Mizzou football has holes to fill. Here’s the Tigers’ transfer portal wish list

The biggest news of the week for Missouri football came Tuesday afternoon: Linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper is returning for the 2023 season.

That alleviates any worry of Hopper departing through the transfer portal, and it ensures MU’s defense will return arguably its best player from the 2022 season.

It also allows head coach Eli Drinkwitz to focus on other aspects of recruiting, which is an area he can be extremely active in with the arrival of Kirby Moore as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“Now, you have to recruit everybody in your building,” Drinkwitz said during Moore’s introduction last Saturday. “You’ve got to recruit coaches, players, boosters and fans. So, that’s a large majority of my time as far as specifically in the last two years. And I think that’s everybody’s feeling right now.”

As fate would have it, January is prime recruiting time for Drinkwitz as the transfer portal is in full swing following the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Last year, Drinkwitz secured transfer commitments from Hopper, tight end Tyler Stephens and running back Nathaniel Peat in January. There’s still time to add depth and starters to MU’s roster, which has already added receiver Theo Wease, defensive back Tre’Vez Johnson, O-lineman Marcellus Johnson and punter Riley Williams through the portal.

Here are a few key positions MU may target in the transfer portal during the month of January.

Mizzou offensive line

Missouri added Eastern Michigan offensive tackle transfer Marcellus Johnson to the mix, as Johnson committed to MU on January 8. But the 2022 season was evidence that the Tigers could use all the help they can get on the offensive line.

Hyrin White transferred to Southern Methodist, while Zeke Powell and Connor Wood exhausted their eligibility. There are a handful of linemen that MU recruited in the 2022 class that can contribute in 2023: Valen Erickson, Curtis Peagler, MaKyi Lee, Armand Membou and Tristan Wilson. However, if the opportunity to add an immediate contributor to the offensive line presents itself then the football staff shouldn’t waste a moment.

The more experience available on the line, especially at right tackle, would improve MU’s offensive group, which allowed 27 sacks in 2022.

Running back position

Nathaniel Peat and Cody Schrader both transferred to Missouri and remade the Tigers’ backfield. Peat flashed in moments but fell out of the rotation late in the season, whereas Schrader was the entrenched starter.

Peat participated in MU’s Senior Day ceremonies and won’t be back; fellow back Elijah Young also entered the transfer portal. Missouri could use an experienced back to pair with Schrader and compete with Tavorus Jones, Taj Butts and BJ Harris.

MU could knock out two birds with one stone by adding an experienced running back, too, as Young also filled in a spot on special team as a kick returner. A dependable and smart back would benefit Missouri in more ways than one.

Quarterback depth

As it stands, Missouri’s quarterback room includes incumbent starter Brady Cook, Sam Horn (who will be a redshirt freshman), four-star true freshman Gabarri Johnson and walk-ons Tommy Lock and Brett Brown. Jack Abraham has graduated and Tyler Macon has transferred to Alcon State.

Assuming the staff wants to redshirt Johnson in 2023, that leaves Horn and Cook to compete for QB1.

With Cook’s recovery from a torn labrum extending through the spring, Missouri will have Horn piloting the first-team offense in the spring. Taking on a veteran quarterback, like MU did with Abraham last season, to compete with Horn in the spring and bring depth to the position would bring insurance to the most important position in the sport.

Edge rusher

With Trajan Jeffcoat and Travion Ford departing in the transfer portal, that leaves a hole at edge rusher for Missouri in the starting lineup, not to mention it takes away from the MU depth.

Take into account that Isaiah McGuire and DJ Coleman, who recorded 13 of the Tigers’ 35 team sacks, have departed for the NFL and Missouri is in need of some experience in its pass-rush game.

MU added Northwestern’s Austin Firestone to the defensive line in the transfer portal and has two incoming true freshmen edge rushers in Jahkai Lang and Serigne Tounkara, but adding one or two edge rushers in the portal would alleviate some pressure on Johnny Walker and Arden Walker as the team’s sole pass rushers to perform in 2023.

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