I’m going to start to run through the Mizzou football schedule week by week to take a look at some of the biggest changes from the team’s between last year and this year.
We’re getting started with the Thursday matchup that will kick off the season, Central Arkansas.
Biggest Losses
Will McElvain
You have to start with the guy who ran the offense the past three years with quarterback McElvain.
The six-year college quarterback has gone pro, so Central Arkansas will have a new man under center. McElvain powered the Central Arkansas offense with 2,094 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
That means the likely starter is either Austin Myers (Jr.), who was 9-of-15 for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception last season, or Caleb Koger (Soph.) who was 39-of-72 for 489 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions last year.
ShunDerrick Powell
Along with McElvain, the leader in the Central Arkansas backfield has exited as well as Powell is now on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Powell had 1,343 rushing yards last season to go with 14 touchdowns, both leading the team. The team’s second back, Darius Hale, is also gone after amassing 763 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
David Walker
The Bears amassed 33 sacks last season, 10.5 of them came from Walker who is now on roster with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Walker was also fifth on the team with 69 total tackles and led the team by far with 23 tackles for loss out of the team’s 82.
There’s going to be a very different look to the Bears’ pass rush next season.
Biggest Additions
The Bears brought in 38 players.
Gary Lewis
With the exit of Walker, the Bears had to find some new pass rushers and they added a three-year guy from Henderson State with Lewis. In his three seasons, Lewis has 118 tackles with 31.5 for loss and 16 sacks, along with four forced fumbles.
Lewis should jump in and produce for the Bears.
Kam Bibby
Coming from the University of Arkansas, Bibby did not play in his first two years in Fayetteville, then appeared in one game last season.
He was a walk-on coming in in 2022 after posting 40 catches for 1,088 yards and 10 touchdowns his senior year of high school.
Chapman McKown
The Bears also added a running back from Oklahoma in McKown.
He did not play in two seasons with the Sooners, but amassed 1,103 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior in high school and was the Oklahoma 6A-1 All-District RB of the Year.
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