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He’s one of the most eagerly anticipated newcomers to the 2025 Mizzou roster and seems likely to deliver on the hype. Is he MU’s next high-volume workhorse tailback?

It seems possible — so long as Hardy stays healthy through the process of getting pummeled by Southeastern Conference defenders.

Missouri, out of sheer coincidence, has alternated using running back committees and clear No. 1 tailbacks in recent years. Last season, Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll split carries, in part because the former dealt with a foot injury. In 2023, Cody Schrader set the program record for rushing yards in a season. The year prior, he’d been part of a committee. And in 2021, Tyler Badie set the rushing record for Schrader to beat.

If that pattern holds true, 2025 will be back to one dominant option out of the backfield.

Hardy, a sophomore, has only one season of experience under his belt, but it sure was a capital-S Season. As an underrecruited freshman at Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy put up 1,351 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, including eight 100-yard games, two 200-yard performances and 1,000 rushing yards after contact. The only running back to force more missed tackles than Hardy was Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty.

The caveat is that Hardy’s output came in the Sun Belt, which is a rather far cry from the SEC.

Still, “he played a lot of football last year,� running backs coach Curtis Luper told the Post-Dispatch, which is a good sign. Hardy adjusting to the SEC is more about doing the same thing at a different level than it is about doing something new.

What’s also helpful — and exciting — about Hardy is that he’s fresh, as far as running backs go. That position tends to take a literal bruising because of how much contact and how many tackles running backs absorb over the course of a game and a season. Their pro careers, for example, are often quite short.

Yet compared to some other recent MU tailbacks, Hardy’s mileage, so to speak, is low.

He has 245 career touches — that’s rushing attempts plus receptions — to his name, all from that one season at ULM. If he’s a true workhorse at Mizzou, that volume could tick upward by a few dozen more. Schrader led the SEC with 298 touches in 2023, and Badie led the league with 322 touches in 2021.

Badie entered that 2021 campaign with 317 career touches from his first three seasons in black and gold, which made him relatively fresh, too. Schrader, for comparison, transferred to Missouri with 539 career touches from his time at Division II Truman State. Heading into his breakout 2023 season, Schrader had a whopping 729 touches at the college level.

Noel and Carroll, transferring from Appalachian State and Georgia State respectively, also came to MU on the more experienced end of the spectrum. Noel had touched the ball 591 times, including a 2021 season in which he led the Sun Belt in touches. Carroll brought 480 touches to the Tigers.

Hardy, then, has taken fewer than half the hits of past transfer running backs but presents even more upside.

Because he still has so much eligibility remaining, Mizzou hopes to have Hardy as a backfield force for at least a couple of seasons. That means taking care of his body to keep him available.

“He’s younger, but he’s experienced,� Luper said. “There’s still (only) so many hits that you can take as a running back, and we monitor that really closely.�

It’s nigh on impossible for a running back to make it through an SEC season unscathed. Schrader, for example, famously would spend entire days inside the Missouri team facility training room just to recover between games.

That process has already begun for Hardy — some prevention to get ahead of the hits to come.

“I stay in the cold tub a lot,� Hardy said. “I do a lot of treatment. I try to do as much treatment as I can.�

Ice baths will almost certainly continue during the season, particularly if Hardy gets the share of carries and catches that seem likely for the Tigers’ top running back. He learned a lesson in taking hits as a freshman, too, that’ll change the way he tries to absorb contact this time around.

“Last year, I lost weight during the season,� Hardy said, “so trying to keep my weight (up) this year and keep going.�

There was the House v. NCAA litigation settlement, which may settle nothing with its guidelines for revenue sharing and name, image likeness contracts. We’re just a few days into players getting NIL contracts for 2026, so let’s see how long it takes for all hell to break out again.

The College Football Playoff wisely adjusted with its 12-team format, eliminating automatic first-round byes for conference champions. Now the Big Ten is creating a stir with its proposed changes for a 16-team playoff.

A flurry of coaching changes altered the landscape, including former Missouri coach Barry Odom bravely tackling the Purdue challenge after the Boilermakers’ 1-11 implosion.

There were the usual transfer portal shenanigans and tampering allegations.

“Virginia Tech was actually on my sideline recruiting our running back,� North Carolina Central coach Trei Oliver claimed last month. “That was pretty bold. I couldn’t believe it.�

During the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten media days events, we heard some chirping between these two industry superpowers. The Big Ten plays nine conference games while the SEC plays eight, giving its schools a greater nonconference cushion.

Then there was breathless coverage of North Carolina coach Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson, who could blend seamlessly into Chapel Hill beer pong competitions.

The most pressing story remains pay-for-play, with the new College ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Commission supposedly governing the commerce.

