GET THE INSIDE SCOOP EVERY DAY WITH YOUR PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION!

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced college football coaches to deal with a number of unprecedented issues over the past year. The 2020 football season was delayed, nearly canceled and then adjusted to conference-only play. Games were postponed and opponents switched less than a week in advance. As a result, the NCAA decided not to count the unusual season against any player’s eligibility, allowing everyone who played college football a season ago, even seniors, to return as the same year in school in 2021.

This year, seniors who opted to take advantage of the ruling and return for an extra season weren’t counted against the 85-person scholarship limit for each team. Missouri had nine such “super seniors” return to school, including leading receiver Keke Chism, starting center Michael Maietti and defensive linemen Kobie Whiteside and Akial Byers.

Starting with the 2022 season, however, the NCAA has declared that the 85-man limit will be reinstated, and no players will be exempt. That presents coaching staffs with another quagmire they haven’t had to navigate before: how to strike a balance between signing new recruits and bringing back returning players.

As of Thursday morning, Missouri has 85 players on scholarship. The only players who will be out of eligibility and forced to move on following the 2021 season are the team’s 11 super seniors — the nine aforementioned returners plus Rice transfer linebacker Blaze Alldredge and Tulsa transfer cornerback Allie Green. That will bring Missouri to 74 scholarships. However, the Tigers already have commitments from 12 players in the 2022 recruiting class, and we project them to sign at least 20.

That has prompted some questions from fans about how Missouri will find the room to bring in a full or nearly-full signing class. The short answer: Not everyone will return. As happens every offseason, players will transfer or retire or declare early for the NFL Draft. (In another oddity, players like Connor Bazelak, who have played two seasons of college football but are technically still redshirt freshmen from an eligibility standpoint, will be eligible to declare for the draft).

The primary consequence of the NCAA’s decision will likely be that, after this season, far fewer players will return to school beyond what would ordinarily have been their senior season. It would take a unique confluence of circumstances — both a player contributing enough to be welcomed back by the coaching staff and that player not yet being ready to pursue professional football — for someone to return for a fifth year. So, in this article, we’re going through the list of the 14 Missouri players who would ordinarily be seniors this season in order to determine which ones might return in 2022 and which are likely playing their final season in a Tiger uniform.

After spending the past three years serving as a reliable change-of-pace option out of the backfield, Badie should finally get the opportunity to serve as Missouri’s feature back this season. Barring injury, we believe he will be off to the NFL afterward. Badie has likely already shown enough to warrant a shot as a third-down back at the next level, and this season should only boost his stock. Plus, given that running backs generally only have so much tread on their tires, it doesn’t make much sense for him to return and absorb another year’s worth of hits in college.

Bakare has played mostly on special teams across his first three seasons at Missouri. He handled 11 carries as a true freshman in 2018 but has run the ball just eight times since. While it’s possible Bakare could carve out a role as the Tigers’ third back this season, we don’t see the staff using a scholarship to bring him back in 2022.

Banister fits the mold of a player who could return as a super senior. The former walk-on has developed into a trustworthy possession receiver out of the slot, but it’s unlikely he has the speed to convince an NFL team to give him a shot. That said, 2021 will already be Banister’s fifth season at Missouri. Will he want to return for a sixth year, or will he be ready to move on from college at that point? Time will tell.

Smith provided one of the feel-good stories of the 2020 season. He started his college career playing sparingly for Coffeyville Community College and Mid-America Nazarene. He transferred to Missouri and tried out for the football team, then not only earned a walk-on spot but played meaningful snaps against defending national champion LSU. That was enough to earn Smith a scholarship. We think it’s unlikely the story continues into the 2022 season, but if Smith has a breakout campaign this year, it’s not out of the question.

Parker came to Missouri as a four-star defensive end but quickly found his footing at tight end, where he’s been an exceptional run-blocker when healthy. Given that Parker has played regular snaps for the bulk of the past three seasons, we think it’s unlikely he feels he still has more to show NFL teams following this season, especially since his blocking ability will likely generate some interest at the next level. If he were to want to return in 2022, however, the staff would likely welcome him back.

