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Or perhaps it’s a coach seeking to show off how detailed he and his staff are in their preparation. You know, the type of thing a coach can point to later and say, we were so attuned to the unusual schedule quirk that placed the first road game on October 18, that we dreamed up a creative solution to address it.

While that might warrant some consideration, I’ll still lean toward a much simpler conclusion. The competitor in Drinkwitz felt compelled to do something, anything, take some sort of substantial steps to remove the sour taste from his mouth that lingered from last season and try to proactively avoid that same bitter flavoring this season.

“I wanted to see from a mentality standpoint, would we start fast,� Drinkwitz said after his team wrapped up at Lindenwood’s Hunter Stadium in St. Charles. “Would we have the right mindset. Did we come out ready to play. In a road game, you can’t ease into it.

“You look at our poor performances last year, three of them on the road. We were really, really slow, and that can’t happen. We have to start fast. That’s something you can learn now and apply it. Instead of having to learn after you go on the road.�

It’s not just a Mizzou thing or a Drinkwitz thing.

Kalen DeBoer accepted the job as Alabama’s successor to college football’s king Nick Saban. DeBoer, surrounded not just by a mountain of expectations but a mountain range of expectations, experienced a similar failing.

Alabama went 7-0 at home in DeBoer’s first season, but 2-3 on the road and 0-1 at a neutral site. Nine total wins isn’t comfortable standing for a head coach at a program that has chased/seen multiple head coaches leave coming off 10-win seasons (Gene Stallings, , Ray Perkins).

, DeBoer mentioned the need to play better on the road this season — starting with their opener against Florida State.

Kirby Smart’s Georgia team won the SEC championship, and he fired a snarky comment at the conference commissioner in front of the college football world while still in the process of accepting the championship trophy, saying commissioner Greg Sankey and his staff “sent� Georgia on the road “all year long.� Why? Two of Georgia’s three regular season losses came on the road.

Even Texas’ new starting quarterback Arch Manning, the latest in a lineage of college and NFL passing royalty as the grandson of Archie Manning and nephew of Eli Manning and Peyton Manning, recently marveled at his successor Quinn Ewers for his remarkable performance on the road as the team’s starter (11-1 record not including neutral sites).

“It’s a different mentality, it’s us against the world when you’re on the road,� Arch Manning told reporters .

Texas went 5-0 on the road last season. Not losing a road game kept them one game ahead of Georgia and Tennessee in the conference standings. For that matter, there were eight SEC teams within two games of Texas. Seven of those eight had multiple road losses. The lone exception? South Carolina.

Ah yes, South Carolina. Which brings us back to Mizzou and Drinkwitz’s fixation on the road woes.

Drinkwitz mentioned three poor road results while preaching the need to start fast. After all, Mizzou finished last season with a 10-3 overall record.

“We’ve got to have another urgency to raise our level of where we’re at,� Drinkwitz said after the mock road trip. “We can’t just coast. We’ve got to have some urgency to get going.�

You can argue that a faster start changes the momentum and, perhaps, alters the way games unfold like the 41-10 loss at Texas A&M and a 34-0 loss at Alabama.

Okay. Sure. If that makes you feel better, cling to the belief that one play could’ve changed everything.

But when Drinkwitz preaches about fast starts and urgency, all I hear is: South Carolina! South Carolina! SOUTH CAROLINA!

Don’t let the final two minutes of that game fool you. Yes, Mizzou scored with 1:10 remaining and took a 30-27 lead, then gave up a go-ahead touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in a 34-30 loss.

That’s not necessarily where the game got away.

Mizzou scored six first-half points on a pair of field goals. Those six points weren’t a fast start, they were missed opportunities to put South Carolina on its heels.

Sure, Mizzou scored it’s first six points of the game on drives that stalled with their offense knocking on the door inside the 20-yard line.

Multiple stalled drives in the red zone does not equal a fast start.

The Mizzou offense gained 114 yards in the first quarter and had just six points. For the half, they went 0-for-6 on third downs and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

Failure to convert and keep drives alive does not equal a fast start.

And a slow start that led to a four-point loss on the road left Mizzou at three conference losses (5-3) instead of tied with Georgia (6-2) and Tennessee (6-2) and a step ahead of Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Texas A&M in .

So was a trip to Lindenwood worth all the fuss?

It is if it gets the message across and gets one more win, because one win means a lot, then yes it was worth it.

If nothing else, perhaps it helps Drinkwitz exorcise a South Carolina-sized demon.

With the college football season kicking off this weekend, here’s what 32 former Mizzou players who transferred away will be up to in 2025.

The only two former MU players who are on the Tigers’ schedule this season are defensive end Jaylen Brown, who signed with South Carolina this offseason, and wideout Courtney Crutchfield, who went to Arkansas. But when the Gamecocks come to town for Missouri’s SEC opener on Sept. 20, it looks like Brown won’t be playing. He suffered an unspecified long-term injury during spring ball and has been out for all of South Carolina’s fall camp — plus, it seems, a while longer.

Crutchfield, meanwhile, is buried on the Razorbacks’ depth chart and has been working with the third-team offense during camp. After getting a look at him during spring ball, the Hogs turned to the portal again to recruit over him, which doesn’t bode well for playing time.

Speaking of other members of Mizzou’s heralded 2024 recruiting class who hit the portal in surprising moves last December: five-star prospect Williams Nwaneri is in the mix at Nebraska but hasn’t solidified a starting job ahead of the Cornhuskers’ season opener against Cincinnati, scheduled to be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

As became evident at MU, it seems the ‘Huskers are learning Nwaneri is more of a long-term project than a plug-and-play option.

“All the accolades that Will has received previous to coming to Nebraska are warranted, but his day-to-day here has, through our strength staff, through our player development staff, through our coaches has kind of made an impact on him,� defensive coordinator John Butler said recently. “And I think that if he keeps heading in the right direction, we’re going to be excited about what Will continues to be, not what he is now.�

Perhaps having more immediate impact will be running back Kewan Lacy, who’s getting buzz as a potential starter down at Mississippi. Ole Miss likes what he offers as a pass-catching back, so he’ll certainly receive opportunities.

Eddie Kelly Jr., who spent the 2024 season with the Tigers but got boxed out by the influx of depth at his position, is now in line to start as a defensive end at West Virginia for new-but-also-returning coach Rich Rodriguez.

The other D-end to hit the portal after spring ball, Troy Buchanan product Jahkai Lang, has landed at Southern Methodist, where he’s expected to be part of the rotation.

Joe Moore III, another defensive end, announced that he was transferring to Florida Atlantic but is not listed on the FAU roster. MU officials had told the Post-Dispatch that they believed he was out of eligibility when he transferred (which appeared to be the case to a non-expert, too), so that’s not a surprise.

Edge rusher Serigne Tounkara is returning to his role as a rotational piece at Cal, while fellow defensive end Ky Montgomery is looking for a junior college roster spot after playing in only three games last year for Ball State.

The most accomplished former Missouri defensive end still playing college football is, at the moment, Arden Walker at Colorado. There, coach Deion Sanders is publicly debating whether to dub Walker a “dawg� or a “leader,� which will lead to him wearing either a D or an L on his jersey this season. Regardless, he’s one of the Buffaloes’ most productive returning players.

To continue with, uh, well-known coaches: Mikai Gbayor ought to play a role for new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick after spending only spring ball with Mizzou before moving on due to his depth chart position.

In the quarterback category, Drew Pyne is succeeding another former Tiger, Connor Bazelak, as the starting QB at Bowling Green. He marked a fairly splashy add for the Falcons and is joined there by former MU running back Austyn Dendy.

Jake Garcia has transferred once again, this time to Michigan, where he’s in the mix to back up true freshman phenom Bryce Underwood.

Gabarri Johnson was an option quarterback and made one start at Oregon State in 2024, but the Beavers brought in Maalik Murphy ahead of him for this season.

Tyler Macon is still at Alcorn State, which plays at Mississippi State on Sept. 13.