“If we are committed to it and give it a chance, then that’s a starting place,� Missouri athletics director Laird Veatch said earlier this summer. “Will there be lawsuits, will there be continued outside pressures? Absolutely, right? And that’s why it is a step, but it’s not the last or final step.�

The CSC made an immediate concession by allowing NIL collectives to continue doing business.

“The CSC is scared right now, right?� Oklahoma State coach Mike “I’m a Man!� Gundy said. “I mean, what power do they have? They’re already being sued.�

We don’t believe that’s true just yet, but to Veatch’s point more litigation is inevitable. Boosters need to boost, and nothing can stop them.

“You got to get one person in charge, and then they got to get the four power (conference) people in room, and they all got to start talking about equality and how can we revenue-share across the country,� Gundy said.

Penn State coach James Franklin has trumpeted Nick Saban as a logical college football commissioner, but would he really leave his easy media and product endorsement work for that aggravation?

Veatch would love to see Congress step in. President Donald Trump weighed in with an executive order, but it remains unclear what impact that will have.

Big Ten coaches gripe about playing nine league games for the good of the conference while SEC schools only play eight. In return, SEC schools suggest their eight-game schedules are tougher due to their league’s competitive depth.

(Also, SEC administrators want the extra home game revenue while beleaguered coaches want extra W’s to buy some grace.)

Last season, the Big Ten’s Cinderella, Indiana, finished 11-2 while playing just two ranked teams. The Hoosiers lost those games by a combined 38 points.

Indiana caught a soft league schedule, which happens in an 18-team conference. Going forward, the Hoosiers want to play the softest possible nonconference schedules too.

That’s why they dumped games against perennial Atlantic Coast Conference also-ran Virginia to schedule even easier foes.

“We figured we would just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy,� sniffed Indiana coach Frank Cignetti.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti wants to create more television inventory. His 16-team CFP playoff pitch would guarantee four spots each to the Big Ten and SEC, two spots each to the Big 12 and ACC, one spot for the top non-power conference team, and three spots for at-large picks.

And how would the Big Ten pick its four teams? Play-in games!

The league’s top two teams would play for the title as usual, but the No. 3 seed would host the No. 6 seed and No. 4 would host No. 5 in made-for-TV events. The three winners plus the title game loser would advance to the CFP bracket.

“It allows us to play more meaningful football games with more schools deep into November,� Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman said approvingly.

Of course, SEC folks aren’t so sure about guaranteeing the Big Ten four spots. In a down year, that league might only deserve two or three. Outside of the Big Ten, the consensus favors a format with five conference champions and 11 at-large berths in a 16-team format.

This debate will rage on into the season. So will the NIL chaos. So will tampering. Hopefully the action on the field will give us as much to discuss as all of this off-the-field drama.

Mizzou pulling left guard Cayden Green stymied Stewart. Green blocked and corralled the kid as a Tigers teammate scurried by for the score.

And then, Green shoved Stewart for good measure.

“To play offensive line, you’ve got to be mean,� Mizzou tight end Brett Norfleet said. “And I mean, he’s mean.�

Mizzou’s best football player? Mean Cayden Green. Pound for pound, here’s thinking he’s better than quarterbacks Beau Pribula and Sam Horn, running back Ahmad Hardy, safety Jalen Catalon or receiver Kevin Coleman Jr.

OK, so at an April event in St. Charles, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz admitted: “We want to be a team that can score at will.� The skills of the skill players will be key, but having Green on the offensive line means meanness — and that means domination.

No, they don’t have five Cayden Greens on the line. Heck, there’s still a battle to see who the startling left tackle will even be (kind of an important job). But as the tight end Norfleet said, “When the five offensive linemen are out there on the field, they all kind of got to play as one, right?�

I’ll admit: It’s hard to zero in on a certain offensive lineman when you’re watching a game. There’s a swirl of compacted action — and our eyes are naturally drawn to the ball. But there is beauty in the muck of the trenches. of Green and you’ll see what SEC coaches see: a marquee mauler. That’s why Green was named to the SEC’s preseason first team; incidentally, so was South Carolina’s Stewart.

And Green was the only Missouri Tiger on the first team (receiver Coleman Jr. made the third team, while no Mizzou defensive players earned the honors).

So why is Green so great?

“I think it’s a combination of size and athleticism, in terms of flexibility up front,� Mizzou offensive coordinator Kirby Moore said of the Kansas City-area native who previously played for Oklahoma in 2023. “And being able to move guys, stretch guys, he just does a really good job in pass protection.

