After the NCAA announced players who exhausted their eligibility following the 2024 who had played at least a season at the junior college level would gain an extra year of eligibility, Missouri linebacker Triston Newson had a decision to make.
The ruling was made to avoid lawsuits after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sued to gain extra years of eligibility, so Newson, who started his career at Northeast Mississippi Community College, earned a year of eligibility for the 2025 season.
The ruling came after the Tigers had already added Nebraska linebacker Mikai Gbayor and West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter through the transfer portal, planning to replace the entire starting linebacker rotation, then the Tigers had to wait.
According to a report from Jarod Hamilton on Tuesday, Newson has made his decision just days after the Tigers hired new linebackers coach Derek Nicholson to return to the team in 2025.
Although a source told MizzouToday later in the day Tuesday that the team is still "trying to work to bring him back." So it might not yet be a done deal.
He will join Gbayor, Trotter, Khalil Jacobs, Nic Rodriguez and Jeremiah Beasley fighting for time in the linebacker rotation next season.
In his first season with Mizzou in 2023, Newson played in all 13 games and started the final three, including the Cotton Bowl.
He recorded 51 tackles, seven for loss, half a sack and two fumble recoveries.
Then this past season, he recorded 71 tackles, 6.5 for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription.
Talk about this story in the story thread and discuss so much more in The Tiger Walk.
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines.
