Missouri football walk-on Chris Kreh named captain for spring game. Here’s how he earned it

In a Missouri football running back room with storied tailback Cody Schrader in 2023, Christopher Kreh stood out to his coach as the leader.

Without extensive hours scanning the Missouri roster, Kreh’s name might prove unfamiliar. That’s OK.

Kreh has played 28 games for Missouri, almost exclusively on special teams. He’s a Marquette High in St. Louis product, and the running back is a four-year member of the Tigers’ program. His statline shows two solo tackles and no carries.

Now, he’s a team captain for Missouri’s spring game.

Missouri will play its Black & Gold game at 1 p.m. Saturday on Faurot Field. The event is open to the public, free to attend and will stream on ESPN+. Ahead of the spring camp finale, the Tigers held an intrasquad draft.

The captains making the picks: quarterback Brady Cook; wide receivers Mookie Cooper and Theo Wease Jr.; defensive end Johnny Walker Jr.; linebacker Chuck Hicks; and …

Kreh.

Behind the scenes, Kreh has been proving his worth.

“Just to put it in perspective, I think he works, not harder, but just as hard as Cody did last year, like on a day-to-day basis,” Wease said. “That's who Chris is, for sure. Every day. Same person every day. You know, always bringing energy, always got that emotion and you can tell he's he's about the brotherhood.”

Kreh was an all-state and all-metro running back at Marquette, and surpassed 2,200 single-season rushing yards as a junior for the Mustangs. He said he had some Division II offers, but he walked on to the Missouri football team in 2021.

If you see shades of Schrader, the walk-on-turned-starter-turned-NFL-hopeful who placed eighth in last season’s Heisman Trophy voting, it’s likely a good time to holster that thought.

Missouri is primarily running with transfers Marcus Carroll and Nate Noel with the starters in camp, with redshirt freshman Jamal Roberts and sophomore Tavorus Jones also firmly in the running for reps. The offensive coaches have said they’ll settle on the future of that room in the fall, with multiple options on the table.

More: Will Missouri football running backs go by committee? Coach compares transfers to former duo

Kreh keeps an honest outlook on his role within the offense.

“I might not be the greatest football player,” he said, “but I know I can motivate people.”

His coaches and peers agree.

Running backs coach Curtis Luper said even when Schrader — who has seldom been mentioned as anything other than an inspiration and role model within the Missouri locker room for his work ethic during his two-year Tigers career — was in the room that Kreh was the leader.

Luper wanted Schrader to put his main focus on football, so turned to Kreh to do the dirty work. Luper can see Kreh as “an Army ranger” one day, he said Friday. He mentioned that the running back works a summer construction job, and that he would do that in the morning and then work out at the Missouri facility afterward.

The coach has rules for his players. Among them: don’t wear jewelry during practice; do wear your thigh pads.

Kreh was the enforcer.

“Chris was the jewelry police for me. He did it all,” Luper said. “I didn't want Cody to have that responsibility. Cody would have done it, but I wanted Cody just to focus on what he had to do. So Chris was the leader. He's that type of leader, and guys listen to him. … He's a little different now — he'll go hunting at 4 a.m. and come here for a 7 a.m. workout. Yeah, that's Chris Kreh.”

That was just fine with Kreh.

“Cody's an amazing running back. (I) don't want him to have to worry about people being late, people doing the wrong thing, stuff like that,” Kreh said. “So I feel like I stepped up in that role, kind of in the weight room, sidelines, getting everybody where they needed to be, when they needed to be with everything.”

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Kreh said Schrader’s was one of the “hardest workers” he’s ever met and a role model, although a quick line of questioning to his coaches and teammates dispels the idea that Kreh ever was anything different.

“First of all, down-to-earth, salt-of-the-earth type guy,” Cook said. “He's a leader on the team. He's contributed in every way he can. He always maxes out his role on the team. He’s a dude that we love.”

“He's what Mizzou is all about,” Luper said.

That’s why he’s rolling into the spring game as a captain.

“Chris Kreh is a dog,” linebackers coach DJ Smith said. “Chris Kreh is an absolute man's man. He is a phenomenal leader. … I mean, he's got the heart of a lion, man.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Missouri football walk-on Chris Kreh earned spring game captaincy