Where could Mizzou football add to the roster?
The May 1 deadline for college athletes to enter the transfer portal and remain eligible to play next season has come and gone, meaning coaches now have more clarity about what their rosters will look like next season. But in the case of the Missouri football team, fans can still expect some more additions to the roster between now and the start of fall camp — including at the most newsworthy position.
Former Baylor quarterback Gerry Bohanon was spotted at the Missouri softball game on Sunday as part of an official visit to campus. Bohanon led Baylor to a 10-2 record in games he played last season but lost the starting job to Blake Shapen during spring practices. Missouri is the first school to get him on campus for a visit since he entered the portal.
We’ll take a deeper dive into Bohanon’s resume below. But he’s likely not the only player that the coaching staff will look to add to the roster. Missouri currently sits at 83 scholarship players, meaning it can add at least two more without exceeding the NCAA limit of 85. And the staff could almost certainly add more than that considering the inevitable annual attrition that occurs as more players transfer or medically retire.
In this piece, we look at the most likely positions where Eli Drinkwitz and company could add to the roster, as well as a few available players at those spots.
Quarterback
Ever since last season’s starting quarterback, Connor Bazelak, entered the transfer portal in December, Drinkwitz has not been shy about wanting to add more competition to the room. Missouri hosted Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels and Georgia transfer J.T. Daniels for official visits, but both enrolled elsewhere. Now, Drinkwitz has set his sights on Bohanon to add experience to a position group that currently includes two scholarship players, each of whom has started exactly one college game.
“We’re very excited about Tyler (Macon) and Brady (Cook),” Drinkwitz told media members at Sunday’s Come Home Caravan event. “Both of those guys have done an excellent job. Look forward to Sam (Horn) coming in here and competing, and you know, we’ll see. Maybe add some more depth to that room, more competition to that room.”
Bohanon spent three seasons as a backup at Baylor before earning the starting spot last season. He didn’t put up gaudy numbers, but he won games. Bohanon completed 62.2 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,200 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also showed the ability to threaten defenses with his legs, rushing for 323 yards and another nine scores.
Bohanon turned in impressive performances in wins over Iowa State, West Virginia and Oklahoma. But in general, his numbers dipped as the season progressed, perhaps in part due to a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two weeks. In his first six games, Bohanon passed for 1,332 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Across the latter six, he threw for 868 yards, seven scores and seven picks. Shapen impressed during two games Bohanon missed, completing 43 of 64 passes for 434 yards and five touchdowns in wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, and then he beat out Bohanon during spring ball.
Regardless of whether he ultimately won the starting job, Bohanon would bring experience to a quarterback room that needs it. Cook and Macon were the only two scholarship signal-callers on campus during spring practices. Both started one game last season. They may also be joined by Horn, a four-star signee out of Georgia, although some concern has arisen lately that he could be tempted to pursue a professional baseball career if he is offered a large enough signing bonus by an MLB team following July’s draft. MLB.com recently ranked Horn as the No. 71 draft-eligible prospect.
Drinkwitz said he has been in “constant communication” with Horn about his decision.
“We’ll wish them the very best whatever they want to do, but I know he’s excited about his opportunity to play football and baseball at the University of Missouri, and we’ll just have to see which one ultimately wins the day,” Drinkwitz said. “I’m excited for him.”
Defensive back
The other need that Missouri has been most aggressive about filling over the past few weeks has been adding depth to its defensive backfield. The Tigers hosted Ole Miss transfer cornerback Keidron Smith for an official visit on March 19, although he later committed to Kentucky. The staff has also recently extended offers to Texas State transfer safety Zion Childress as well as junior college safety Blake Thompson. Thompson committed to Iowa State on Sunday.
The Missouri secondary, which will be coached by new faces this season in defensive coordinator Blake Baker and cornerbacks coach Al Pogue, was hit hard by injuries during the offseason. Starting cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine and safety Martez Manuel both missed spring practices as they recovered from shoulder surgeries. Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw continues to recuperate from a torn ACL that ended his season after four games a year ago. And safety Jalani Williams missed most of the spring, as well. Fellow safety Stacy Brown entered the transfer portal on Saturday.
Childress would seem to be the most likely player to join the defensive backfield at the moment, although it also wouldn’t come as a shock to see the staff offer one or more of the players who hit the portal in the past few days. Childress racked up 74 tackles, five pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and an interception last season. He visited TCU over the weekend.
Defensive tackle
Missouri has already added one transfer defensive tackle in Jayden Jernigan. But the Tigers might be looking for another new player on the interior of the defensive front.
Missouri lost three of its top four defensive tackles from a season ago in terms of snaps played. Akial Byers and Kobie Whiteside both exhausted their eligibility, while Mekhi Wingo transferred to LSU. Reserve defensive tackle Ben Key also transferred out last week. The staff tried to bring in another high-major transfer in addition to Jernigan, but Marquis Robinson wound up withdrawing from the portal and staying at Auburn after visiting Missouri.
Thus, Missouri is still in search of another body at defensive tackle, as evidenced by the offer it extended to Houston Baptist transfer Kyler Baugh on Sunday. Baugh committed to Minnesota on April 22, but apparently hasn’t completely shut down his recruitment. If the Tigers can’t persuade Baugh to change his mind, don’t be surprised if we see a new offer or two extended to a defensive tackle from the portal in the coming days.
Offensive tackle
Another position where Missouri has been hurt by injury is the offensive line, and particularly tackle. Hyrin White, who started 11 games at right tackle last season, missed all of spring practices due to what Drinkwitz described as a lower leg injury. There appears to be real concern White won’t be healthy by the start of the season. Backup tackle Bobby Lawrence also missed spring ball after a leg injury ended his 2021 season.
So, if Missouri has room, the staff figures to look to add a tackle. That could come in the form of a transfer who recently hit the portal or a junior college prospect like Savion Herring. Herring, from Monroe College in New York, picked up a Missouri offer on April 22. He told PowerMizzou that he plans to visit Columbia in the coming weeks. His only other high-major offer comes from Syracuse.
Tight end
This is pure speculation, as Missouri hasn’t publicly pursued any tight ends since the conclusion of spring ball. But if the right player were to become available, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Tigers get involved.
None of the tight ends on Missouri’s roster has ever caught a pass in a Tiger uniform. The team’s top three players from the position last season are all gone, as Daniel Parker Jr. transferred to Oklahoma, Messiah Swinson transferred to Arizona State and Niko Hea medically retired. That leaves redshirt freshmen Ryan Hoerstkamp and Gavin McKay, true freshman Max Whisner and Buffalo transfer Tyler Stephens at the position. Those players combined to make one catch for three yards during Missouri’s spring game.
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