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Because Marquis Johnson isn’t done doing so.

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.