Projecting Missouri football depth chart for 2024 season after spring transfer portal window
Missouri football’s transfer portal action appears to be wrapped up, and the roster looks like it has been set.
BetMGM has set MU’s over/under for wins in the 2024 season at 9.5. If the Tigers get to double digits, they’re certainly a College Football Playoff contender.
When Mizzou lines up against Murray State to open its season Thursday, Aug. 29, on home turf, here is who the Tribune expects to be MU’s starters and backups.
Quarterback
The starter: Brady Cook, sr.
The reserves: Drew Pyne, r-jr. Aidan Glover, fr.
For the first time in a long time, there is no question — barring fire or fury — as to who lines up at quarterback for Missouri. This is Brady Cook’s team.
With Sam Horn out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Arizona State transfer and former Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne looks likely to slot in as an experienced backup. Behind Cook and Pyne, Missouri is young and unexperienced, with freshman Aidan Glover looking more like a long-term project than a ready-to-run backup.
More: Missouri football lands Arizona State transfer quarterback Drew Pyne out of portal
Running back
The starters: Marcus Carroll, sr.; Nate Noel, sr.
The reserves: Jamal Roberts, r-fr.; Tavorus Jones, so.
Missouri hasn’t committed to putting the bulk of the carries on either Georgia State transfer Marcus Carroll or Appalachian State transfer Nate Noel.
That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Cody Schrader wasn’t named the starter in fall camp in 2023, when he went on to break with Tigers’ single-season rushing record with 1,627 yards.
For now, however, Carroll and Noel look likely to split reps.
More: How new Missouri football running back Marcus Carroll went from bruised to bruiser
Wide receivers
The starters: Slot: Luther Burden III, jr.; X: Theo Wease Jr., sr.; Z: Mookie Cooper, sr.
The reserves: Marquis Johnson, so.; Mekhi Miller, jr.; Daniel Blood, so.; Joshua Manning, so.; Courtney Crutchfield (summer enrollee); James Madison II (summer enrollee).
This is Missouri’s most experienced room. The Tigers have returned their six most productive receivers from last season. They’ve bolstered the room with some four-star high school signees.
Luther Burden III figures to be a front-runner for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver. If he takes a step forward from his sophomore campaign, when he caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns, he’ll draw some Heisman Trophy chatter. Burden is already touted as a Day 1 — and an early Day 1 — 2025 NFL Draft pick.
Marquis Johnson, Mekhi Miller, Daniel Blood and Joshua Manning will fight for routes and targets behind the experienced starting three. Johnson's speed and stellar freshman season will see him enter the lineup frequently.
Tight end
The starter: Brett Norfleet, so.
The reserves: Tyler Stephens, sr.; Jordan Harris, so.
Brett Norfleet looks likely to be Missouri’s starting tight end in August. He’s bulked up to 255 pounds pounds, per offensive coordinator Kirby Moore. Originally signed as a two-sport athlete, the sophomore decided against playing baseball before this season, opting to focus solely on football.
More: Mizzou football TEs Brett Norfleet, Jordon Harris take differing paths to the SEC
Offensive line
The starters: LT: Marcus Bryant, sr.; LG: Cayden Green, so.; C: Connor Tollison, jr.; RG: Cam’Ron Johnson, sr.; RG: Armand Membou, jr.
The reserves: Logan Reichert, r-fr.; Jayven Richardson, so.; Mitchell Walters, sr.; Brandon Solis, r-fr.; Drake Heismayer, sr.; Triston Wilson, so.
Missouri wanted to find another offensive lineman during the spring transfer portal, and the Tigers did just that.
SMU left tackle Marcus Bryant looks likely to be an instant fit in the trenches. He’s a 6-foot-8, 318-pound lineman and was a first-team All-AAC nod last season.
The interesting part: Missouri, entering the spring portal window, had an open competition at right guard, which Bryant is not. That means there likely will be some reshuffling.