“There’s a lot of speed and size on the interior in this conference. And last season, I think that developed (with Green) as the season went on, playing against some of the guys he was. And obviously being with Armand (Membou), I think that helped him with his development, being high school teammates.�

Imagine playing quarterback for Lee’s Summit North High and having Green and Membou, the seventh pick in the 2025 NFL draft, on your offensive line.

Membou is now in green with the New York Jets, while Green still dons the black and gold of Old Missouri. And Green is coming off one of his best games: the hotly contested Music City Bowl game against Iowa. Per Pro Football Focus, he played on 41 pass-blocking snaps and didn’t allow a single pressure (and he earned a spectacular 82.7 pass block grade from the site).

And to think, he can be better.

“His attention to detail has improved quite a bit,� offensive line coach Brandon Jones said. “From a technique standpoint, really focusing on his pass protection, just being able to punch consistently in pass pro(tection) and his second steps in the run game. But really, that’s what has stood out the most — it’s been very, very specific with his technique and what he wants to improve on.�

As a blocker, Green is proud of his 2025 accomplishments already — that being blocking out accolades, such as making first-team All-SEC.

“That stuff, I try to block it out,� he said. “But you know, I’m always hungry. I want this team to win really bad. So that’s my motivation, every day — my guys in the locker room are my motivation to work every day. Yeah, that’s why I come to work every day and I give my all.�

Norfleet said his locker is next to Green’s, so he has a particular perspective on the budding star.

“He’s just super-smart,� Norfleet said. “Him and that whole entire group works their (butt) off. You know, I’m super-excited to play next to them and also watch them.�

Scoring at will? We’ll see. But the good news is it all starts with Mizzou’s best football player in the trenches.

Mizzou held its first scrimmage of camp on Monday — behind closed doors — and has another scheduled for Saturday. Though the team has staged more “playing� periods of 11 vs. 11 football during camp this year than in past years, these scrimmages are more of a baseline for the coaching staff. They’ll also be vital in determining the outcomes of key depth chart battles at positions like quarterback, left tackle and cornerback.

What coach Eli Drinkwitz is looking for out of this week’s scrimmages hints at his biggest gripes with the Tigers’ start to camp.

“Well, consistency,� he said. “(Saturday,) the defense had a chance to get off the field twice and had two penalties that extended drives, which led to a touchdown. That’s the kind of stuff that gets you beat. It’s not really play stuff, it’s not really technique or fundamentals — it’s discipline stuff. We’ve got to get that off the tape. Offensively, we’ve got to be more consistent protecting, especially on third downs, and then take care of the football.�

Drinkwitz will meet with reporters again after Saturday’s scrimmage, likely armed with more intel into where his team stands. Maybe he’ll be positive, maybe he’ll be critical. He will probably be a little bit of both. After all, when your offense is playing against your defense, an interception is both good and bad.

Speaking of interceptions: Both Beau Pribula and Sam Horn, the two suitors for the starting quarterback job, threw picks during blitz pickup drills Saturday. But then, during a period dubbed “move the ball� by Drinkwitz, they each led touchdown drives.

So no, there’s not a starter yet. It would’ve been surprising if Pribula or Horn had won the job in the first week of camp.

Could this week be the one that settles things? Possibly. One quarterback dominating or one imploding during these two scrimmages could clarify the situation. Anything resembling an even race, though, would likely keep the QB battle rolling.

In other position battles, nobody has claimed the second starting cornerback spot alongside Drey Norwood, Drinkwitz said. Toriano Pride Jr., Nick Deloach Jr. and Stephen Hall are competing to be CB2.

Returner Jayven Richardson appears to be ahead of West Virginia transfer Johnny Williams IV in the left tackle competition, though that’s not settled either. Regardless of which tackle has been in the game, coaches seem pleased with the level of line play they’ve been getting out of the left side.

“It’s good when you’re not noticing the left tackle,� Drinkwitz said. “So far, we haven’t noticed them.�

Slot wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. is the leading candidate to return punts for Mizzou. If the Tigers played a game right now, he’d be back there, Drinkwitz said. True freshmen Shaun Terry II and DaMarion Fowlkes have also shown potential as returners, while Daniel Blood has practiced returning punts too.

Injury updates

MU emerged from the weekend without any significant health concerns.

Safety Trajen Greco missed the first week with an unspecified soft issue injury but returned to practice Sunday, working individually with trainers for portions of the practice.

Fellow safety Jalen Catalon returned to practice Sunday after missing Saturday’s session. Center Connor Tollison, returning from an ACL tear, missed both weekend practices.

Drinkwitz was not concerned about either of their absences.

“They’re old dudes,� he said. “I think they were just trying to get some vet days, to be honest.�

Number updates

How much do preseason number changes matter? Very little, but they’re happening.