Kentucky, with former Mizzou assistant Bush Hamdan as its offensive coordinator, has two former Tigers among its receiving corps: J.J. Hester and Ja’Mori Maclin. The former, arriving from Oklahoma, seems more likely to have a role.

Other players on power conference rosters include Jaren Sensabaugh and Val Erickson, who could start at nickelback and guard, respectively for North Carolina State. Orion Phillips will punt for Utah, center Talan Chandler will provide depth at Northwestern and Carmycah Glass will be a depth linebacker for Houston.

And in the Group of Five ranks: D.J. Wesolak and Grayson Crutchlow will help Missouri State make the jump up to the Football Bowl Subdivision level, with the former expected to start. Mekhi Miller could find himself leading the Golden Hurricane as Tulsa’s top wideout. Linebacker Brayshawn Littlejohn followed his position coach, D.J. Smith, to App State, where Smith is the first-year defensive coordinator. Defensive back Ja’Marion Wayne will compete for snaps at Coastal Carolina. Ma’Kyi Lee will be the starting left tackle for New Mexico State. Dameon Wilson is in line to start as a linebacker for East Carolina. Will Safris will punt for Utah State, and long snapper Jack Kautz will ply his trade in Ypsilanti with Eastern Michigan.

While the long haul is just beginning for the participants, it will be the end for a beloved figure in the football broadcasting business. Lee Corso, who has appeared on ESPN’s popular “College GameDay� show since its inception in 1987, is set to make his final appearance Aug. 30 when the program makes its season debut.

Corso, the only remaining on-air personality from the program’s start, was a contributor for the first two seasons before becoming an analyst in 1989. “GameDay� began as a Saturday morning studio show throughout the college season that previewed the day’s games but reached iconic status when it began going on the road in 1993, originating from the site of a key game or event. Corso, already popular for his down-home style, surged to another level when he began closing the shows by predicting the winner of the featured game by putting on the mascot’s headgear for the team he was selecting.

It will be a symmetrical finish for Corso, who turned 90 years old early this month, as his sendoff show will take place at Ohio State — where he made the first of his headgear picks when he picked OSU to win on Oct. 5, 1996. He was right, as the Buckeyes ripped Penn State 38–7.

His 431st, and final, pick is set for a week from Saturday, when the reigning national champion Buckeyes, ranked third in this year’s Associated Press preseason poll, entertain No. 1 Texas. “GameDayâ€� is set to run from 8-11 a.m. (51ºÚÁÏ time) that day. There will be plenty of focus on Corso on the show, which is to be conducted from outside the school’s basketball arena, as is the norm when it’s at Ohio State, but is scheduled to move into the football stadium for Corso to make his final pick in front of more than 100,000 fans as the show wraps up just before the contest kicks off.

However, that game won’t be on ESPN or any of the other Disney-owned networks. Fox (KTVI, Channel 2 locally) has that telecast, and its “Big Noon Kickoff� pregame show also is to be broadcast from Ohio State and run at the same time as ESPN’s “College GameDay� — 8-11 a.m.

It should be an emotional day for Corso and his colleagues.

“My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and ‘College GameDay’ for nearly 40 years,� Corso said in a statement. “I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.�

His TV success has followed a 28-year football coaching run, including being the head coach at Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois.

Corso has slowed down considerably in recent years and has missed a significant number of games. But he has been strongly supported by his colleagues, especially Kirk Herbstreit for 29 seasons, and they have helped smooth his path as his career has been winding down.

“Coach Corso has had an iconic run in broadcasting, and we’re all lucky to have been around to witness it,� Herbstreit added. “He has taught me so much throughout our time together, and he’s been like a second father to me. It has been my absolute honor to have the best seat in the house to watch Coach put on that mascot head each week.�

The timing is right for Corso to retire.

“ESPN has been exceptionally generous to me, especially these past few years,� he added in his statement. “They accommodated me and supported me, as did my colleagues in the early days of ‘College GameDay.’ Special thanks to Kirk Herbstreit for his friendship and encouragement. And lest I forget, the fans. (It has been) truly a blessing to share this with them. ESPN gave me this wonderful opportunity and provided me the support to ensure success. I am genuinely grateful.�

It has not been announced if someone else will take over the headgear-donning role after Corso retires, but “GameDay� host Rece Davis made his thoughts clear in an interview on CNN.

“I think I’m going to have to tackle anybody that tries to do a headgear pick other than Lee Corso,� Davis said. “That, to me, is his signature moment, and it should stay with him, in my judgement. I will fight very hard not to be overruled or vetoed on that. Many people tell me it’s something they look forward to every week, and I think that it’s his and his alone.�

While it will be more than a week until Corso signs off, ESPN is set to air a one-hour salute to Corso much sooner — at 8 p.m. Friday. Many of his colleagues over the years are scheduled to appear, as well as key figures in college football.

The big picture

Corso isn’t the only big name departing from the football pregame parade this season. Jimmy Johnson, a “Fox NFL Sunday� cast member for 31 seasons, has retired and is being replaced by former New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.

• Bill Belichick is off TV, where he put away his gruff coaching personality to be entertaining on the “ManningCastâ€� of “Monday Night Football,â€� Pat McAfee’s show and “Inside the NFLâ€� last season. But he’s back to the sidelines, this time in college at North Carolina. Not surprisingly, ESPN has his debut game and in a marquee slot. It’s set for 7 p.m. Sept. 1 — it’s the only college football contest that night, which is the final Monday before the NFL takes over the slot the next week with Minnesota meeting Chicago in those teams’ opener.
• Also on the college side, controversial Barstool Sports owner and founder Dave Portnoy is joining Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoffâ€� crew, and Barstool Sports also will also produce a daily weekday show on Fox’s FS1 cable network.
• The much-ballyhooed business deal in which the NFL intends to buy a 10% stake in ESPN owner Disney, with the telecaster taking over NFL Network and getting the linear rights to NFL RedZone (the league retains the streaming side), faces several legal hurdles and will not take effect this season. There should be no changes in how to access either channel this year.

New streaming options

ESPN just launched its long-anticipated direct-to-consumer streaming service to coincide with the kickoff of the football season, allowing customers to bypass the middleman such as a cable or satellite distributor and purchase the content directly from the telecaster. There are two prices options: $29.99 per month includes access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, plus ESPN-related programming on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+, and ACCNX.

Fox also has joined the direct-to-consumer streaming business, launching Fox One this week just ahead of the football season. For $19.99 a month, viewers can access Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network as well as Fox News and Fox’s business and weather channels, plus local Fox network affiliates.

These new ESPN and Fox streaming options are to be offered together in a bundle that is to be available in early October for $39.99 monthly.

These direct-to-consumer offerings should have no impact on those people already watching these ESPN and Fox channels through a programming distributor such as a cable or satellite company.

Other than that, it’s got real promise. Pffft.

In case you missed it, the leadership of the Big Ten Conference has reportedly mulled over an expansion of the current College Football Playoff format from its current 12-team format, which debuted just last season, to a field of either 24 or 28 teams .

On its surface, that sounds a bit premature — considering we just got to 12 teams — though largely harmless. Just creative thinking. Everyone’s looking for ways to bolster the entertainment value, revenue and excitement for football fans.

Right?

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Don’t buy anything .

It surely isn’t about adding competition. If it were, then the Big Ten wouldn’t be looking to guarantee itself seven spots in a 28-team format.

Yes, it’s all about increasing competition. Oh, but just one thing before the competition starts: We need one quarter of the spots contractually gifted to us.

Come on now. You can’t talk out of both sides of your mouth much more than that.

After all, aren’t sports and athletic competition where we expect and want merit to serve as the determining factor above everything else?

Coaches are the ones we typically hear giving speeches about “earning it every day.�

Performance, effort, execution — that’s how you get playing time, a starting job, accolades, money, the respect of your peers and so on and so forth.

