Spring football preview: Offensive line
Missouri will enter kick off its first spring under new head coach Eliah Drinkwitz on Saturday, March 7. Each day until then, we will break down the roster one position group at a time. Today, we take a look at the offensive line.
The starters: Not only did Missouri’s offensive line struggle last season, the Tigers lost three multi-year starters to graduation or the NFL Draft. As a result, the line is probably the most mysterious position on the roster entering spring practices. The one player who appears likely to lock down a starting spot during the coming month is Case Cook. Cook started all 12 games last season and rebounded well from a tough 2018 campaign. He has played both left and right guard for the Tigers, but with Trystan Colon-Castillo gone, he could also slide to center.
Larry Borom is the only other returner who started all 12 games a year ago. Borom began the season at left guard before transitioning to left tackle. He had his share of struggles at both positions, but his two highest Pro Football Focus grades came at tackle. After Borom and Cook, only two offensive linemen have ever started a game, and they combined for just four starts. Hyrin White began last year at right tackle before losing his job to Borom, and Bobby Lawrence also started one game at the position. With a new position coach who will have no preconceived ideas about a depth chart, there’s certainly no guarantee Borom, White or Lawrence will kick off the spring taking first-team reps.
The backups: Missouri has a lot of options in addition to the players listed above, but few have any meaningful game experience. We’ll tackle them from oldest to youngest. Former junior college transfer Angel Matute will be entering his final season of eligibility. The one-time quarterback has taken reps at tackle, center and even tight end in practice, so his versatility is clear, but he never appeared to crack the two-deep last year. Redshirt sophomore Javon Foster has the size and athleticism you look for in a tackle, but so far he has played in just two games across two seasons. Mike Ruth and Xavier Delgado also have two seasons under their belts at the college level, and both could compete for playing time on the interior of the line. Jack Buford, Luke Griffin and Thalen Robinson all redshirted as newcomers last season. Robinson appeared to make the biggest splash of the group with the old staff, earning a few snaps in two games. He took reps at center and guard and should have a chance to start at either position this season. Buford and Griffin took the majority of their reps at guard last season, at least early in the year, but could potentially play tackle as well.
Newcomers to know: None of Missouri’s three signees along the offensive line have enrolled early and will participate in spring practices. As a result, Drake Heismeyer, Mitchell Walters and Dylan Spencer seem likely to follow the well-worn path for offensive linemen by redshirting the 2020 season.
Potential storylines: Which players will emerge and fill the starting spots of Colon-Castillo, Yasir Durant and Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms will, obviously, be a major storyline to watch. But it will also be interesting to see if the staff feels comfortable with the group of linemen it has after spring practices or if it pursues a graduate transfer who can help right away. Since Missouri already extended an offer to Akron transfer Brandon Council, the latter appears more likely.
PowerMizzou prediction: We don’t expect any starters to be named during spring practices, but by the Black and Gold game we should get a decent feel for which players are beginning to separate themselves. If we had to take a stab at picking a starting five for the spring game right now, it would be Cook at center, Robinson and Ruth at guard, Borom and Lawrence at tackle, although that is certainly subject to change.