Three defensive players entered fall camp wearing No. 3 — something that didn’t seem tenable because all three are likely to play this season and therefore be on the field at the same time. That has since been settled. Safety Mose Phillips III, a transfer from Virginia Tech, will wear No. 3. Greco will move back to No. 21 and defensive end Darris Smith will move back to No. 19.

True freshman running back Marquise Davis has been wearing No. 77 in recent practices instead of his assigned No. 7. It turns out the number usually designated for offensive linemen is an assignment, too — and a message sent by the coaching staff regarding his effort in camp.

“We had to put him in 77 to make sure he runs a little bit faster in team drills,� Drinkwitz said. “... These freshmen, they’ve got to learn how to practice. Every rep is full speed.�

Other notes

The first coaches poll of the season came out Monday morning, and Mizzou was the second team out — informally No. 27, if the poll extended that far. Oklahoma was the first team out. The Tigers will play three teams ranked inside the top 25 by the panel of voting coaches: No. 8 Alabama, No. 13 South Carolina and No. 21 Texas A&M.

For the second year in a row, Missouri has sold out of football season tickets. Three games — the Sept. 6 Border War game against Kansas, Sept. 13 matchup with Louisiana and Oct. 11 game against Alabama — have also sold out.

NCAA President Charlie Baker has said adding teams could add value to the tournament, and he said the NCAA already has had “good conversations� with TV partners CBS and Warner Bros., whose deal runs through 2032 at the cost of around $1.1 billion a year.

The idea of expanding the tournament to either 72 or 76 teams had picked up steam in the spring and that he saw value in adding more teams to the tournament.

St. Louis will host first and second round games next March at Enterprise Center.

Public pushback against expanding the tournament has been strong, with fans and numerous notable college basketball reporters clamoring to keep the field at 68 teams.

Field of 68 founder Rob Dauster posted a poll on X on July 9 asking followers if they wanted expansion. Nearly 12,000 people responded with a shocking 93.5% voting no.

“Today is a GREAT day for college basketball,� CBS college hoops reporter Jon Rothstein, a major voice against expansion, wrote. “This is what VICTORY feels like. Our way of life has earned the right to go on! Anarchy? Nope. Just Common Sense.�

Though there has been no concrete plan for how expansion would work, speculation has centered on bringing more at-large teams, likely from major conferences, into the bracket.

NCAA Tournament expansion has been discussed on a near annual basis in recent years, with the last increase from 64 to 68 taking place in 2011.

That change introduced the First Four round, four games held in Dayton where the four lowest seeded at-large teams and four lowest-seeded conference champions compete for a spot in the main bracket.

Who should be in and who shouldn’t, typically referred to as “the bubble,� dominates conversation every March. West Virginia’s governor even went as far as to of this year’s field.

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“Beau, you’re up.�

That’s how Beau Pribula remembers it. The Nittany Lions were No. 3 in the nation. And they were 6-0 entering the game on Saturday, Oct. 26. Road matchup. Longtime rival. Wisconsin.

And Penn State trailed at halftime, 10-7.

“Drew (Allar) was having a problem with whatever his injury was,� Pribula said. “And I remember my head coach was like, ‘Drew, can you go?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I think I can.’ Coach is like, ‘No. Beau’s going in.’ He’s like, ‘Beau, you’re up.’�

Sam Horn has a throwing arm so strong, it got him drafted and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. There are many good qualities Horn, a forever backup in black and gold, brings to the Tigers’ 2025 quarterback battle during camp. But Pribula has an edge. This isn’t simply because he’s faster and profiles more similarly to Brady Cook. It’s because Pribula has done it. He’s won a high-stakes college football game as a quarterback. Horn hasn’t.

“My redshirt freshman year,� Pribula said, “a similar situation happened when Drew got hurt in the first half and I had to finish that game. But it was at home, we were up (10-6 against Rutgers). So I think it was different going on the road, at Wisconsin, and being down at halftime.�

That day in Wisconsin, in front of 76,403 cheese-fed fans in red, Pribula led Penn State to a triumphant comeback. He competed 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards in the 28-13 victory.

“I just think it was big for me to not only just prove it to other people but prove it to myself,� Pribula said at Mizzou’s football media day. “That was really big, just for confidence and everything like that. And just always staying ready for my opportunity. I think that helped a lot.�

As the third quarter unfurled, Penn State led late, 14-13. And then? Pribula ignited a 13-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that gobbled up seven minutes and 35 seconds.

Wisconsin proceeded to punt.

And Pribula was at it again on the very next drive — another touchdown, this one cementing the final score, 28-13, with three minutes to go.