Don’t step onto the field, court, track, ice, into the pool or any other competitive venue and expect things given to you. At least that’s what we’re told by the folks put in charge of these sports at all levels.

But when it comes to the business side of college sports, set all that aside because the Big Ten is scared.

Wait.

Haven’t we been hearing about the Big Ten overtaking the SEC as the best college football conference in recent years?

First, folks will point to the past two national champions: Ohio State and Michigan.

Of course, from infractions that included an impermissible and generously bankrolled scouting and sign-stealing scheme, among other infractions.

The violations were so bad that former head coach Jim Harbaugh received a 10-year show-cause order starting in 2028. It doesn’t start until then because that’s the conclusion of a previous four-year show-cause penalty from another case.

Anyway, nothing to see there except Big Ten dominance.

Pundits like have proclaimed that the Big Ten moved past the SEC in the hierarchy, and SEC coaches like Mizzou’s Eli Drinkwitz were asked at the conference’s annual media days event, “How important is it for the SEC to get back to the top?�

Yet in the 11 total years of the , including the four-team format, the SEC won six national titles to the Big Ten’s three. The Big Ten won just two more titles than Clemson during that span. The SEC’s overall record is 18-9 (a .667 win percentage), while the Big Ten went 11-10 (.524).

In the past 25 years, the SEC has 14 national championships (not including a Texas title in 2005 when it wasn’t in the conference).

That’s why the Big Ten wants to lock itself into seven playoff spots, which in this new proposal would match the number of automatic bids guaranteed to the SEC.

The Big Ten has had a recent boost, regardless of whether it was aided by violations, and it wants to strike while the iron is hot. Thus, the Big Ten could secure spots, lock in its share of the television money and contractually keep other conferences at bay.

The Big 12 and ACC were slotted for five automatic berths apiece in a 28-team field, according to the ESPN report.

Anyone outside of the power four conferences is left to vie for four spots, just two automatic bids and two at-large teams. Which seems to mean those two at-large bids would also be open to the power four teams as well.

So how much competition is really being created?

Why does a conference that wants everyone to believe in its superior level of play and talent need the playoff rules and contracts slanted to assert its dominance and restrict the chances of almost everyone else?

Even in college basketball’s March Madness format, we all know the majority of the at-large bids will end up going to power conference schools. But there are still 37 at-large bids in a 68-team field.

In a given year, the door remains open for a mid-major team to warrant consideration for the same spot as a power conference team in basketball.

But the Big Ten somehow annually deserves 25% of the playoff football field before the season even starts?

From a business standpoint, you can make the case it’s a smart deal if the Big Ten can get anyone on board.

From the perspective of competition, the Big Ten looks like a paper champion trying to make it increasingly difficult for challengers to knock it from its pedestal.

The Big Ten isn’t swaggering with confidence. It’s quaking with fear. That’s what this proposal tells us.

That’s not insignificant for the 6-foot-6 Francis Howell product who has shown a lot of potential but also struggled with injuries since donning MU’s black and gold. He’s had his electric moments, often involving hurdles of would-be tacklers, and his painful ones.

A healthy Norfleet would be valuable to a Mizzou offense that wants to involve the tight end position more in its passing game, so long as he’s able to provide it. So much of the offseason has centered around what the Tigers offense needs to replace, but in Norfleet’s potential, tight end usage is actually a dimension into which it can grow.

But back to his growth, which is to say his health.

“Right now, I feel great,� Norfleet said. “I am cleared. I feel stronger. We had two scrimmages, and there’s no better place to test (my shoulder than) out there against your own team, and it’s held up so far.�

That’s an upgrade from last fall camp, when Norfleet battled a foot injury to even get on the practice field. Then, when he took the field for last season’s opener against Murray State, Norfleet caught a pass, made it 4 yards downfield, and boom — there went the shoulder.

“My first catch,� he said. “Damn shame because that happened and then I was in the training room almost every day just trying to stay on the field. Did I feel 100% in there? No. Not at all.�

Norfleet only wound up missing two games, a Week 2 contest against Buffalo and the Music City Bowl win over Iowa. He still caught passes in most games and scored two touchdowns. There was even a hurdle attempt or two in there.

But those elaborate attempts to hop over contact just showed what Norfleet was playing through with his shoulder.

“That just kind of happened because every time I caught the ball, I was always worried that I was going to hit (my shoulder),� he said. “The thing I had, it was very easily reinjured. So at some point, I just kind of thought: Hey, I’m just going to jump over every single guy. And if my feet get swept out from under me, just don’t land on my neck.�

He’s much more light-hearted now about an injury that restricted his playmaking and blocking ability. Going forward, there are some tweaks to how he moves that he’ll adopt in hopes of avoiding further shoulder issues.

“It’s learning not to always lower my shoulder,� Norfleet said. “Maybe use my off-hand as a stiff arm, maybe stick a foot in the ground. And then when we’re split-flowing (a blocking scheme), just taking pressure off of it.�

The appeal of having a healthy Norfleet available each week is the appeal of having a legitimate receiving threat line up at tight end.

“That’s a position that, in this league, is a premium,� Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

He’s right. Ask Mizzou fans who watched Martin Rucker, Chase Coffman and Michael Egnew what a good tight end can do for an offense.

And in the Southeastern Conference, a high-volume tight end can be a distinctive factor for an offense.

There were three clear tiers when it came to tight end usage by SEC teams last year. There were three tight ends — Louisiana State’s Mason Taylor, Texas’ Gunnar Helm and Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers — who were targeted between 67 and 79 times.

Then came a four-player tier of 50-55 targets.

Norfleet, whose 38 targets were the ninth-most of any SEC tight end last season, was in the third tier, a deeper group of 10 tight ends who drew 26 to 39 targets.

Using very approximate math, it would require roughly 12 more targets — say, one more per game, on average — for Norfleet to jump up a tier in usage. Two or three more targets per game could send him up to the top tier of SEC tight ends.

While Missouri’s coaches aren’t especially keen on talking scheme before the season starts, there’s an established desire to get Norfleet more volume.

“As far as in the pass game, we would love to see those (tight ends) be more involved, especially down the field,� Drinkwitz said. “But sometimes coverage dictates that too. So we’ve got to create matchups. Those guys have got to be consistent catching the football and consistent route runners.�

The downfield aspect of MU’s tight end usage is noteworthy. Norfleet’s targets came exactly 6 yards away from the line of scrimmage, on average, which was the fourth-shortest average depth of target among the top 17 SEC tight ends. Put simply, the Tigers found him on short routes more often than most other teams in the conference.

Working him in downfield isn’t just a matter of sending Norfleet sprinting away on a “go� route. If he’s able to move more comfortably and withstand contact, deeper crossing routes over the middle are on the table. And some of the most effective route patterns in offensive coordinator Kirby Moore’s playbook involve tight end leak-outs on play-action plays, which would open up Norfleet’s ability to pick up yards after the catch.

He seems up for that kind of thing.

“For me, this year is just gaining confidence and then getting back to myself,� Norfleet said.

SEC teams will play nine games against their fellow leaguemates and still must schedule at least one "high-quality" nonconference game against another power conference program. That can be against teams from the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 or Notre Dame. 

The league will determine three "annual opponents" for each school which will remain permanent fixtures on the schedule. The other six games will rotate through the rest of the conference. Each team will face every other program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away within four years.

So what's that mean for Missouri?

Two schools feel like locks to be among the Tigers' permanent opponents: Arkansas and Oklahoma, which are the annual opponents in basketball.

The Razorbacks have been presented as Mizzou's in-conference rival, so the yearly fight for the Battle Line Trophy is unlikely to go away anytime soon. MU and the Sooners go back to the Big 8, so it would be natural to continue that matchup moving forward.

The third annual opponent spot could go a few ways. Vanderbilt would be the closest geographical option. That's a favorable matchup for MU more often than not. The more entertaining option would be South Carolina, with Mayor's Cup fixtures between the Tigers and Gamecocks often turning into competitive games. 

