The offseason is just about over as Missouri finished up fall camp a few days ago and will begin its official game week preparation this weekend for its Aug. 29 season-opener versus Murray State.
The Tigers return eight starters on offense, not to mention, their entire offensive coaching staff. So, it won't be too hard figuring out who the players at the top of the depth chart are because of the continuity, but there are still some two deep openings to figure out.
Let's try and predict who will fill those openings.
Quarterback
Starter: Brady Cook
Backup: Drew Pyne
The typical starting quarterback position battle that the Tigers have been accustomed to over recent years was not present this year. Brady Cook solidified his place last as the starter this year by his play last year. The bigger question this offseason was who would back him up this year.
Sam Horn's Tommy John surgery earlier in the year paved the wave for someone like Drew Pyne to compete for the spot.
Except, there was no real competition for the QB2 spot. Pyne handily won the QB2 job after the first week of fall camp and seems to be well-liked by head coach Eli Drinkwitz and his teammates.
This is a two-fold move. He's a serviceable backup this year and will compete for the starting gig next year when Cook leaves.
Running back
Starter: Nate Noel
Backup: Marcus Carroll
This was one of the big position battles on the team throughout most of the calendar year with Marcus Carroll coming over from Georgia State after recording the 10th-most rushing yards in the FBS last year with 1,350. Nate Noel had 834 yards and five touchdowns for Appalachian State in 2023. His speed and ability to be a receiving threat out of the backfield was all the buzz heading out of spring ball.
He kept the momentum going through fall camp and by the time the team finished the second week of camp Drinkwitz had all but named him the starter.
This battle seemed to be more about how well Noel was doing more than what Carroll was not doing. By all accounts, he had a good camp, too. Noel just fits what they want to do a little better.
Carroll should still see plenty of game action, and if a 1,300-yard rusher is their RB2 then they've done something right.
Wide receiver
Starter: Luther Burden, Theo Wease, Mookie Cooper
Backup: Marquis "Speedy" Johnson, Mekhi Miller, Joshua Manning, Daniel Blood
This is the most stacked position on the team with the top seven players at the position returning from last year. Not only did the top seven return, the floor for the position has elevated with sophomores Joshua Manning and Daniel Blood having really good fall camp outings.
It's to the point where it'll be hard to keep them off the field. Mizzou has looked at both players for kick and punt return roles and they should still see an increased role on offense.
Luther Burden and Theo Wease are the unquestioned WR1 and WR2 of the team. Mookie Cooper still has a hold on the WR3 spot but with Speedy Johnson coming off a very productive freshman campaign, a healthy Mekhi Miller in the fold and the two aforementioned sophomores, he may be the starter to cede offensive snaps to the others.
He will probably still finish in the top three of offensive snaps played among the starters but his snap count may not look like last year’s.
Tight end
Starter: Brett Norfleet
Backup: Tyler Stephens
Despite missing most of fall camp due to a foot injury, Brett Norfleet returned for the final two fall camp practices and will start in Week 1. Norfleet retaining the starting role isn't a surprise. His ability to be a viable receiver in addition to his blocking responsibilities, is what separates him from his fellow tight ends.
Tyler Stephens, who was the starter in 2022 and to begin 2023, has the most experience and that's still something Drinkwitz and Co. still value.
Jordon Harris, who missed time during fall camp due to injury too, returned when Norfleet did and will be available in Week 1. Despite being TE3 his snap count probably won't look drastically different than Stephens'.
Offensive line
Starter: LT Marcus Bryant, LG Cayden Green, C Connor Tollison, RG Cam'Ron Johnson, RT Armand Membou
Swing tackle: Jayven Richardson
Missouri tried to tell everyone there was a position battle for the starting left tackle and left guard spots, but in reality, the starting lineup was completed when Marcus Bryant transferred from SMU right after spring ball.
Cayden Green played over 500 snaps at left guard for Oklahoma as a freshman last year. So, Mizzou knew that was his floor but allowed him to start at left tackle during spring ball. However, once Green communicated to the coaching staff he didn't have an issue playing at left guard, the team picked up Bryant and the lineup was virtually set then.
Connor Tollison, Cam'Ron Johnson and Armand Membou were the starters last year and finished the year strong so they are locks to retain their roles.
Even though the competition was more of a formality than a true competition, it's apparent the team has more offensive line depth than it has had in a while.
Jayven Richardson was splitting first-team snaps with Bryant for the first week of camp and the team likes the former JUCO product. He can also play elsewhere on the line which makes him a good swing tackle candidate as the first one off the bench.
There's also Tristan Wilson, who was taking center snaps for the first time during camp, and Logan Reichert, the team's biggest player and highest ranked offensive signee in the class of 2023, who could be options down the line.
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