Alright, let's get back to Ask the Editor with this week's questions that took a little more looking into.

If you'd like to ask a question for next week, head to the question thread here.

MIZ25! Asks: “Any idea where Drink may turn to replace DJ Smith?”

Kyle: As far as the co-defensive coordinator role, the Tigers gave that to Smith as a way to help increase his pay and keep him around longer, I think if they want to maintain that thought process, Al Davis is a good candidate to get the upgrade.

When it comes to the linebackers coach, Chris Ball is already an assistant/linebackers coach, I think the Tigers might just stay internal because of the success of the linebacker group under Smith. Ball would be able to continue that momentum. At this point, I haven’t heard much about external candidates. Everyone has been pretty quiet since the bowl game.

But just for fun ...

Ol Roscoe asks: “How does the staff conduct player evaluations for recruitment? The reason I ask is it appears the evaluation of portal prospects is better than how they evaluate high school kids. The portal players are rarely a miss, the high schoolers are often a miss. Any insight would be appreciated. Are they the same folks, or is portal and high school evaluation separate?”

Kyle: I’ll turn to Kenny here for a little more info on the recruiting process, but my insight on the scouting process is I look at it similarly to comparing an NFL rookie to signing a free agent. One looks like they could have talent if developed correctly, the other already has proven talent and you know how they handle an NFL workload.

It’s just a different situation because you can never be 100 percent sure how a high schooler will transition to college life, a college schedule, the workload of college football, bigger/faster/stronger competition. With the portal guys, you already know all of that to some level.

Kenny: Missouri has a scouting department with Jared Russell as the head of it. He’ll hand out offers at times, more on the preferred walk-on level recently, but he and his team also handle evaluations of high school recruits. There’s also the player development department led by Ryan Trichel, and his name, along with a few other staffers like Christian Heinz, will pop up on offer posts as usually additional points of contact for recruits. Drinkwitz credited Trichel’s team during the Early Signing Period for its work on finding the best talent for the program. But on the transfer portal front, evaluations are usually led by position coaches and coordinators, and Santana Banner backed that up. Banner talked about how defensive coordinator Corey Batoon personally reviewed his film when he started talking to him. That stems from these coaches watching college athletes every day and the knowledge around their respective position. It also helps from a relationship standpoint to take this approach in the recruiting process being more abbreviated. Position coaches will still conduct their own evaluations of high schoolers, but there’s also a lot of moving parts in the scouting and player development departments to find the recruits the program wants to target. To the point of missing on high schoolers and hitting on transfers, coaches are looking at projectability with high schoolers rather than current production with transfers.

MIZ…SEC asks: Do you think that in addition to McClellan, the plan is to go with Gracial and Marshall at DT next season? Or do you expect we’ll still see one or two DT’s signed from the portal?

Kyle: Again, I’ll turn to Kenny for more info. But as far as I’ve heard, there hasn’t been a lot of movement looking for a DT. Some offers got thrown out, but I haven’t heard about much advancement in that process. There’s still some time with the remaining CFP teams and there’s the whole spring window, so some movement is still possible, but I think the Tiger staff likes what they have at that spot.

Kenny: It’s a position that requires so much development that Missouri should either feel confident about Gracial or Marshall or turn to the portal again for a stop gap. Al Davis’ unit has been built on transfers ever since he took over as the position coach, and Gracial and Marshall, albeit didn’t have many opportunities until 2024, are entering their fourth seasons in the program. It’s surprising the Tigers haven’t been linked to any current transfer defensive tackles, and last season, when the Tigers looked to pair Kristian Williams with a transfer, it behooved the program to do that since Gracial and Marshall hadn’t come along as far in development. Maybe Missouri turns to a veteran in the second transfer window, but as of right now, I haven’t seen or read about any defensive tackles on the team’s radar.

Ol Roscoe asks: “Any idea what is holding Tavorus Jones back? I loved his high school tape and every time I see him in action, he looks good. Is it ball security, pass protection, blocking, or reluctance to “hit the hole?” Obviously there is something the coaches don’t like about him. He sure looks good catching the ball.”

Kyle: I’ve heard a couple of times that he has some issues with pass protection, which the Tiger staff really values. But otherwise I’m not really sure.

I expect that’s pretty much why Jamal Roberts surpassed him on this year’s depth chart. Roberts is a fantastic pass blocker, but Jones is a more dynamic runner.

We’ll see if he’s able to develop that ability more through spring camp. I'll keep an eye on it specifically, because I would like to see him with the ball in his hands some next year.

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