Further down the road, the SEC's shift to a nine-game schedule will mean Missouri has to trim down some of its future nonconference slates. 

MU is already set for 2026, having postponed the resumption of its series with Illinois until 2027. Next football season, the Tigers will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Troy while facing Kansas on the road for the nonconference slate.

In '27, Mizzou is scheduled to host Illinois State, Illinois and Florida Atlantic with a road game against San Diego State on the books. The latter seems the most likely to go, but the Aztecs are on the 2028 home schedule, too. 

Missouri is set for quite some time with its power conference opponents. The Tigers face KU in 2026, 2031 and 2032. The Illinois matchups are set for 2027, 2028, 2029, 2033, 2034 and 2035. Mizzou has a home-and-home set against Colorado in 2030 and 2031, plus Brigham Young University on the books for 2035.

That will ease some of the administrative burden of adapting to the SEC's scheduling change. 

The shift could also lead to the Big Ten agreeing to adopt a College Football Playoff format that maximizes the number of at-large bids as opposed to guaranteed spots for each conference, but that's yet another ongoing debate. 

Eli ±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýGood morning everyone and happy Thursday. One week from now, it'll be gameday. We're almost there! I'll be around here for the next couple hours to answer your questions and hear out your 2025 takes and predictions.

First, I want to draw your attention to a piece that published this morning: My projection of Mizzou's depth chart for the 2025 season. It's long (more than 3,000 words) but comprehensive, covering every position and 65 different players you'll want to know. Those of you who are avid readers of our coverage probably know most of it already, but a lot of folks find that to be a helpful refresher that gives you the lay of the land heading into the season. You don't see many deep dives like that either, I've found.

Now, on to your questions!

Tom O: I have always been curious about Tommy Lock who has been on the team as a preferred walk on. Two questions. 1)Is he now on scholarship and if so why. 2) With him being on the team for three years would you think he would start over Zoller if Horn and Beau went down to win a game.If not why is he there?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI believe he is still a walk-on. (The new term for this, post-House settlement, is "Designated Student-Athlete" or DSA.) SEC schools are still limiting themselves to 85 scholarship players, and I'm not sure that more than three quarterbacks make that cut. If he is on scholarship now, that's something he's evidently earned. 

I don't think he would start over Zollers if both Horn and Pribula were for some reason not available. Lock would've maybe been the third-string guy last season when it was just Cook and Pyne and freshman Aidan Glover wasn't playable, but J.R. Blood was in the mix too. Given that Drinkwitz, at least for a couple of minutes at the start of camp, entertained the idea of Zollers winning the starting job, I think he'd turn to the true frosh in a real emergency. But as for why Lock is there, teams have a lot of QBs. Mizzou has six in total. It needs them for practice, for the scout team, and for the wacky what-ifs like what if three of your QBs get hurt? And in Lock's case, I'm sure this is where he wants to be.

¸é³Ü²õ²õ:ÌýGood morning, Eli. With Auburn claiming seven additional National Championships, will Mizzou ever claim 1960?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI don't see that happening anytime soon, for a couple of reasons. First, look at the reaction to Auburn's claims this week. They were laughed at, and rightfully so. It just looked like a goofy "hey look at this" distraction from what's been a pretty poor preseason on the Plains. I know some Mizzou fans would be thrilled if the school claimed 1960, and maybe that's more valuable than other fanbases' opinions, but I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

Plus, and this is more speculation, I don't know if Drinkwitz would really want that. He's pushing this program to win titles now and win some of those for the first time. Going back and saying "We won the natty in 1960, actually" then makes that not the first time, if it does in fact happen under Drinkwitz.

So while I get the reasons why y'all want 1960 claimed, and get the reasons why it could be claimed too, I still think it's a longshot to actually happen.

Straight out of St Louis: How does Dennis Gates see Trent Burn's role for next season? Burns is 7 ' 5 and has huge upside. Burns could be the missing piece that could put the Tigers "over the top"?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýThe coaching staff views Burns as a unicorn prospect. There just aren't other players that tall who can, in theory, do what he does. As you'd hope with someone who's 7-foot-5, they like him as a rim protector and post presence, but he can stretch the floor a bit too. As for his role though, it's unclear. Because he never played last season, I'm not sure the staff really knows either. It'll probably be one of those things that they test out in the noncon and if it goes well, have him in the rotation for SEC play. If he can be a startable option or core piece, that would of course be a huge benefit for MU. The nice thing with Burns is that he's really all upside. If it works, great. But in the chance he's not quite ready or the fit is awkward, I don't think it tanks the whole team's potential or anything like that.

¶Ù°ä³Ò:ÌýHey, Eli: A couple of QB questions. First, has Drink explained how the QB time share will work for game 1? I can't imagine it'll be one gets the first half and the other the second like the fake QB comp a couple of years ago. The blowout likelihood means QB2 would get no chance to play with first teamers or throw. So, will it be Q1 to one guy and Q2 to another? Again, assuming it's not fake comp with one guy getting the first half, would you read anything into who gets the first series?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýYour first question is my biggest question. We didn't get an answer to that yesterday. The announcement went like this: Drinkwitz told the team the plan. I heard from a team source what the plan was and started posting our story. About a minute after that, the team released its statement from Drinkwitz explaining the plan. And that was that. He'll hold a presser on Saturday where I'm sure I'll be among the several people asking about how this'll go. Maybe he says what the plan is, maybe he doesn't. 

The first half/second half split was obviously quite unpopular with how that played out in 2023. This competition is more legit than that one was, so I could see the split going differently this time around. Maybe that's alternating quarters? I don't see that as especially realistic. Alternating drives is probably the most likely other option. That said, I could see Drinkwitz's presented logic behind splitting first half/second half being the chance for them to get consecutive series in, recovering from mistakes, showing consistency, etc. Those have been his priorities in evaluating the QBs throughout camp, and yes, getting a dedicated half is the best way to test those. The downside of that, of course, is that the second half ought to see Mizzou ahead by several scores, in which case it's not much of a test.

To that end, I will definitely read into who gets the first snap/series/half. Especially if it's the whole half. For all his talk about needing to "start fast" in games, I don't see how Drinkwitz doesn't put the guy who's leading in the battle out there first. He might play games every now and then, but I don't think this is the sort of thing he messes around with. 

Straight out of St Louis: Do you see Donovan Olugbode seeing action this year. I heard he makes unbelievable catches in space and has a bright future,

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýShort answer: Yes, he'll get a shot.

Longer answer: It's really hard to tell with some of these true freshmen. He's looked great in camp against air, made some highlight-reel catches, gotten a lot of positive comments from coaches and teammates. But some of that was true for Courtney Crutchfield a year ago, and he barely factored in and then was off to Arkansas via the portal. That said, I do think Olugbode's situation and potential are a little different.

For one, the wide receiver room is more open this year than it was last year. Yes, Coleman, Johnson and Manning are the top three. But beyond that, it's pretty wide open. You could make a case for Olugbode being the fourth best option among the wideouts. You could make a case for him being seventh. There really are a lot of ways that pecking order could shake out, which makes me think there'll be a good number of those guys who get a shot to prove themselves as deserving of routes and targets. Assuming Olugbode has the talent, he ought to get to WR4 or WR5 status, which comes with game action.

¶Ù°ä³Ò:ÌýYeah, I think alternating drives isn't awesome for either QB. What if a drive goes run, run, pass, punt? That's not much of an opportunity. I could see giving each two consecutive drives at a time in the first Q. That gives each a chance to build on what happened on the previous drive. Also, I don't subscribe to the idea that it has to be figured out by the KU game. To a certain degree, a blood donor like CArk isn't going to really reveal much unless someone just tanks it. I think Mizzou is superior enough to KU that they could still handle the Beakers with both QBs getting legit time, and I think you'd come out of that knowing a lot more than what you learn vs CArk.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýTo your first point, exactly. That's why alternating series isn't really as perfect of a system as it would seem. Maybe two drives at a time is. I don't know if anybody would be happy with this, but maybe the staff feeling out the vibes of it could work too. If that means one drive and they switch, cool. Maybe they decide they need to see a second and then they switch. Maybe one guy hits a groove and they give him a few. I could see an argument for using an imperfect experiment because this is all an imperfect science, but I also don't see that as especially likely.