Rewatching the film on Penn State site For the Blogy, there were, admittedly, a couple of Beau throws that were risky. But he had a good day at work. But his ability to throw on the run and make plays with his legs showed he is gutsy, creative and unflappable.

On one key play, Pribula froze two linebackers with just a threat of running their direction. On another, he actually messed up the fake handoff on a play-action pass by holding the ball to the other side. No worries. He stayed poised and completed a 20-yard dart for a first down.

Allar returned the following weekend, but Penn State and coach James Franklin continued to use Pribula in mid-game drives for the rest of the regular season. In 2024, Beau finished with five throwing touchdowns and one interception. And he ran for 242 yards on 38 carries, good for a 6.4 average (oh, and he scored four rushing touchdowns).

“Whenever I had the opportunity to go in, (it was) just providing a spark,� Pribula said, “and just being able to be a playmaker and help the offense move the ball. ... All the game experience I had, in big-time games, on the road, games like the Big 10 championship, I think it just helps. You experience tough environments or like games, then it’s not anything new. So when we go on the road this year, or even when we’re at home, it’s not something that’ll just be brand new.�

It was surprising that Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz didn’t name Pribula the starter in the spring — Pribula reportedly got a $1.5 million NIL deal (per On3). But doing so would’ve given Horn a reason to leave the program — and there’s otherwise not much backup depth at the most important position. Also, Horn’s talent is legitimate — Drinkwitz said his quarterback group is the most talented he’s ever had, “and I hope it doesn’t offend Ryan Finley and Brett Rypien,� Drinkwitz said of signal-callers from North Carolina State and Boise State (I suppose Drink wasn’t counting his time as a low-level quality control coach with Cam Newton and Auburn).

One would have to think that Pribula’s win at Wisconsin will fuel him well in the coming days and weeks in the Columbia summer sun.

At media day, I asked Drinkwitz about what characteristics — besides just completing passes — he will look for in his choice for quarterback during camp.

“You know, we have five requirements to play the position,� Drinkwitz said. “Toughness, preparation, decision-making, accuracy and leadership, and we’ll evaluate all five of those each day. But then at the end of the day, it’s consistent decision-making. ... We’ll encourage them all to run their own race. And I told them straight up: ‘One bad day is not going to decide the competition. But two might.’ ... If you’ve had a bad set, you’ve got to shake it off and bounce back. I mean, that’s what quarterback is. That’s how you play the game. ...

“I’m really, really excited about the competition. But what’s keeping me up at night is I’m going to have to tell somebody they’re not the starting quarterback. That’s going to be the hardest thing I do all season because these guys have all worked really, really hard to earn the opportunity — and only one of them is going to get it.�

The obvious takeaway from this lesson is that Mizzou’s group of edge rushers is going to be a problem — for opposing tackles and quarterbacks, yes, but also a math problem for their own coaches.

There are seven defensive ends on the roster with real cases for playing time in 2025.

Yet “we’re looking for four starters,� edge rushers coach Brian Early said at the start of fall camp.

That’s why competition at D-end is as fierce as anywhere else in the program, even if this is the position with the most upside.

“They really all want to work, to compete to be the man,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “That sets a little bit more of a drive to them. And there’s only going to be two run out there (on any given play).�

MU doesn’t split its defensive ends up into playing on the right or left side but rather as “field� (the wider side of the field) or “boundary� (the side closer to a sideline) ends.

Zion Young, the former Michigan State transfer who produced 2 1/2 sacks, 5 1/ tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery in his Missouri debut last season, will return to the field position. He’s likely to be the starter there.

Appalachian State transfer Nate Johnson has worked behind Young at the field spot. He put together a 7 1/2-sack season for the Mountaineers when he was a freshman in 2023.

Langden Kitchen, who’s moving up from Division II Northwest Missouri State, has also slotted in at field end. He accumulated 5 1/2 sacks in two seasons there.

“All of those guys are 260-plus (pounds),� Early said.

That tends to lead to a bit more power at field end. The boundary is where the leaner, ultra-athletic edges line up.

“You got some different body types over there into the boundary,� Early said.

The two headliners at boundary end are Georgia transfers Damon Wilson II and Darris Smith.

Wilson, who was a five-star high school prospect and the top-ranked edge rusher to transfer this offseason, has 3 1/2 sacks and six tackles for a loss in two seasons of college football.

Smith, meanwhile, is the great what-if of 2024, having impressed during offseason workouts but gone down during fall camp with a torn ACL.

“He looks like the same old Darris to me,� Early said. “He’s got a really unique skill set, has some freaky qualities to him and we’re excited to think about how we can utilize him.�

The Tigers’ two true freshman edges have also slotted in at the boundary.

