Which returners have developed into new starters or key rotational players for Missouri football? Here’s who could take on a bigger role this year.
The intrigue of the transfer portal drums up significant interest, but there’s still room in this sport for good, old-fashioned player development.
Missouri football’s 2025 season-opening game is now just one week away, as the Tigers will take the field Thursday, Aug. 28, to face Central Arkansas on Faurot Field and begin their new year. That means a largely new cast of characters will take the field in Columbia, which includes some names who have been around town but are stepping into bigger roles.
Mizzou signed 21 players out of the transfer portal over the offseason. Several freshmen in the Tigers’ top-25-ranked Class of 2025 high school group are pushing for reps, too.
But who among MU’s returners are in line to make a leap?
Here are the players we think have made the leap from backup to starter on the Mizzou team this season:
Curtis Peagler, right guard
Drinkwitz said Tuesday that if the season were to begin that same day, Peagler would be the Tigers’ starting right guard, completing a dramatic year-over-year ascension from the Demopolis, Alabama, native, who was on the Tigers’ scout team in practice this time last season.
Peagler, listed at 6-foot-4, 338 pounds, has only played 36 snaps in his college career — all against Murray State, Buffalo, and Iowa last season.
The offensive line was one of the most intriguing position groups of the offseason. As it currently stands, 80% of the Tigers’ line is either a newcomer or a player in a new position. But Peagler is the lone returner to step into a new starting role.
“I think Curtis was on the scout team; now he's with the ones,” Tollison said. “I think that just shows the dedication, I guess you could say, he has. And ‘the want’ to improve. Like, everybody talks about it, but how much do you really want to go get it for yourself?”
Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning, wide receivers
The Tigers are replacing their full cast of starting wide receivers, with Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. now in the NFL and Mookie Cooper out of eligibility.
Manning and Johnson are no strangers to the lineup.
Johnson has been a take-the-top-off threat for MU for the past two seasons and truly broke out in the Tigers’ Music City Bowl win over Iowa with 122 receiving yards and a touchdown. He’ll need to have developed into a more versatile route runner over the offseason, but he’s certainly a reason for optimism in this offense.
We’re playing a little fast and loose with the term ‘new starter’ with Manning, as he did start seven games for the Tigers in 2025, taking over after Cooper sustained a season-ending injury in mid-October. His role, however, will increase this season as he takes over starting duties full-time.
Manning caught 13 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown last season, also running one score in. More will be asked of him in 2025, as the 6-2 pass-catcher is likely to play a role similar to what we saw from Wease last year.
With the turnover at the position, we also expect returners Daniel Blood and James Madison II to see the field this year.
Marquis Gracial, defensive tackle
We don’t have an official depth chart yet from the Tigers, but there has been enough evidence from fall camp to suggest Gracial may be the first defensive tackle onto the field alongside Chris McClellan.
The St. Louis native and St. Charles High grad appears to have slimmed down for his redshirt junior campaign, and he looks faster and twitchier off the line of scrimmage. Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what a player he goes up against every day in practice said:
“The speed of the game has had to slow down for (Gracial). You know, I remember a time when it slowed down for me, and it's gotta have slowed down for him, because the way he plays and he sees it, you can tell he's reacting faster,” Tollison said. “You know, I used to like (think), ‘he's a little behind here,’ you know, like, ‘you’ve got him reached.’ It's not like that anymore. He knows what's going on. He really sees it, and he's improved a lot.”
More ‘new’ names in the rotation
We’re making a distinction between starters and rotational players here, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot. Each of the following returning players are expected to play significant reps in 2025, even if it’s not among the first 11 onto the field.
Darris Smith, defensive end: After a season-ending ACL tear in fall camp 2024, the former Georgia transfer’s Mizzou career will begin in earnest this season as he looks likely to be a key piece of the rotation at the Tigers’ boundary edge-rushing position.
Trajen Greco, safety: The sophomore burned a redshirt last season, playing a bulk of his 200 snaps on special teams. He looks very likely to be a part of the safety rotation in his second season, and may be a candidate to take over the ‘Star’ role after Daylan Carnell.
Nicholas Rodriguez, linebacker: Similar to Greco, Rodriguez burned a redshirt with a majority of his snaps coming on special teams. All indications suggest he is now the second man up at middle linebacker behind Josiah Trotter.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football returners who could be new starters in 2025
Category: General Sports
