How will Mizzou football’s offensive depth chart look in new season? Clues from spring camp
More of the same from the Mizzou football offense likely wouldn’t go amiss in Columbia.
The Tigers are returning their starting quarterback, offensive coordinator and plenty of the production that helped them to an 11-2 campaign that crescendoed with a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State.
Some positions — looking at all the wealth of returning production in the wide-receivers room — look primed to pick up where they left off.
Other positions — looking at the Doak-Walker-finalist-sized gap at running back — have more to figure out through camp.
With less than a week of spring camp under the belt and a couple open practices worth of observation, here is an early forecast for how Missouri’s offensive depth chart may shape up in 2024.
Who will back up Brady Cook for Mizzou football at QB?
The starter: Brady Cook, sr.
The reserves: Aiden Glover, fr.; Harold Blood Jr., sr.
Brady Cook is booked as the headline act, but who will back him up?
Sam Horn is undergoing Tommy John surgery and all but certain to miss next season. Backups Gabarri Johnson and Jake Garcia both transferred.
Class of 2024 early enrollee Aiden Glover, the lone active scholarship QB behind Cook in Columbia, is on campus and practicing with the Tigers. Harold Blood Jr., a Southern University transfer, is participating in camp, too.
Will MU run with what it has, or dip into the transfer portal when it reopens April 16-30?
Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz opened the possibility for a late addition to the room. MU offensive coordinator Kirby Moore chose to look at the positives with the presented situation.
“Those guys (Glover; Blood) are gonna get a ton of reps,” Moore said Tuesday. “There is no better way to get better at the quarterback position than live (reps), right? Seven-on-seven, team, learning through experience, good and bad.”
Running back
The starter: Marcus Carroll, sr.;
The reserves: Nate Noel, sr.; Jamal Roberts, r-fr.; Tavorus Jones, so.
It'd be a tall order to match Cody Schrader’s impact and production for Mizzou football last season. The storied running back who set the Tigers’ single-season rushing record last season is off to new pastures.
Schrader is an example for the new running backs, Cook said. But that doesn’t mean he wants his new backfield partner to try and copy the Mizzou superstar.
“Honestly, one thing I'm going to stress to the running backs is you know, it's not a comparison game,” Cook said. “I don't need you to be Cody Schrader, we don't need you to be Cody Schrader. Just be yourself.”
Georgia State transfer and All-Sun Belt first-team selection Marcus Carroll figures as the favorite to take the bulk of the reps at running back. Appalachian State transfer Nate Noel has flashed some solid hands in the young hours of camp, which could be an indicator of reps to come.
St. Louis native Jamal Roberts looks the most likely of the returners to see significant time in his second season in Columbia.
Wide receiver
The starters: Slot: Luther Burden III, jr.; X: Theo Wease Jr., sr.; Z: Mookie Cooper, sr.
The reserves: Marquis Johsnon, so.; Mekhi Miller, jr.; Daniel Blood, so.; Joshua Manning, so.; Courtney Crutchfield (summer enrollee); James Madison II (summer enrollee).
From superstar Luther Burden III (1,212) to ever-reliable Mekhi Miller (148), each of Missouri’s 100+-yard wide receivers from last season are back for another year.
Drinkwitz, Moore and Cook had some fun with the group in 2023.
On Wednesday, in a 40-yard-to-goal one-on-one drill inside the Stephens Indoor Facility, Cook found Wease over the top of leading returning cornerback Dreyden Norwood for a touchdown, then Burden left returning safety Sidney Williams Sr. in his rearview mirror for a score in quick succession.
Early signs suggest 2024 should be equally as entertaining.
Tight end
The starter: Brett Norfleet, so.
The reserves: Tyler Stephens, sr.; Jordan Harris, so.
Brett Norfleet, in a stellar true-freshman campaign, caught 197 yards worth of passes. That included three trips to the end zone, which tied for third on the Missouri roster.
Now a one-sport athlete, after deciding to forgo his spot on the Missouri baseball team, the job as the Tigers' go-to tight end appears to be in Norfleet’s hands.
Fellow sophomore Jordon Harris looks every ounce of his listed 239 pounds, and could be in line for an increased role in the offense after featuring frequently on special teams in 2023.
Offensive line
The starters: LT: Cayden Green, so.; LG: Logan Reichert, r-fr.; C: Connor Tollison, jr.; RG: Cam’Ron Johnson, sr.; RT: Armand Membou, jr.
The reserves: Jayven Richardson, so.; Brandon Solis, r-fr.; Drake Heismayer, sr.; Triston Wilson, so.; Mitchell Walters, sr.
Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green will start the spring at left tackle, Drinkwitz said Monday, the opening day of spring camp. If Green's production in camp is as loud as the online chatter surrounding his move to Mizzou, he’ll remain blocking Cook’s blind spot.
Cook dropped a hint Wednesday that Green, Cam’Ron Johnson and Logan Reichert were among the players taking reps along the left side of the line.
If Johnson remains at right guard, where he primarily played in 2023, the door opens for Reichert, a 369-pound, 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman out of Raytown in Kansas City, to jump into a starting role at left guard.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How will Mizzou's offensive depth chart look in new season? Clues from spring camp