Javion Hilson, a high school All-American who racked up 38 1/2 sacks in Cocoa, Florida, looks fast and smooth enough to play this season. (Though drills against real linemen, not tackling dummies, are what will indicate that — and those have not been open to media during this camp.)

Daeden Hopkins, a Hermann product who was the No. 2 recruit in the state, has also earned positive reviews and earned his jersey number.

So how does that turn into a starting rotation of four defensive ends?

If camp plays out in favor of experience, it’ll be Young and Johnson at field end with Wilson and Smith on the boundary. Interestingly, Johnson and Smith are considered “swing� ends who can play both positions. Don’t be surprised if they flip during games to add a wrinkle to Mizzou’s pass rush.

It’s not like Kitchen, Hilson and Hopkins will idly sit on the bench, though, which is why Early might find loopholes to give more than four edge rushers roles.

“(We) like to have four starters, people that are rotating in and out throughout the game on base downs,� Early said, “and then (we’re) also looking for anybody that’s got a unique skill set that can maybe help us on a sub package — whether that’s third and long, third and short, low red zone, whatever that is. So you’ve got the possibility of a couple more situation players that may be like a third-down specialist type of role. ... That’s where we could get that fifth or sixth guy into the rotation.�

Given that Young is the only player in this group entering what’s likely to be his final season, MU has quite the pipeline of defensive ends in place.

For Missouri fans, that could rekindle memories of a decade ago when the likes of Kony Ealy and Michael Sam were succeeded by Shane Ray and Markus Golden — all four NFL draft picks in back-to-back years.

For edge coach Early, the potential of his defensive end room brought back the vibe of what he established in Houston, when edge rushers Payton Turner, Logan Hall and Derek Parish were drafted in three successive years.

“There were some draft picks that were being backed up by draft picks on that particular team,� he said. “I think we may be trending towards that situation here.�

His mother died on April 28. He yearns to connect with her on Aug. 28.

“I’m going to ask if I can wear some cleats I got specially made,� said the Mizzou receiver, whose Tigers open the 2025 season that night against Central Arkansas. “They are some pink cleats that say: ‘RIP, Mom, I love you.’ Pink is her favorite color. I’m going to end up trying to wear some type of pink, just to represent her.�

She was just 39. Denise Bell died in Johnson’s hometown of Dickinson, Texas. He didn’t feel comfortable sharing how she passed. Can you imagine being a college kid and having to grieve? Unfathomable emotions. You-don’t-want-to-even-go-there thoughts.

“I’m just a 2.0 of her,� said Johnson, who is 20 years old. “I joke more than her, but she was just like me. She always cared about me, always was there for me. … My mom, she was just uniquely herself. Didn’t care who was around, she was going to be herself. …

“I’m going to do what I do best — going out there and working and doing everything for her.�

Johnson is so fast, he has two nicknames regarding his rapidity — Speedy and Flash.

“The Flash,� Mizzou quarterback Sam Horn corrected me.

With Luther Burden III and Theo Wease now in NFL camps, much is being made about Mizzou newcomer Kevin Coleman Jr., a transfer receiver with a resume that could rattle the more vulnerable cornerbacks. But I feel that Johnson will have a breakout year in 2025. He played so well in the Music City Bowl. He’s a junior now. He very well may be the fastest guy in any game (he won a Texas state title as a high school sprinter). And he’s playing with a heavy heart, which, of course, is the color pink.

“Marquis made some huge strides last season in the bowl prep,� said offensive coordinator Kirby Moore, who is also in his third Mizzou season. “And then finishing there in the bowl game, with his opportunities outside, because Theo moved in the slot (with Burden not playing). We know he can stretch the field. I just think he really showed up with those details on some of those intermediate routes, being on the same page with Brady (Cook). And then he’s carried those over throughout the offseason. …

“I think from a leadership standpoint, too, he’s seen a lot more ball. And in that whole receiver room there’s a lot of depth — and they’re going to be pushing each other.�

Johnson arrived on radars in 2023 when the Tigers played Memphis in St. Louis. The quarterback Cook cooked up a play for Johnson, who weaved his way for a 76-yard touchdown. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, who uses a particular four-letter word instead of actual four-letter words, said after the game: “Crud — that sucker is fast as lightning.�

But Mizzou was so deep at receiver in 2023. And in 2024. Remember, Mookie Cooper was out there, too. Johnson has 38 career catches and seven came in the Music City Bowl win against Iowa. With Mizzou down 10 late in the third quarter, Johnson corralled a key 44-yard Cook pass — the Tigers scored shortly after. Speedy, er, The Flash, finished with 122 receiving yards that afternoon in Nashville.

