Mizzou football newcomers to know

Since Missouri hired Eliah Drinkwitz as head coach in December, Drinkwitz has sought to re-brand the football program as the “New Zou.” The hashtag provides a fitting description of what we can expect on the field during Drinkwitz’s debut season — whenever that may come. There will be a lot of new for Missouri: a new offensive system with a completely new staff, a new starting quarterback and a new feel to college football as schools attempt to maneuver the coronavirus pandemic.

As is the case every season, there will also be new players who play important roles. We break down the seven (actually eight) new offseason additions to Missouri’s roster who could loom large in determining the Tigers’ success in 2020.

During one of his first public speaking appearances after taking over at Missouri, Drinkwitz said the staff needed to add “touchdown-makers” to the roster. Hazelton, a graduate transfer wide receiver from Virginia Tech, certainly fits that bill. Hazelton led the Hokies with eight receiving touchdowns each of the past two seasons. Meanwhile, the entire Missouri receiving corps combined to catch just six scores in 2019 — and four of those came from Jonathan Nance, who has since graduated. If Hazelton is able to serve as the same consistent, big-play threat for Missouri as he was at Virginia Tech, things should open up for the entire offense.

Aside from the quarterback spot, perhaps the biggest question mark on Missouri’s roster comes on the offensive line. Not only did the Tigers struggle up front during the second half of last season, they lost three multi-year starters to either the NFL Draft or graduation. Of the team’s returning linemen, only four have ever recorded a college start, and just two (Case Cook and Larry Borom) have started more than three games. Clearly, experience is at a premium for Missouri, and Maietti, a graduate transfer from Rutgers, should provide that. Maietti started 33 games over the past three seasons for the Scarlet Knights. He’s expected to man the center position vacated by Trystan Colon-Castillo. The Tigers will hope Maietti can anchor an offensive line that improves from a season ago.

Chism is yet another graduate transfer brought in by Drinkwitz and his staff, but he took a bit of a different path to Missouri than Hazelton and Maietti. Chism spent his first three seasons at Division-II Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas. He led the Rams in receiving each of the past two seasons, logging 1,837 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over that span. It remains to be seen how he will adapt to facing SEC defensive backs, but at the very least, the 6-foot-4 Chism should provide a big target. As mentioned above, Missouri needs playmakers at the receiver positions, and given that the staff used one of its 81 scholarships on Chism, it stands to reason they expect him to be just that.

Missouri brings back quite a bit more production on the defensive side of the ball than on offense, but one area in which the Tigers have struggled in recent seasons is pressuring opposing quarterbacks. Last season, Missouri tied for 106th nationally with 19 sacks. The staff will hope that Key, an Australia native who joined Missouri by way of East Los Angeles junior college, can provide a boost in that regard. Key is an intriguing prospect — he possesses the physical tools of a strong pass-rusher, but he’s only played three years of American rules football, so it might take a little time for him to get comfortable in Missouri’s scheme. Plus, he mostly lined up at defensive tackle in junior college, but if he’s going to make an impact at 2020, he’ll likely do so at defensive end. The Tigers got just four total sacks from edge rushers during the 2019 campaign. It’s no guarantee that Key can make an impact during his first season in Columbia, but if he is able to fill Missouri’s pass-rushing void, it would be huge for the entire defense.

After the graduation of Tucker McCann, both punting and place-kicking duties are up for grabs. The question at this point is whether McKinniss will fill both roles or new special teams coordinator Erik Link opts to divide those duties between two players. McKinniss, a graduate transfer from Kentucky who joined the Tiger roster two weeks ago, is almost certainly going to handle both punts and kickoffs. McKinniss served as the Wildcats’ starting punter as a true freshman in 2016 before being supplanted by All-American Max Duffy, and he served as a kickoff specialist the past two seasons. However, he never attempted a field goal or extra point while with Kentucky, so it would appear the place-kicking job will go to someone else. If that’s the case, Mevis figures to be the front-runner. The Under Armour All-American received a scholarship as part of the 2020 signing class. Missouri fans who watched the 2018 season don’t need to be reminded how pivotal the kicking game can be.

Expectations are high for the cornerback who sent Drinkwitz into a viral, screaming celebration when he picked Missouri over Alabama and Texas on National Signing Day — perhaps a little bit unfairly high. Still, after DeMarkus Acy graduated and Christian Holmes transferred to Oklahoma State, Missouri is going to need a couple cornerbacks to step up in 2020, and Rakestraw will certainly be in the mix for regular playing time. We envision him as a candidate to see the field when the Tigers bring on extra defensive backs in nickel and dime packages.

Barring injury, the majority of Missouri’s carries will almost certainly go to senior Larry Rountree III and junior Tyler Badie. However, you need more than two running backs to get through the season in the SEC, and Young has the type of explosive skillset that could earn him situational playing time. Young put up gaudy numbers during his senior year at South Doyle high school, rushing for 2,170 yards and 39 touchdowns. That earned him Gatorade Player of the Year honors in the state of Tennessee. He’s comfortable catching the ball as well — several Power Five schools recruited him more as a slot receiver than a running back — and he could contend for the kickoff return spot after averaging 28 yards per return in high school. Young also enrolled at Missouri in January, and even though spring practices got cut short, he should have gotten a jump start on learning the playbook. Albeit under a different staff, Missouri hasn’t been shy about utilizing true freshman running backs in recent years, and Young could be next in that line.