This feels like the final college season for Cook, who is entering his third season as a starter and fourth playing meaningful snaps. The way the coaching staff has spoken about the team captain, it seems likely they would welcome him back as a super senior, but at a certain point there won’t be anything left for Cook to show NFL scouts and he will likely want to pursue a pro career.

White looked like the favorite to start at left tackle a year ago before a preseason shoulder injury ended his season before it began. As it is, he’s still a relatively unknown commodity, having started just three college games. If he is able to win a starting job at fall camp, the 6-foot-7, 320-pound White should have a chance to propel himself onto draft boards, which would likely result in his leaving for the draft following this season. Then again, if he doesn’t do enough to carve out a regular role this year, will the staff want to use a spot on him in 2022? It’s hard to project White’s future at this point.

Powell is similar to White in that his future with the program will probably depend on how his 2021 season unfolds. The junior college transfer started eight games at left tackle a season ago and his performance was a bit uneven. There’s certainly a chance that, with a full offseason at Missouri, Powell could emerge as a solid starter on the offensive line in 2021, in which case he might be a candidate to return as a super senior (at 6-foot-5, 288, he seems less likely to have NFL Draft prospects than White, but who knows). Then again, if Powell doesn’t contribute this year, he might be encouraged to move on.

Full disclosure: We have never seen Wood play nor spoken to the Montana State transfer, so this is pure speculation. There is reason to believe Wood could be a candidate to return in 2022, though, because he has actually only played two seasons of football despite being in college since 2017. Wood redshirted in 2017 and Montana State’s 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. Jumping from the Big Sky to the SEC this season might be a bit of an adjustment for Wood, but if he does enough to show he could vie for a starting spot in 2022, we could see him wanting to stick around for another year.

Another junior college transfer, Key would have to make a significant leap in 2021 to look like a candidate to return the following season. Given the crowded nature of the defensive tackle group, that doesn’t look likely.

We could go either way on Wilkins. The Texas native has consistently generated positive reviews from the coaching staff, but he’s never quite broken through and earned consistent playing time. Wilkins started a couple games at middle linebacker in 2019, replacing the injured Cale Garrett before losing the job to Devin Nicholson. Then, last season, he split snaps with Nicholson during the first two games before suffering a season-ending injury. If Wilkins returns to health this year and shows an ability to contribute, it’s not out of the question that the staff could want him back to compete for a starting spot in 2022, especially if Nicholson goes pro after this season (which isn’t impossible). Then again, the coaches might decide they like other players at the position better.

The Tulsa transfer who followed his position coach, Aaron Fletcher, to Missouri has already generated some buzz as a potential NFL Draft pick, so it would be very surprising if he opted to return to school following this season. Plus, his former Tulsa teammate Allie Green IV, who followed him to Missouri, will graduate following this season, and the two have shown a desire to stick together.

Robinson could definitely return in 2022, depending on how his switch to safety goes this year. Robinson actually started last season at quarterback for Missouri before losing the job to Bazelak, then switching to the defensive side of the ball. He impressed in the regular-season finale at Mississippi State, which has led to some optimism that he could actually contribute in the defensive backfield this season. If he is able to show promise at his new position, we could see him wanting to stick around for another year in order to get some more snaps at safety. Plus, Eli Drinkwitz has routinely raved about Robinson’s character. We don’t see the staff running him off.

Koetting played an important role for Missouri last season, only having three kickoffs returned all year, and he earned a scholarship as a result. But we have a hard time seeing the Tigers use a scholarship on a player on a kickoff specialist.

Once again, we don’t envision the staff using one of its spots to keep a long-snapper, especially since Hoffman ceded the starting spot to Daniel Hawthorne last season.

Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair

Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage

Follow our entire staff on Twitter