COLUMBIA, Mo. — So closes the portal window of depth.
Missouri football has likely wrapped up its business in the spring transfer portal window, with just a couple of open spots left and its priorities largely covered.
The last of those came in the form of Bralen Henderson, a defensive tackle who transferred to Mizzou earlier this week via Ohio. The 6-foot-2 interior pass rusher spent four seasons with the Bobcats, redshirting one. He started 14 games in 2024, amassing 26 tackles and one sack.
Henderson will join the Tigers’ rotation at defensive tackle, likely as the third or fourth player in that group. Chris McClellan and Sterling Webb are positioned to be the primary two defensive tackles, with Henderson, Jalen Marshall and Marquis Gracial battling for snaps underneath.
MU has added four players from the portal this spring: Henderson, Florida State offensive lineman Jaylen Early, Illinois State wide receiver Xavier Loyd and Iowa tight end Gavin Hoffman.
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Of the group of incomers, Early has the best chance to start, given that Missouri’s left tackle and right guard spots still seem to be up for grabs.
And though the portal has been closed for entries for a couple of weeks, there is still the chance that coach Eli Drinkwitz nabs another player or two late in this cycle.
Generally, though, his roster-building for the 2025 season is done. And depth was the name of the spring portal game.
That’s hardly surprising for a coach who, before the portal even opened, was lauding his group as the most talented he’s had at Mizzou.
“I feel very strongly — content maybe is not the right word — but very confident in our football team right now,” Drinkwitz said in April. “I think we have a very talented football team. I think we have a very cohesive football team. So unless there’s a huge surprise — which I haven’t seen so far — I don’t anticipate that we have to go get this position or that position.”
Still, the positions he did target in the portal make sense as spots that could use some depth.
MU had entered last offseason standing to benefit from the addition of another defensive tackle via the spring portal, but no move ever came on that front. The Tigers stood pat at DT once again in the winter window, looking prepared to roll with their returners for that rotation. Bringing in Henderson is the kind of move that has seemed helpful for that position group for some time.
Early is a viable option at multiple spots along the offensive line, which will be helpful with new starters at three positions there. Mizzou now has seven or eight players who could be in the starting mix, so preseason camp should now bring some key competition on the O-line. In the event of injuries to the offensive line — which the Tigers have generally dodged over the last two seasons, save for center Connor Tollison last year — they’re now better equipped to weather that storm.
Loyd joins a group of wide receivers chock full of potential but light on experience. He’ll be making the jump back up to the FBS level, but there’s enough talent in that room to ease any pressure with that transition.
Hoffman, only one year into his collegiate career, might not see the field much. But the two tight ends ahead of him on the depth chart — Brett Norfleet and Jordon Harris — have struggled with injuries, so there’s reason to think Hoffman’s services could be necessary.
These sorts of acquisitions — and, in a macro sense, this type of depth-focused window — are an interesting route for Drinkwitz to take. He spent the winter talking about “production over potential” as Mizzou lost some of its heralded young players but signed immediate contributors across multiple positions.
He’s backfilled behind those new starters with the spring’s depth. The differing approaches from window to window might just be an indicator of where the roster stands, but enough is changing in how college football operates to warrant frequent shifts.
“With the (House v. NCAA) settlement coming on, the decisions that you’re having to make, I think everybody’s strategies are going to totally change,” Drinkwitz said last week. “Like, the way we were brought up to build a roster and recruit and all that stuff is totally different now because there is a number value assigned to players. You’re going to have to treat it more like the draft, as far as how you’re investing dollars, because it’s going to be tough to invest a dollar in somebody that’s sitting on the bench and that’s not coming in to play immediately. All that stuff is going to be an interesting concept moving forward.
“I don’t think anybody’s got really good answers on how it looks or what it looks like. There’s going to be a lot of trial and error.”