“I think he has really good ball skills — and a great knack for finding the ball in the air,� said Horn, who is competing with Beau Pribula to be Mizzou’s starting signal-caller (Cook is in New York Jets camp). “And for me as quarterback, I love that, being able to get the ball whenever I want to. Let him make a play. And he’s a playmaker that’s for sure — big-play guy.�

At Mizzou’s camp-opening media day, Drinkwitz brought up three pass-catchers of whom “there’s a reasonable expectation that you can take your game to another level.�

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were Johnson, the tight end Brett Norfleet and the receiver Josh Manning, who is in a similar situation to Johnson — looking to break out as a receiver on the outside.

Norfleet has watched his fellow junior Johnson for a while now. Asked about Johnson, Norfleet shared: “You know, the cliche answer would be the speed — I mean the kid can straight-out fly — but for me, what also sticks out is just his competitive attitude, something that y’all might not see. But when we’re going up against our defense in practice, he always brings the energy. … I just think you know, in order to play this game, you have to have a competitive mindset. Otherwise you’re just going to get ran through.�

On, Twitter/X, Johnson’s name is listed as “The Flash.� And his Twitter/X handle is @_SpeedyQuis. This summer, he posted a photo taken in a studio. He’s in his black Mizzou No. 2 jersey — and he’s holding a pink T-shirt. It featured four photos of Denise Bell and the words: “LONG LIVE MY QUEEN.�

Later in the summer, he retweeted a photo of Michael Jordan.

He was still in his Bulls uniform and sweaty after a game that just ended. And Jordan had his arm around his mother, who looked up at her son with a smile.

The caption simply read: “Make her proud.�

That’s the theory, anyway.

“If we want to be good on special teams, we have to have our best players play,� special teams coordinator Erik Link told the Post-Dispatch. “That could be one phase, that could be two phases.�

To be clear, this isn’t about the specialists — the kicker or the punter — but the players around them: those who have other roles on offense or defense but are necessary as blockers and chase-down tacklers on kickoffs and punts.

On the whole, those units didn’t perform too well in 2024. Mizzou’s special teams, across the board, were a net negative according to ESPN’s SP+ ranking, which is an opponent-adjusted measure of efficiency. MU ranked 98th among the 134 Football Bowl Division programs in special teams SP+ at the end of last season.

That was the third-worst in the Southeastern Conference, with only Texas and Auburn ranked lower. Those three were the only league members with negative special teams SP+ scores. Mississippi, Florida and Vanderbilt, meanwhile, were the top three in the nation.

The Rebels, Gators and Commodores all missed the College Football Playoff, so it’s not like SP+ scores make or break a team’s quality. It’s probably not even a metric that anyone on the Mizzou coaching staff cares about.

Still, it shows the room for growth in special teams performance.

Enter the depth the Tigers acquired this offseason.

Positions like linebacker, defensive end, safety and wide receiver are full of players talented enough to see the field regularly. Given the fact that only two or three players from each of those positions can be on the field at any time, some aren’t going to play as much as they’d like or deserve — even with in-game rotation.

That’s where the coaches’ special teams pitch comes in.

“(If) we get 60 reps in a game and we’re dividing it 30-30, go get another 15 on special teams,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “and make an impact in a way that will have a dramatic effect on us.�

“A guy might be a starter on defense,� Link said, “but he might be sharing time. It might up another 10, 15 plays, 12 plays, whatever it is to help out on the kicking game.�

Seems straightforward enough. Only games — now less than a month away, with calendars turned to August — will tell whether that pitch works.

Last year, the four non-specialists to play the most special teams snaps — counting kickoff coverage and returns, punt coverage and returns and both sides of the ball on field-goal attempts — were mostly reserves. Tight end Tyler Stephens played 172 special teams snaps compared to 150 offensive snaps, safety Trajen Greco got 164 on special teams compared to 37 on defense, cornerback Ja’Marion Wayne played 136 on special teams compared to 29 on defense and linebacker Brady Hultman played 135 on special teams to just two on defense.

The only regular starter to play more than 100 special teams snaps last season was middle linebacker Corey Flagg, who was 13th among non-specialists in special teams snaps.

The point? Mizzou’s best players weren’t appearing on special teams duty.

“The more high-quality depth you have on a football team should improve your team in all three phases, but certainly in the kicking game,� Link said.

“It’s got to help our special teams,� Drinkwitz said. “We were not where we wanted to be last year in special teams, and that’s an area we have to improve. That means getting better players on the field. That means getting our most consistent players on the field.�

Camp notes

Drinkwitz met with reporters following Mizzou’s Saturday practice, which was its fifth of fall camp.

