Missouri football returns two experienced linebackers. Who will join them in 2024?

At linebacker, much like across most of his defense, new Missouri football defensive coordinator Corey Batoon is mostly interested in sticking to the spring camp process over way-too-early evaluations.

That’s why, on Saturday after Mizzou’s first scrimmage of the spring, he struck a positive tone about where Missouri’s linebacker room stands, even if — on paper — there’s a distinct lack of returning, experienced depth.

Missouri football lost linebackers Ty’Ron Hopper and Chad Bailey over the offseason. Chuck Hicks and Triston Newson played plenty while the depth-chart toppers sat with sporadic injuries last season, and they shape up to be the primary starters next season.

But behind them, the room thinned over the offseason. Mizzou lost backups DJ Wesolak, Carmycah Glass, Xavier Simmons and Dameon Wilson to the portal.

“You have the two veteran guys that have played a lot of snaps,” Batoon said, “and then, you know, trying to blend in some of the younger guys, some of the high school guys, some of the transfers.”

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Hicks and Newson are the veterans who have played a lot of snaps. Hicks is in his seventh year of college football; Newson is a junior college transfer with three years of college football under his belt. Both of them started in the Tigers’ Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State in December.

The players Batoon is trying to “blend in” are Corey Flagg, who transferred to Missouri from Miami; Brayshawn Littlejohn, who is for his second season after four appearances in 2023; true freshman Brian Huff, an early enrollee; and three-star prospect Nicholas Rodriguez, who will join the Tigers’ linebackers as a freshman in the summer.

Of that group, whose name will appear on the depth chart in early September to bolster the ‘2’ in their 4-2-5?

That won’t get decided in the spring, but Batoon likes the early signs.

“It's a process, and we're eight days in it,” Batoon said. “But certainly — probably about Day 5 or 6 — you see that room, for the most part, make a turn for the better because now it's starting to slow down for them a little bit. The installs slow down.”

Flagg is the favorite to lead the newcomers, with a starting role certainly a possibility.

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Missouri wide receiver Theo Wease said Wednesday he noticed that the former Hurricane has “been around the ball a lot.” Flagg isn’t lacking experience, after all, bringing 43 career appearances with him to Missouri, in which he amassed 179 tackles, 24.5 for loss, a pair of pass deflections and an interception.

“Very solid. Very workman-like,” Batoon said. “A guy that when you come up here at odd hours, he's up here kind of trying to figure things out, always asking questions. I think it's important to him by his commitment level and the amount of time I see him up here. He has a very good understanding; he’s played under a lot of different systems.

“And now I think — I saw it happened this week a little bit, where the game’s starting to slow down for him a little bit, and now it's starting to make sense to him, and now you see the athleticism start to show up.”

Littlejohn, alongside frequent special teams player and Rock Bridge High grad Will Norris, is the only other returning scholarship linebacker after Hicks and Newson on MU’s roster this season.

Hicks praised Littlejohn, a redshirt freshman, by saying he’s “bigger, stronger, faster” this season and that his experience as a rookie has brought a “better understanding” in Year 2.

Hicks also sounded positive about the future of Huff, a freshman and early enrollee out of Jonesboro, Arkansas. It came with a caveat, however.

“He's one of them guys where it's like, he's so young, but he’s gonna be crazy good,” Hicks said. “He’s already, what, 6-foot-3? Boy looks crazy. He can play, I promise you. Just watch: Give him a year and he’s gonna be playing.”

For now, Batoon frequently mentioned that the Tigers have had eight practices and that there are seven days of camp remaining, with MU’s open-to-the-public spring game set for Saturday at Faurot Field in Columbia.

In the short but all-important span that is spring ball, which is now more than halfway done, the play-caller is pleased with the progress.

“The guys are starting to make the checks and anticipate the motions and have been able to be more confident with communication, and … the play has really sped up,” Batoon said. “So, continue to see that. We’ve got another seven days of practicing, (and) we want to continue this trend. But I've been real happy with the work they've put in, and we're starting to see some of the fruits of their labor showing up, like we did today.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football returns two experienced linebackers. Who will join them in 2024?