7/21/2024 football Edit

5 Most important Mizzou players to the 2024 season

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

Missouri is about five weeks away from its season opener versus Murray State on Aug. 29. The Tigers are coming off an 11-2 campaign that saw them finish No. 8 in the AP poll after last defeating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

The Tigers face high expectations this year as many see them as a possible College Football Playoff contender.

If Mizzou wants to get there, here are five players it will need to stay healthy and perform at high levels.

P.S. This list isn't about the five best players on the roster but the ones whose roles may have the biggest impact due to their role on the team or where they fit on the depth chart.

Brady Cook

Without the quarterback, it's tough sledding for any team. Brady Cook is coming off his best season in 2023 with 3,317 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also had six rushing touchdowns.

Cook came into his own as a quarterback and developed into one of the better quarterbacks in the league. As the signal-caller, the team goes as far as he can take them. Last season, while healthy, he helped lead them to the Cotton Bowl.

Another healthy season with the plethora of weapons at his disposal and offensive Kirby Moore returning for a second season could mean Cook can take this team to higher heights.

Luther Burden III

This is an easy one. Luther Burden III is clear and away the team's best player. Without him, Mizzou loses the focal point of its offense even though the top six receivers outside of him from last year. The receivers and the rest of the offense are better when he is on the field. He draws a lot of attention.

He had six 100-yard receiving games last year and had 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns on 86 receptions en route to AP All-American honors.

He is one of the best players in the country and if he can build off of his 2023 campaign, it'll likely mean the Tigers are headed in the right direction.

Johnny Walker

Something the Mizzou top 40 defenses of the last two years have in common is both had at least one really good pass rusher. In 2022, Isaiah McGuire led the team in sacks with 7.5 sacks and last year, Darius Robinson led the team with 8.5.

Walker has the chance to lead the team in sacks this year. He had a really solid 2023 campaign that saw him record 43 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and three forced fumbles.

Getting to the quarterback and stopping the run is always going to be huge, especially in the SEC. Since Walker is the unquestioned DE1 and Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw are gone, the pass rush led by Walker, may need to be a little better to compensate for the losses.

Blake Craig

Harrison Mevis won the Tigers two games last year on game-winning field goals. He made over 84% of his field goals in his career and connected on 80% last season.

He's gone now. Enter Blake Craig, who has a big leg himself. But he's never played in a game.

Special teams is the forgotten phase of the game until it's not. Craig has to prove he's reliable and can convert when his number is called because it could be the difference between a win or a loss.

Drey Norwood

For the last two seasons, Missouri had one of the best cornerback duos, if not the best, in Abrams-Draine and
Rakestraw, both of whom were NFL draftees in April.

With them out of the picture, it's time for someone new to step up, and that person should be Drey Norwood.

Norwood has been the CB3 the last two seasons under them and he filled in well when Rakestraw missed time due to injury in 2023.

He had 20 tackles, three pass deflections and a fumble recovery in 12 games a year ago.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said during spring ball he believes Norwood is an All-SEC caliber player. That's to be determined

The team also brought in Toriano Pride from Clemson but he hasn't been at Mizzou the last two seasons — Norwood has.

It's not often a team gets to have two CB1s at the same time like Mizzou had the last couple of seasons, and Norwood doesn't have to play up to their level but he must play at least like a competent starter. Behind him and Pride is Marcus Clarke, who did well in limited reps last season, and then a host of younger players who have played little to no snaps in their careers.