that required a second surgery on his left knee (but not specifically his ACL). He has participated in eight practices since coming off the PUP list on Oct. 27.While Lewis is now officially activated to the 53-man roster, the Patriots still have a call to make on whether to include him on their 46-man game-day roster for Sunnday nights home contest against the Seattle Seahawks.dddddddddddd Those close to the situation have stressed that it will be a patient approach, and the Patriots have been pleased with Lewis primary replacement in the passing back role, James White.I think James White is a good player. What he does is good. Could somebody do it better? I dont know. But it would take quite a bit, I would say, based on where he is and how consistent hes been with what hes done, coach Bill Belichick said Friday. It would take somebody playing pretty good to be better than him.At his best, Lewis would seemingly fit that bill, as he was a sparkplug in seven games last season before tearing his ACL. He totaled 49 carries for 234 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 36 receptions for 388 yards and two touchdowns. ' ' '