Missouri Spring Football Position Preview: Wide receivers
After producing its best season in nine years and a win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, Missouri's beeline toward a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoffs begins in the next week and a half or so with spring practice around the corner.
Until then, we will preview the 2024 roster by doing position-by-position previews. Next, we will look at the quarterbacks.
The starter: Well, the Tigers' top three receivers from a year ago, Luther Burden III, Theo Wease and Mookie Cooper, have all elected to come back. So, there's no doubt on how the starting lineup will look.
All three receivers had career seasons.
Burden recorded 86 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns, Wease racked up 49 receptions, 682 yards and six touchdowns and Cooper had 36 receptions for 447 yards.
These three will headline arguably the deepest position on the team.
The backups: Mekhi Miller is one of the team's most trusted options, especially on third down. Injuries limited him to 11 games but he still racked up 11 receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown.
Speedy Johnson emerged as a deep threat and butned his redshirt due to his blazing speed.
He racked up 13 receptions for 383 yards (29.5 yards per catch) and three touchdowns. Johnson also had the offense's best offensive PFF College grade at 89.7.
After that, Joshua Manning and Daniel Blood are up on the depth chart and both of them burned their redshirts last year as well. At the end of the regular season, offensive coordinator Kirby Moore said he wanted to find a way to get the pair involved more offensively going forward.
Obviously, having the top five receivers return limits that to a degree but with a strong outing in spring practice they can compete to maybe get some of those fourth-string reps.
Four-star signees James Madison and Courtney Crutchfield won't join the team until the summer, but for at least the last two years at least one true freshman has found his way into the rotation. In 2022, it was Burden and Miller. Last year, it was Johnson. So, if they make noise during fall camp maybe there’s a spot in the rotation for me.
Storyline to watch for: Wease and Cooper are out of eligibility after this upcoming season and Burden is likely a first-round pick. So, the battle in spring practice and fall camp will be more about who is up next for starting roles in 2025.
PowerMizzou's prediction: Burden, Wease and Cooper will be the starters. Miller will still occupy a spot as a reliable third-down option, while Johnson maintains his role as a deep threat but gets more than the 102 snaps he got last year.
Blood and Manning are talented though, so they’ll get their chance to get some run with the first and second-teamers. If for anything else, to spell the starters in an effort to make sure they don’t get hurt overextending themselves in spring ball.
Other previews
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