Look for Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green to move inside to left guard, where he started as a freshman for the Sooners. That sends Cam’Ron Johnson, who played at his natural left guard spot in the spring, back to the right-hand interior spot, where he played for MU’s Joe Moore Award semifinalist line last season.
More: Missouri football bolsters offensive line with SMU, All-AAC 1st-team tackle Marcus Bryant
Defensive tackles
The starters: Kristian Williams, sr.; Chris McClellan, jr.
The reserves: Eddie Kelly, jr.; Sterling Webb, jr.; Marquis Gracial, so.; Sam Williams, r-fr.
Another spring addition, Eddie Kelly from Georgia Tech should round out Missouri’s two-deep at defensive tackle.
Returning starter Kristian Williams and Florida transfer Chris McClellan are the two iron-clad tackles in interior defensive line coach Al Davis’ unit. Kelly and New Mexico State transfer Sterling Webb are likely to frequently rotate in and out, with in-house talents Marquis Gracial and Sam Williams in the running for reps.
Defensive ends
The starters: Johnny Walker Jr., sr.; Zion Young, jr.
The reserves: Darris Smith, jr.; Joe Moore III, sr.; Williams Nwaneri, fr.
New defensive ends coach Brian Early has tabbed Johnny Walker Jr., Georgia transfer Darris Smith and Joe Moore III as his boundary ends. Expect Smith to see plenty of action alongside Walker, the Cotton Bowl Defensive MVP. Michigan State transfer Zion Young looks likely to start as the field end.
Austin Firestone announced he had retired from football after spring camp, and underclassman Sergine Tounkara entered the transfer portal.
That should open up reps, if they weren’t open already, for five-star summer enrollee Williams Nwaneri, who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 8 player in his class.
More: ‘Not normal’: Darris Smith brings size, speed to Missouri football defensive end room
Linebackers
The starters: M: Chuck Hicks, sr.; W: Triston Newson, sr.
The reserves: Corey Flagg, sr.; Jeremiah Beasley, fr.; Brayshawn Littlejohn, r-fr.; Brian Huff, fr.
Jeremiah Beasley joined MU from Michigan out of the transfer portal. In a novel situation, Beasley, a freshman, had only enrolled at Michigan out of high school in December.
The Tigers needed depth at the position. Cotton Bowl starters Chuck Hicks and Triston Newson were the only returners with experience at Missouri. Corey Flagg joined the Tigers from Miami out of the portal and will likely have a prominent role.
Beasley joins a promising but inexperienced group in the running for the leftover reps.
More: Missouri football doubles up in portal, lands defensive tackle, linebacker in quick succession
Cornerbacks
The starters: Drey Norwood, sr.; Toriano Pride, jr.
The reserves: Shamar McNeil, r-fr.; Marcus Clarke, sr.; Ja’Mariyon Wayne, so.; Nicholas DeLoach, r-fr.
This position became much more clear during the spring: Returner Drey Norwood and Clemson transfer Toriano Pride are in line to be MU’s starters.
Missouri lost both of its top two corners to the NFL Draft, as Ennis Rakestraw Jr. was a second-round pick to the Detroit Lions, while Kris Abrams-Draine went to the Denver Broncos in the fifth round.
Marcus Clarke is the most experienced backup, but the Tigers like the long-term futures of Ja’Mariyon Wayne and Shamar McNeil. Cornerbacks coach Al Pogue, during a Missouri athletics caravan stop in April, also said Nicholas DeLoach had put together an impressive spring.
More: How Toriano Pride has made case to start in Missouri football's secondary
Safeties
The starters: Free: Joseph Charleston, sr.; Strong: Marvin Burks Jr., so.; Star: Daylan Carnell, sr.
The reserves: Tre’Vez Johnson, sr.; Sidney Williams Sr., sr.; Phillip Roche, so.
St. Louis native Marvin Burks Jr. is the heir-apparent to fifth-round NFL Draft pick JC Carlies, who was selected by the Indianapolis Colts. Joseph Charleston and Daylan Carnell each have plenty of experience with the Tigers, and look set to resume their roles as starters in 2024.
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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Projecting Missouri football depth chart for 2024 season