While I agree about this game not teaching much from a quality standpoint, I'm not as confident in Mizzou being so far ahead of Kansas that it can be another test game. Yes, MU will be favored and should win that game, and I understand wanting to think little of the Jayhawks, but they're not a bottom-of-the-barrel team this year. I'd probably argue they're a bit better than the Boston College team that came to town last year. Week 3 against Louisiana would be feasible, but that does have some trap-game markings. And, abstract/meaningless as it might be, can you imagine the fanbase's sentiments toward not having a starting quarterback going into the biggest game of the season? A lot points toward there being a decision before Week 2. If for some reason that does turn into a blowout, Mizzou will play its backup QB against KU for a bit too.

Straight out of St Louis: I am surprised that Dennis Gates never lands a top Overseas Basketball player. Illinois Underwood routinely lands star overseas players who are big contributors. Perhaps, that is a possible route for gates in the future.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI think you'll see Mizzou land one relatively soon. It's probably more likely than not for next year's portal cycle. There were a couple of European players MU was linked with this year, but that didn't really go anywhere. Now with a GM in place who can dive into that landscape a little more (which is among the program's priorities), I think you'll see Mizzou in the mix for more Euro talent that wants to give American college basketball a try. Perhaps not to the degree that Illinois and Underwood do it, but I could see the Tigers aiming for one overseas player every couple of portal classes to start.

³¢³Ü:ÌýHeard someone bring up Mizzou's defensive front seven is nearly all upper classman. Do you have any insight into how common that is for our SEC opponents? I'd think fairly common in this new age of the transfer portal. Do you have any insight on how experienced/inexperienced some of the front lines of our swing game opponents like A&M, SCar, and Oklahoma are expected to be?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýWith the exception of Josiah Trotter, yes, all of Mizzou's front six are juniors or seniors. For the Tigers' SEC opponents, using the Lindy's projected depth charts since that's simple and I have it handy... Alabama 5/6 are upperclassmen, Arkansas 5/6, Auburn 4/6, Mississippi State 4/6, Oklahoma 5/6, South Carolina 4/6, Texas A&M 6/6, Vanderbilt 6/6. 

So actually fairly common and in line with most other SEC schools, which makes sense: The SEC is not a league where you see many first-, second- and even third-year guys starting up front.

Also, this isn't really at you, but it's fascinating to me that we all still say front seven when it's really front sixes across the board. Yet writing that, much less saying it, feels weird. Plus, so many teams rotate across their front lines, so it's really more of a front 11 or 12 for most programs. But I digress.

Sec. 125, Row 9, Seats 1-2: Have you heard anything about Blake Baker's position this season at LSU? In other words, is he on the hot seat given his group's lack of effectiveness last season? I've often wondered if indeed the grass is always greener.....Also, have you heard how Barry Odom is doing at Purdue? I can see him as the sort of guy to get things solidly back on track there and I wonder if his style of football sans Josh Heupel isnt more suited to the B1G? Honestly I am glad we brought in Drink, but I think B.O. with the right offensive coordinator might have turned things around here.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýI don't think Baker himself is on the hot seat at LSU, given that he's only going into Year 2 and there was a big injury to Harold Perkins in Year 1, but that doesn't mean his job is all that secure given the Brian Kelly situation. If Kelly is fired, it's hard to imagine the coordinators aren't gone too. So in that sense, the grass may or not be greener, but it's more likely to be pulled out from under him than it was here. 

I happen to be keeping an eye on Odom at Purdue since my younger sister is a student there. She says people are quite fired up about it, and she's sent me pictures of shirts for him there and some of the quotes that have made the rounds. Basketball is always going to be No. 1 in West Lafayette, but I caught a football game there during an MU bye week last fall and had a great time. It's a good fan base that has put up with some bad, bad football. I could see Odom putting together the type of hard-nosed program that does well in the Big Ten and can catch a powerhouse sleeping every now and then. Getting to the middle of the pack in that league seems doable, long-term, for him.

²Ñ±ð:ÌýDo you think the Tigers may not have enough talent on offense to win at least 9 games?

Hoff: I guess? My prediction is 8-4. The Vegas win total line has dipped to 6.5 in some places. I think Mizzou has a defense that could be top 5 in the SEC, so I suppose that means it's offensive talent that has me (and the sportsbooks, and the national media) lower than a nine-win showing. The more accurate phrasing of this question is whether they may have enough to win nine games. And while it's possible they do, it's dependent on getting SEC average QB play, finding five offensive linemen who are not liabilities and Ahmad Hardy playing close to the level of his hype train. Getting to nine wins would be a great season.

²Ñ¾±³ú³ú´Ç³Ü/±ô¾±²Ô³¦´Ç±ô²Ô:ÌýBeing a Mizzou fan living in Lincoln Ne. I wonder if Mizzou is a little worried about the inroads Nebraska is making recruiting wise in Kansas City since they got Naweri from Mizzou and also a Mozee kid from there?

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýMaybe? Except Nwaneri was out of the transfer portal and running back Isaiah Mozee committed to the Huskers after they hired his dad (the former coach at Lee's Summit North, where Nwaneri played) as an assistant coach. That's kind of a unique case. 

And the truth is I don't know how much recruiting incursions into various states matter. As we talked about in these chats a bit this offseason, high school recruiting has never meant less. It'll mean less next year than it does this year. Sure, it sounds great when a school "locks down its borders" to get in-state talent. And it feels great as a fan when your school pulls somebody from the next state over. But portal adds are inherently so much more important than any high school commitment can be, and geography really doesn't matter much at all in the portal. Mizzou just wants to get 15-17 decent high school kids in a class. If they're from Kansas City, great, but they'll take them from Cocoa, Florida, too. And then the guys they miss on they'll call again two years later when they're in the portal as redshirt freshmen and try again.

²Ñ±«³Ò°¿³¢¶Ù:ÌýI often read this chat and see all of these armchair prognosticators foreseeing nothing but gloom and doom for this season. Without seeing one pass, one dash by our tailback, or one play from our defense, it is going to be a horrible season and maybe being a 6-6 season. I think we should let the games be played and save our critiques for the real season. One more thing, Having 2 quarterbacks that can lead this squad is a plus. If one fails we may have the best back-up in the league - that is not a bad thing.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýIt goes both ways because we're all armchair prognosticators. Even the coaches who actually see practices and watch film. Nobody — literally nobody — knows how the season is going to go until it's over. That's why we watch sports. You can make a case for Mizzou to go 6-6. You can make a case for Mizzou to go 10-2. I've made the case for 8-4. Pick a number between zero wins and 12 and you can retrofit a game-by-game argument to it. It's the fun and the frustration of the preseason. 

You're absolutely right that having two playable quarterbacks is a great thing. Mizzou coaches have said as much, and I don't think anybody's disagreeing with them. Last season was a great indicator of why that matters. MU's backup lost one game (that in fairness to him was unlikely to ever be a win) and played well enough to win another. That mattered. It could again this time around. But you know what matters more than how good your backup quarterback is? How good of a starter you have, which is why the QB situation will remain a point of emphasis until that starter emerges.

³¢²¹°ù°ù²â²Ñ:ÌýIf Drink plays both QBs in the opener, do you think there is any chance he will alternate series during first half to give each QB a turn with the #1 unit.

±á´Ç´Ú´Ú:ÌýHe's going to play both, what's just unclear at this point is how he'll structure that. As I outlined earlier, I think it has to be splitting by half or alternating drives. There are pros and cons to each. Like you mention, one of the pros of going series by series is letting them both work with the 1s. The con, and reason why I could see Mizzou going with first half/second half, is that a series approach doesn't give Horn/Pribula the chance to respond to a bad drive with corrections or display as much consistency. We'll see what Drinkwitz says about it Saturday and I'll certainly write about it then.