To no surprise, he has not named a starting quarterback. The competition at left tackle remains ongoing, too, with Jayven Richardson and Johnny Williams IV in the mix.

Quarterback contenders Sam Horn and Beau Pribula have “all done some really good things and some really dumb things,� Drinkwitz said. “And that’s kind of the quarterback position. Now it’s about seeing, do they continually make that same mistake or can they self-correct?�

Trajen Greco, who is expected to be in the safety rotation this season, has not practiced this week with what Drinkwitz dubbed a “soft-tissue injury.� He’s expected to return to practice Sunday. Safety Jalen Catalon missed Saturday’s practice and center Connor Tollison was limited, but neither is a long-term or serious issue.

Camp will progress in intensity next week when Missouri has two days of intrasquad scrimmages on tap.

Missouri’s Theo Wease Jr. and Arkansas’ Andrew Armstrong were snapped up instantly, each given $234,000 in guaranteed money, which is on the high side for undrafted rookies.

The Dolphins gave a $125,000 guarantee to Northwestern’s A.J. Henning and a nonguaranteed contract to Baylor’s Monaray Baldwin.

Through eight practices, Wease and Armstrong have made the most plays of the four. But Wease has been the best of the quartet, catching multiple touchdown passes in the red zone and finding a knack to get open.

So is Wease happy with how he has played? “Not even close,� he said Friday. “Not at all. I still have a long way to go — every aspect, blocking, learning the playbook, making more plays, getting open as much as I can.�

But he said he already knows that he is “most definitely� an NFL-caliber receiver.

Wease said not being drafted “fueled me some more .. But I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed.�

He said other teams offered similar guaranteed money, but the Dolphins “felt like the best opportunity for me.�

Being bypassed in the draft wasn’t the most adversity he has faced.

In 2021, his third year at Oklahoma, he broke both feet in separate practice incidents six months apart.

“I broke the left one first, healed it, then broke the right one,� he said. “Normal football plays [in] practice.

“That was probably the biggest setback I had my whole life. First time being taken away from the game where I missed the whole season. I learned a lot about myself and I knew I really loved this game.�

Wease, 6-2, caught 60 passes for 884 yards (14.7 average) with four touchdowns last season, his second at Missouri after spending four at Oklahoma. He caught 173 passes for 2,610 yards and 20 TDs in 63 college games.

In different single seasons, he ranked in the top 10 in two different Power 4 conferences in receptions, yards and TD receptions. Last year, he was fifth in the Southeastern Conference in receptions and seventh in receiving yards.

Eric Galko, the executive director of the East/West Shrine Bowl, said by phone in May that Wease “came in with high expectations, but got an injury late in the season. He tried to come to the Shrine Bowl but wasn’t healthy. He’s a physical outside receiver and has juice to separate vertically.�

Wease said what he does well is simple: “Getting open and catching.�

’s Lance Zierlein said his “ball-tracking and high-point timing stand out on tape” but explained why he wasn’t drafted, noting that even though he has good size at 6-2, he has “average explosiveness on the outside. His routes aren’t good enough to shake tight man coverage underneath and his small hands will make contested-catch wins more difficult to come by against pro corners.

“Wease is steady and productive, but he might not be dynamic enough to ascend beyond an average backup.�

But Wease — who ran the 40 in 4.59 seconds at the NFL Combine — has displayed a knack for getting open in practice.

Wease, who has no college experience returning punts or kickoffs, is competing for one or two jobs behind starters Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and top backups Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Malik Washington.

Also competing: Dee Eskridge (who has value as a returner and a decent chance to stick), Armstrong, Erik Ezukanma, 2024 seventh-round pick Tahj Washington (who missed his rookie season with a lower-leg injury), Baldwin (who caught a deep pass in practice last week), Henning (who has several catches but also a few drops in camp) and Tarik Black.

But even if Wease makes the practice squad instead of the 53-man roster, “I will just go back to work. [It would be] nothing to be disappointed about.�

Wease appreciates the chance to pick up nuances of the game from Hill and Waddle: “I can learn a lot from both of them.�

He said Tua Tagovailoa “throws perfect. I’m not just saying that because he’s my quarterback. He throws perfect. If we drop it, it’s on us nine times out of 10 for sure.�

He also has developed a chemistry with No. 3 quarterback Quinn Ewers, noting both grew up in Texas. (Ewers grew up in San Antonio, Wease in Allen).

Catching passes from a left-handed quarterback (Tagovailoa) isn’t new for him; he played with former Oregon and Cleveland Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel at Oklahoma.

As a five-star recruit, Wease can handle pressure and still find a way to enjoy the experience.

“I’m living my dream right now,� he said.