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As tackle competitions wind down, Mizzou OL takes shape

A year ago, as Eli Drinkwitz tried to ready his Missouri team for his debut season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, just about nothing was certain. From a personnel standpoint, perhaps the biggest question mark came at offensive line.

The Tigers brought back just one player at the position, Case Cook, who had made more than a handful of starts in a Missouri uniform. Hyrin White, a projected starter, saw his season end before fall camp began due to a shoulder injury that necessitated surgery. Plus, the group would have to learn a new scheme under Drinkwitz and offensive line coach Marcus Johnson.

The offensive line managed to put together a solid season in 2020, all things considered. Drinkwitz rewarded Johnson with a promotion to associate head coach and a raise. A year later, Missouri enters Drinkwitz’s second campaign with its line on more solid footing. Still, there are questions that need to be answered — namely, who will start at the two tackle spots.

Drinkwitz hopes to get clarity on those two positions by the end of the week.

“We’re still at practice 10, we’ve got 15 more to go,” he said Monday. “Would like to kind of separate ourselves these next five practices. So whoever is going to be the guys, they’ve really got five more practices to make their move.”

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Hyrin White (50) and Connor Wood (66) are battling for the starting spot at right tackle.
Hyrin White (50) and Connor Wood (66) are battling for the starting spot at right tackle. (Cheyenne Thurman)

Through the first two weeks of camp, the coaching staff has made an effort to mix and match personnel up front. Drinkwitz noted that, because the Tigers brought back a lot of players with experience on the roster, there wasn’t as big a rush to set a starting five and let them get reps together.

Still, the top of the depth chart on the interior of the line appears pretty concrete. Cook, named a team captain Sunday for the second season in a row, will start at right guard for the third straight season, while Michael Maietti will return at center. Drinkwitz publicly lobbied for Maietti, who has started 45 college games between Missouri and Rutgers, to return for a fifth season, and he got his wish.

“Mike’s just steady in everything that he does, in the meetings, on the football field,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s just steady. Emotionally consistent. You know what you’re going to get day in and day out.”

The one interior spot that brought a bit of intrigue into camp, left guard, looks like it will go to Xavier Delgado. Delgado appeared in nine games last season, starting seven, but a nagging ankle injury slowed him during the latter half of the year. Luke Griffin performed solidly in his absence, but Delgado got the majority of the first-team reps during the team’s scrimmage on Thursday. He believes he’s in better shape both physically and mentally than a year ago.

“I definitely feel a lot of improvement in my game, definitely my football IQ,” Delgado said. “Did a lot of good work in the offseason, the summer. Tried to maintain weight, tried not to get over 330. I’ve been maintaining at 328. I feel a lot more mobile.”

The pecking order at the two tackle spots, meanwhile, remains undecided. The bookends of the line always figured to be an x-factor for Missouri’s offense this season; left tackle was a weakness for the Tigers a year ago, while the team has to replace Larry Borom, who left school early for the NFL Draft and was selected in the fifth round by the Chicago Bears, at right tackle.

Of the four players vying for starting spots at tackle, Javon Foster has drawn the most praise of late. Foster spent last season backing up Borom at right tackle, but during the offseason, he’s transitioned to the left side of the line. Foster tasted game action last year, starting in place of an injured Borom during Missouri’s win at South Carolina. Since last season, Drinkwitz said Foster “came back as a completely different player.”

“He’s definitely taken big strides this year with us, running with the ones,” Delgado said of Foster. “Just coming in every day, watching extra film with us. He’s just done everything right, he came into the offseason doing everything right, coming in, doing extra.”

Foster’s primary competition for the left tackle spot is Zeke Powell, who started eight games at the position a season ago despite arriving on campus from Coffeyville Community College less than two months prior to the start of the season. Drinkwitz said Powell “has been battling his butt off,” but he missed practice Sunday and Monday due to injury.

Xavier Delgado (72) and Javon Foster (76) are both in the running for starting spots on the left side of the Missouri offensive line.
Xavier Delgado (72) and Javon Foster (76) are both in the running for starting spots on the left side of the Missouri offensive line. (Liv Paggiarino)

Right tackle might feature the closest position battle on the Missouri roster. White is back to full health and contending with Montana State transfer Connor Wood for the starting spot there. The two split first-team reps during Thursday’s scrimmage.

Johnson said that White, who made two starts in 2019, has looked more comfortable since transitioning to the right side of the line.

“I think when we first got here and I had him out at the left tackle spot, I don’t know if he ever felt comfortable,” Johnson said prior to the start of camp. “Even just watching him go through spring, I saw a difference in him going through spring this year versus last year. But I haven’t seen him live and in person during a game setting. I’m fired up. I think he’s done well, he’s worked his butt off this summer and I think it will translate onto the field, so I’m looking forward to Hyrin having a big year this year.”

Wood started 24 games in two seasons at the FCS level, and he has apparently adjusted quickly to Missouri. His previous college experience came at tackle, but Wood has also been working at guard during camp.

“He’s been really flexible, cross-training, playing different spots,” Cook said of Wood. “Not skipping a beat in the playbook. He’s a guy that really cares and dives into the playbook, wants to be better, wants to contribute to this team, and he’s a solid player, from what we’ve seen in camp so far.”

If all goes according to plan, Missouri won’t have to wait long to find out who will man the five starting spots on its offensive line this season. But regardless of who makes up the first team, Cook expects the group to take another step forward this season. A more stable offseason has helped, but perhaps more important, the Tigers should have more depth up front. That was an issue a season ago; when Borom and Delgado left the starting lineup due to injuries, the offensive line struggled.

As a whole, Cook said the offensive line has practiced as well as any unit he’s seen during his four previous fall camps at Missouri.

“Honestly, as a whole, as a group of five, whatever group we roll out there, we’re playing good football,” he said. “… We’re playing with effort, playing hard, playing clean football, which is almost crazy to say. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like that from a group in camp. So I’m excited to keep pushing through camp and get close to the season and see what we can do in a live game setting.”


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