And on that note, we'll call it a chat. Thanks for the questions today, and enjoy the final countdown to gameday. Almost there...

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And with an injection of depth, particularly on defense, quite a few will play in a significant capacity this season.

“We feel very confident in the plan we’ve got,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “There’s some positions that three or four people are going to take (snaps).�

That plan is now about as solid as it can be coming out of camp. Sure, roles will change with the ebbs and flows of performances and injuries, but the Mizzou depth chart has now come together.

With the Tigers’ depth and plan to rotate at several positions, it’s not a linear two-deep.

“I don’t think we’re settling in on 22 total players,� Drinkwitz said.

The actual number is upwards of 50 or more.

After watching limited portions of most preseason camp practices, interviewing nearly all of MU’s assistant coaches and multiple news conferences with Drinkwitz, the Post-Dispatch is ready to project the Missouri depth chart ahead of the 2025 college football season.

Consider this a position-by-position guide to who’s likely to play (and how much) this fall, with a couple of asterisks.

First, this is wholly unofficial and based on observations and conversations. Things change as the season goes. Second, this is a projection, not an argument for or against any particular player.

Now for the intel.

Quarterback

Starter: Beau Pribula, graduate student

µþ²¹³¦°ì³Ü±è:ÌýSam Horn, redshirt junior

Remember, this is a projection, so don't get too caught up here on that order: Both Pribula and Horn are going to play in the season opener in what ought to be the final stage of the quarterback battle. The team's Week 1 depth chart will almost certainly list an "or" between their names. That's rather unsurprising given how close the competition has been.

Still, Pribula continues to look more likely to win the job. It's not locked in, and maybe a stellar showing from Horn during the opener flips things in his favor. Pribula's mobility and feel for the offense seem more aligned with what Missouri likes out of its signal-callers, hence an edge for him. If he does in fact take the first snap next Thursday, that becomes even more telling.

Regardless of who the winner is, MU feels very good about its depth should the starter struggle or get hurt this season. Not every Southeastern Conference team believes it has two quarterbacks capable of winning games, but Mizzou does. Maybe that'll be tested this year. Maybe it won't. 

True freshman Matt Zollers is the third option at quarterback. Drinkwitz briefly suggested Zollers could push for the starting job this season, but that never panned out in a serious capacity.

Running back

Starter: Ahmad Hardy, sophomore

Backups: Jamal Roberts, redshirt sophomore; Marquise Davis, freshman

The word is out about Hardy, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe for whom excitement has continued to build this offseason. He posted 1,350 rushing yards — 1,000 of which came after contact — there last season as a true freshman, which is quite a bit of production already. Hardy is already very familiar with the inside and outside zone runs that are staples of the Mizzou offense, but there’s always a question of how he’ll adjust from the Sun Belt to the Southeastern Conference. Still, given his production and talent, Hardy is shaping up to be a workhorse running back for the Tigers.

Roberts, a St. Mary’s product, is heading into his third season after carving out a role on third downs last season. He’s a solid receiving option in those situations, but his biggest strength is helping block for the quarterback. Roberts tied for the fifth-most pass-block snaps among SEC running backs last season, which shows how often MU turned to this rather niche ability for a tailback. He’s received praise for his understanding of the offense and where pressure could come from, which has helped him stand out in blitz pick-up situations. Hardy seems to have come in ahead of Roberts, but the latter will still have a role.

Davis has had a difficult-to-read fall camp. His physique and down-hill running style look distinctly un-freshman, but the true frosh was made to wear No. 77 instead of his chosen No. 7 during practice because coaches didn’t think he was running hard enough. If any freshman tailback is built to hold up all right in the SEC, it’s Davis, and Mizzou is likely to give him some in-game opportunities to better evaluate what he has to offer.

Outside wide receivers

Starters: Joshua Manning, junior; Marquis Johnson, junior

Backups: Donovan Olugbode, freshman; Xavier Loyd, graduate student

Manning and Johnson have stuck around in a deep wide receiver room, waiting for their turn to become primary targets. That time is now. Manning, at 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds, looks like the next big-bodied wideout. Johnson’s speed is well-established, and his Music City Bowl showing at the tail-end of the 2024 season (seven catches, 122 yards, one touchdown) suggests he can handle more volume than just the occasional go route. Because they’ve been buried by the likes of Theo Wease Jr. and Mookie Cooper in the past, Manning and Johnson are relatively unproven, but the developmental prowess of wideouts coach Jacob Peeler suggests he’ll have them ready.

Olugbode has the hands and frame (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) to contribute fairly immediately as a true freshman. The four-star who played his high school football at national preps powerhouse IMG Academy has been one of the most impressive freshmen during camp. How much of a role that leads to probably depends on what he does with any opportunities that come during favorable nonconference matchups. Loyd, who started his career at Kansas State and transferred over from Illinois State, is an experienced and stable rotational option.

Slot wide receiver

Starter: Kevin Coleman Jr., senior

Backups: Daniel Blood, junior; Shaun Terry II, freshman

Coleman established himself as one of the SEC’s best wideouts on a shaky Mississippi State team last season, and the St. Mary’s product is back in his home state with a good chance at becoming Missouri’s leading receiver. Mizzou’s final scrimmage of fall camp suggested plenty of passing volume will go to the slot, which positions Coleman to be a key player.

Blood, entering his third season, has had an up-and-down preseason. Coaches like his potential but have wanted to see more consistency. Still, he could wind up being fourth in the overall wide receiver hierarchy. Terry’s athleticism is evident, but as a true freshman behind two more experienced options has an uphill battle to a significant number of targets.

Tight end

Starter: Brett Norfleet, junior

Backups: Jordon Harris, junior; Vince Brown II, redshirt senior

Mizzou and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore want to bring tight ends into the passing game more, but that’s largely contingent on Norfleet saying healthy. Take that as an indicator of how much upside he has and how much injuries affected his first two seasons of college football. He’s the clear top option in this room.

There will be times when the Tigers, like any team, bring multiple tight ends onto the field. Harris is a solid blocker but has yet to emerge as a receiving option, with just five catches in 24 career appearances. Brown, who transferred in after two seasons at Colorado State, has more receiving ability. There’s a chance that versatility increases his role. Speaking of versatility: redshirt freshman Jude James, a Francis Howell product, has once again put together a strong preseason and could play an H-back-type position, but that was the case year and led to only 22 snaps for him.

Left tackle

Starter: Cayden Green, junior

Backup: Jayven Richardson, redshirt junior

Besides quarterback, left tackle was the last puzzle piece to snap into place during camp. Green, a preseason All-American at left guard, will now bump outside. There’s still a high degree of confidence in what he can do at tackle, given that he’s the Tigers’ best offensive lineman, and he played out there during one game at Oklahoma. It will still be a transition for Green, but he’s well-positioned to make it happen.

Richardson struggled to secure the starting job for a second year in a row. He spent most of the preseason repping as the first-team left tackle before a shake-up last week brought Green over and in front of him. Given the importance of the left tackle spot, Mizzou opted to go with its star lineman over the one-time junior college transfer.

Left guard

Starter: Dominick Giudice, graduate student

Backup: Jaylen Early, redshirt senior

Michigan transfer Giudice can play anywhere on the interior: center or either guard spot. He spent most of camp at right guard but switched over to left guard amid the late-camp O-line shift. He’s the least experienced at left guard of the three interior positions, but that’s not expected to be a problem for the veteran who’s been dubbed the “glue� of MU’s offensive line.

Early, who transferred from Florida State, has played both guard and tackle and on both sides of the line. He initially came in as a contender for the left tackle spot but coaches relatively quickly decided he’d be best suited for the interior. Still, Early has not looked like a serious first-team option during camp.

