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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Another Missouri wide receiver is set to enter the transfer portal next month, further establishing the receiving corps as a position the Tigers will need to significantly reinforce this offseason.

Junior Marquis Johnson will depart the program and will not play in the Gator Bowl, his father confirmed on social media Wednesday. 

Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Eli Hoff in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday. Scroll past the chat window for an easier-to-read version of the transcript.

Transcript

So begins another college football offseason, right on the heels of the regular season.

Missouri finished 8-4 overall and 4-4 in Southeastern Conference play, a year that coach Eli Drinkwitz described as good but not great. The most noteworthy thing to come of the season was his commitment to the program moving forward.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz wants his next offensive coordinator to be someone with play-calling experience and maybe even a Southeastern Conference pedigree. Calibrate your search parameters accordingly.

Drinkwitz, who’s hiring a new offensive coordinator following Kirby Moore’s departure to become the head coach at Washington State, made his first public comments this week about what would make for an appealing successor.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Eli Drinkwitz has a running back problem.

A good problem, to be clear, because he has two great tailbacks currently on his roster. Both of them have eligibility to return to Missouri next season. Both of them would seemingly like to come back. Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts have been a stellar tandem in 2025. Imagine what they could be with another year of development.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri will be without two key starters due to injury for its Gator Bowl matchup with Virginia.

Middle linebacker Josiah Trotter and tight end Brett Norfleet will both miss the game, Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday. 

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri wide receiver Joshua Manning intends to enter the transfer portal when it opens next month.

The junior wideout is the first Mizzou starter to announce his plans to depart this offseason.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — It often feels like Missouri men’s basketball goes as Anthony Robinson II goes. So if the junior point guard’s past two performances are a sign that he’s getting going this season, then the Tigers have a positive development to take into Braggin’ Rights and Southeastern Conference play.

The sledding has been tough at times this season for Robinson, one of Mizzou’s most important players and one of the SEC’s most notable returners. Over the course of last season, he emerged as both the embodiment of and engine for MU’s play-style: Steals, fast breaks and free throws are three staples of his game.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The buy games, the games Missouri paid to win, are over. Next up: the lucrative games, the money-makers, the season-makers.

If the Tigers are to be NCAA Tournament-makers, they’re going to need to be better the rest of the way this season. Such is the uphill path in front of the program that concluded a wash of a home nonconference schedule on Sunday.