Center

Starter: Connor Tollison, graduate student

Backup: Tristan Wilson, redshirt junior

Tollison is coming back from a November ACL tear that ended his 2024 season prematurely. He’s been limited or held out of some live periods during fall camp but remains on track to start the opener. Tollison is one of the best run-blocking centers in the country and has vastly improved after correcting some of the snapping issues that appeared earlier in his career.

Wilson has progressed from giving center a try to becoming the No. 2 option there should Tollison ever miss time. There could be value to Missouri giving him some in-game work at center early on this season to test his readiness. If needed, Giudice could also play center, which is where he spent most of his time at Michigan. True freshman Henry Fenuku has also snapped during the preseason and would be the fourth option.

Right guard

Starter: Curtis Peagler, redshirt junior

Backup: Logan Reichert, redshirt sophomore

As Drinkwitz tells it, it was Peagler’s emergence as a startable option at right guard that triggered three changes to the offensive line during camp. At 6-foot-4 and 338 pounds, Peagler is the second-biggest lineman on the Mizzou roster. He’s inexperienced, with just 36 career snaps, but MU is fully planning to start Peagler at right guard.

Reichert has yet to really push for a starting spot has he heads into his third season but has been the second-team right guard in recent practices. If Peagler were no longer an option at right guard, though, there’s a chance MU would roll with Wilson at right guard over Reichert — or un-shift the line and bring Giudice back to the right side.

Right tackle

Starter: Keagen Trost, graduate student

Backup: Johnny Williams IV, redshirt sophomore

Trost transferred in from Wake Forest and won the right tackle job promptly during spring practice. As would be expected of a seventh-year player, Trost showed the kind of consistency the Tigers wanted in a replacement for first-round NFL draft pick Armand Membou. Coaches feel Trost’s physicality and athleticism didn’t fully appear with a poor Wake Forest team, which also factored into their confidence in him.

Williams spent most of camp in the left tackle battle but never clawed ahead of Richardson and instead has been repping as the second-team right tackle. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining, so his arrival from West Virginia looks to be more of a long-term play for both Williams and Missouri. Either Williams or Richardson are most likely to be the Tigers’ “swing tackle� in any six-linemen alignments.

Defensive end

Starters: Zion Young, senior (field); Damon Wilson II, junior (boundary)

Rotation pieces: Nate Johnson, junior (field); Darris Smith, redshirt junior (boundary)

Backups: Langden Kitchen, junior (field); Javion Hilson, freshman (boundary)

Mizzou categorizes its edge rushers by whether they’re going to attack from the field (wider) or boundary (narrower) side of the field. Young is back as the primary field end having taken over that role after transferring in from Michigan State before the 2024 season. Wilson, recognized as one of the best players available in the portal this cycle, is in from Georgia and should start immediately.

To consistently keep fresh players on the field — and particularly with the depth available at defensive end — Mizzou will rotate. Defensive ends coach Brian Early has said he’s essentially looking for four starters. Johnson, an App State transfer, will be part of the second wave. So will be Smith, who missed all of the 2024 season after tearing his ACL during fall camp. Together, they bring a degree of versatility into play: Both can play the field and boundary spots. If Mizzou wants to get crafty on third downs, their switchability could come into play.

Depth options could still see playing time, especially in some situational roles. That’s where Kitchen, a transfer from Northwest Missouri State, and true freshmen Javion Hilson and Daeden Hopkins enter the fold. It takes a lot for a freshman to play right off the bat, but Hilson looks like he stands a chance. The talent ahead of him is the biggest hurdle.

Defensive tackle

Starters: Chris McClellan, senior; Marquis Gracial, redshirt junior

Rotation pieces: Sterling Webb, senior; Bralen Henderson, graduate student

Backups: Jalen Marshall, redshirt junior; Sam Williams, redshirt sophomore

McClellan is the clear leader of this group and likely to play the most snaps among a rotating group of defensive tackles. A step forward from him would give Missouri an increased degree of production from a position group that has trended quiet in recent seasons.

While he’ll still rotate in and out, there’s more flux behind him. Gracial has been alongside McClellan with the first-team defense recently, which suggests he’s breaking through into a regular role. Webb was third in the rotation last season and could track for the same spot. Henderson, a transfer from Ohio, moves well enough to crack the rotation too. Marshall and Williams have been consistently pushing for the last couple of seasons, but if there are only four D-tackles getting regular snaps, they’re most likely the odd ones out.

Linebackers

Starters: Josiah Trotter, redshirt sophomore (middle); Triston Newson, graduate (outside)

Rotation pieces: Khalil Jacobs, senior; Nick Rodriguez, sophomore

Backups: Jeremiah Beasley, sophomore; Brian Huff, redshirt freshman

Getting Newson back was a pleasant surprise for the Tigers, who thought he was out of eligibility after last season, but an NCAA waiver given to former junior college players granted him one more year. He’ll retain his starting role. Trotter, a freshman All-American at West Virginia, has the makings of an immediate starter after arriving via the transfer portal. He’s a hard-hitter with a high ceiling at middle linebacker.

Jacobs, healthy after tearing his right pectoral muscle midway through last season, might not be one of the first two linebackers on the field, but Mizzou will certainly find a role for him. He brings a degree of athleticism to the linebacker room that opens up different situations for him to be deployed in. Last season, that involved being the lone linebacker in some third-down sets.

Rodriguez, Beasley and Huff are all up-and-comers who’ve shown potential. There will likely be some special teams opportunities for them, but Rodriguez is the most likely to have a concrete role at linebacker.

STAR

Starter: Daylan Carnell, graduate student

Backups: Trajen Greco, sophomore; CJ Bass III, freshman

From last year’s depth chart projection: “Carnell has become synonymous with Missouri’s hybrid safety role, which blends secondary and linebacker responsibilities.� Still true this time around. Carnell’s been prone to chipping in defensive touchdowns. He’s listed at 225 pounds, up from 215 a year ago, and it shows in what could be an even harder-hitting campaign.

Greco missed the first week of camp with a muscle injury but worked his way back to normal participation as the preseason went. It’s not perfectly clear whether he’ll be a like-for-like replacement for Carnell when the safeties rotate. Bass isn’t especially likely to be an immediate contributor but has repped at STAR in the run-up to his freshman season.

Safeties

Starters: Jalen Catalon, graduate student; Marvin Burks Jr., junior

Rotational pieces: Santana Banner, redshirt sophomore; Caleb Flagg, senior

Backups: Mose Phillips III, junior; Jackson Hancock, redshirt freshman

Catalon, another seventh-year player, will step straight into a starting role after transferring in from UNLV. He’s been sound on the ball during the preseason and, alongside Pribula, was one of two transfers voted a team captain as a newcomer. Burks took on a starting role last season to mixed results but could improve greatly with more solid tackling and avoiding some of the coverage breakdowns that hurt the Tigers in 2024.

Banner, a transfer from Northern Illinois, is another big-bodied defensive back with the athleticism to make plays. Flagg has been one of MU’s more underrated transfer acquisitions, finding a role despite having started his career at Houston Christian. Phillips, a Virginia Tech transfer, could very well earn snaps too, but he has not been with the first- or second-team defense much during camp.

How Mizzou rotates at safety might not represent a traditional two-deep. If second-year defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s scheme looks like it did last year, there could be some situations in which the Tigers deploy three or four traditional safeties.

Cornerbacks

Starters: Drey Norwood, redshirt senior; Toriano Pride Jr., senior

Backups: Stephen Hall, redshirt senior; Nick Deloach Jr., redshirt sophomore

Norwood is back as the team’s top corner at a position where Missouri returns every snap from a year ago. Coaches hope he can take a step forward as an alpha cornerback capable of locking down opposing teams’ top targets. The second corner spot will be more about finding consistency. Pride and Deloach rotated there last year, with neither consistently holding the spot down. Pride is more likely to return to a starting capacity in 2025. If he doesn’t, or his performance slips, Hall put together a solid preseason and would be the next cornerback up.

Kicker

Starter: Blake Craig, redshirt sophomore

Backup: Robert Meyer, freshman

Craig’s first season as the Tigers’ kicker had its highs — twice converting from 56 yards — and its lows, like him going just 1-for-7 on field goal tries between 40-49 yards. That gave him a clear area of improvement heading into 2025 as the undisputed starter, but whether that’s taken place won’t be evident until at least a few games into the season.

Punter

Starter: Connor Weselman, graduate student

Backup: John Butcher, junior

Weselman hasn’t punted in a game since midway through the 2023 season, but MU coaches have conveyed confidence in the Stanford transfer who’s taking over in Columbia. He’ll need to improve some of his metrics from his time with the Cardinal to stack up with the middle of the SEC pack, though.

Punt returner

Starter: Kevin Coleman Jr., senior

Backups: Daniel Blood, junior; Shaun Terry II, freshman; Damarion Fowlkes, freshman

Midway through camp, Drinkwitz said Coleman would be the primary option when it comes to returning punts. There’s always the chance that the team doesn’t risk its top wide receiver in some of those situations, though, which is when others come into play. Blood would be the most experienced and returned punts last year. Terry, however, put some electric returns on tape as a high school player, so the Tigers may give him a look or two at this level. Last year, MU returned punts only eight times compared to 26 fair catches.

Kickoff returner

This group is harder to evaluate. Wideouts Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning combined for 22 of Missouri’s 24 returned kickoffs last season, and both are still around — but now as starters, they might not go deep on kickoffs to avoid some injury risk. Other options during camp have been Shaun Terry II, Damarion Fowlkes, Jamal Roberts, Brendon Haygood and Marvin Burks Jr.

Long snapper

Starter: Brett Le Blanc, junior

Backup: Henry Crosby, freshman

Make it this far? Nicely done. Le Blanc is back as the starting long snapper, this time wearing No. 51 instead of his previous No. 49.

“I informed the team this afternoon that both quarterbacks will play in the first game,� he said in a statement. “I want to see them in a game-day situation to make a final determination.�

The decision confirms how close the battle between the two signal-callers has been over the offseason, with coaches feeling a need to see both get some game action during Mizzou’s Aug. 28 matchup against Central Arkansas.

Pribula, who transferred in from Penn State over the offseason, is competing against Horn, a returner who also has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a pitcher.

Pribula has looked like the favorite given his rushing ability, pocket feel and slight edge in game experience. Horn isn’t without his own upside, though: His arm and own athleticism have kept him in the mix. Both were voted captains by their teammates last week.

In two seasons with the Nittany Lions, Pribula completed 37 of 56 passes, throwing for 424 yards and nine touchdowns. He also picked up 571 yards and 10 touchdowns on 94 rushing attempts.

Horn has completed 3 of 8 career passes, posting 54 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He missed the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery related to his baseball career.

Together, they emerged from spring practices as MU’s two best quarterback options, leading third contender Drew Pyne to transfer away to Bowling Green.

Since then, the battle has been tight.

“It’s remarkable how close it is,� Drinkwitz said Saturday, one week after saying there’d been no real separation between the two.

MU has alternated placing the competitors with the first-team offense, giving both chances to play with the 1s and the 2s.

Using the opener as part of the competition mirrors what Missouri did in 2023, when Brady Cook — the incumbent who retained his starting job — played the first half of a game against South Dakota and Horn played the second.

In that case, the quarterback who took the first snap and received far more in-game opportunities won the job.

This possibility has remained on the table since the start of fall camp last month, when Drinkwitz said, “if it’s undecided, then we’ll let it go into the games and play as long as we need to.�

Given the talent gap between Mizzou and a Football Championship Subdivision program like Central Arkansas, there’s little risk of the quarterback competition’s continuance having a costly in-game effect.

Could the QB battle linger beyond the opener? A Week 2 game against Kansas ought to be a much tougher test than Central Arkansas, which suggests an official starter may need to be named by then.

On Tuesday, Drinkwitz didn’t entertain the idea of playing with a two-quarterback system, like what Pribula played in at Penn State, that would specialize Horn as more of a passer and Pribula as more of a runner.

“Y’all are into hypotheticals now,� he said when the Post-Dispatch raised that possibility.

The Tigers concluded fall camp Tuesday and began game-week preparation for the opener on Wednesday.

Taking Drinkwitz at his word and assuming his comments aren’t an exercise in subterfuge, the lack of separation between and Penn State feels like it warrants seeing how both players lead the offense in a real game situation.

After all, Drinkwitz has repeatedly made his point that he’s not going to feel “pressed� to name a starter by the opener.

“I’m pressed on who is going to reveal themselves as the starting quarterback,� Drinkwitz said. “I think they’re both playing really well from a statistical standpoint — from a touchdown-to-interception ratio, from a completion percentage, from a third-down percentage. I broke it all down (Friday) on our off-day, and it’s remarkable how close it is.�

Sure, you might hear or read Central Arkansas, realize that’s a program from a small conference and assume Mizzou will run through them regardless of quarterback play.

So how is that really doing to delineate anything?

In a different matchup, perhaps it doesn’t help. However, neither Horn nor Pribula has a substantial track record in college games. So there is something to gain from tossing them both in that type of setting.

Combined, they’ve currently got zero starts and fewer than 40 completions in college games. Mizzou passers completed 30 passes in last year’s season opener alone.

I know the coaches create as many game-like situations and scenarios as possible in practices and scrimmages.

Oh, Allen Iverson. Your comments about practice never go out of style. If you don’t know, .

In all seriousness, mimicking game situations is absolutely what every coaching staff strives to do, and they should absolutely attempt to put players in settings as close to a game as feasible.

Well, by extending that thought process, it’s only logical that two quarterbacks with limited game experience should get exposed to an actual game environment. It only makes sense to see how they rise (or falter) in the moment.

How does taking their time with the QB decision line up with Drinkwitz’s stated theme of increased urgency for his team as it approaches the opener?

“If we feel like there’s no clear-cut decision, I’m not going to force a decision,� Drinkwitz said Saturday. “That means that they would both play in the first game, and we’ll evaluate those reps. I don’t feel the pressure like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to make a decision. We’ve got to move on and solidify it.’ That’s not the case with this football team.

“So this team is growing. All of us need urgency to raise our level, because we didn’t start fast enough today. So there’s got to be urgency when you show up to play, but that doesn’t mean I need urgency to make a decision and force the wrong thing to happen. Be quick but don’t hurry.�

There it was at the end, the John Wooden reference.

Drinkwitz also shared that he’s looking at intangibles as a means to elevate one quarterback over the other. He cited things like rallying the team, providing energy and leading in practice even when you’re not running the offense.

Both prospective starters were voted offensive captains, which makes you want to believe they’ve each got leadership qualities.

Which brings us back to the game as an tool to separate them.

If you’re looking to find out if a player provides that “juice� or “spark� or a “shot in the arm� for the offense, what better place to see that than in a game?

If you think about the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning (and Super Bowl MVP) quarterback Jalen Hurts and his rookie season in the NFL, the thing that earned him his chance to take over as the starter was that he showed that he could provide a spark in games.

Hurts wasn’t necessarily polished when he got his first extended playing time in 2020, but he provided an undeniable jolt to a struggling team. That didn’t mean it always looked pretty. It didn’t mean he played flawlessly. But the Eagles offense found a different rhythm with Hurts as a rookie.

They built upon that and gained confidence as a group — and gained confidence in Hurts. It started with him getting a chance to show how he propelled the offense in games.

If Mizzou — a “growing team,� according to Drinkwitz — wants to build toward its best version of itself, it probably needs to view the season opener as an extension of fall camp and use that game setting to gather crucial information about its quarterbacks.

What wisdom might Wooden, the incredibly successful and longtime legendary men’s college basketball at UCLA, apply to this situation?

There happens to be another famous quote attributed to Wooden that fits this situation nicely: “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?�

Evaluating both quarterbacks in the season opener against Central Arkansas would be taking the time to do it right.