Missouri football returns two of its top TEs from 2024 and added two more from the portal. Can MU get the group more involved in its offense?
On a Missouri football offense that turns over a chunk of its 2024 starters, the notable exception is at tight end.
The Tigers get back perhaps both their best receiving and top blocking tight ends. They’ve supplemented that with a pair of intriguing portal additions.
So, can MU make that continuity and newfound depth count?
Mizzou’s 2025 season-opener against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28 on Faurot Field, as of Thursday, July 17, is exactly six weeks away. Fall camp is right around the corner, as the Tigers typically have players report to campus in Columbia over the final weekend of July.
Here is how Missouri’s tight ends shape up heading into fall camp, including a projected (but not finalized) depth chart, the upside, and possible questions for the room:
Missouri football projected depth chart at tight end
Starter: Brett Norfleet, Jr.
Rotation/backups: Jordon Harris, Jr., Gavin Hoffman, R-Fr., Vince Brown II, R-Sr.
Reserves: Jude James, R-Fr.; Dakotah Terrell, Fr..; Adam Molitor, So.
Mizzou was active in the transfer portal recruiting tight ends, bringing in two players to add to a solid returning duo.
There’s no question that Norfleet is the primary tight end on the roster and the player who will take the lion’s share of snaps and likely see the most targets and finish the season with the top receiving statistics. Beyond him, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Tigers share the wealth.
At 6-4, 268 pounds, Harris has the frame of a defensive end and shapes up as Mizzou’s best blocking tight end.
Hoffman joins the squad from Iowa. Brown comes in from Colorado State. Both look like they have the ability to play as pass-catchers and ought to compete for playing time in the fall.
Questions, concerns to answer
Norfleet’s production in 2024 was a little bit underwhelming. Part of that absolutely could be explained by a persistent shoulder injury, which he had surgery on over the offseason. We use the phrase ‘underwhelming,’ because he is absolutely the type of player who could be an All-SEC team candidate and future NFL Draft pick.
That’s all to say that 235 yards and two touchdowns on 26 receptions last season is not his ceiling.
Norfleet was mostly no-contact throughout spring camp as he recovered from surgery, but if he’s fully healthy in 2025, it would behoove the staff to get the 6-6, 263-pound athlete the ball more — especially with some notable turnover occurring at wide receiver.
He doesn't need to be Brock Bowers, who was essentially a slot receiver in his exceptional 2023 campaign at Georgia. But Norfleet's athleticism and ability with the rock make his ceiling supremely high and should force the offensive staff’s hands to get him targets.
The upside
Mizzou has options, and the fact that there seemingly is — at minimum — four playable tight ends on the roster may open up the possibility for some varying offensive looks.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Tigers run some more 12 personnel — one running back, two tight ends — this season. There’s enough versatility in the room to do that.
Norfleet and Harris are likely to form the core of what MU does at tight end, but Brown and Hoffman have the potential to mix up the lineup and looks a little.
Brown logged 24 receptions for 256 yards and three touchdowns on his pass-catching résumé last season with the Rams. Before that, he was the leading receiver on a NJCAA national-title-winning team. That should set him up for some playing time in Columbia.
Hoffman is more of an unknown, as he didn’t appear in an always-stacked tight end room in Iowa. But he’s another player who gives the Tigers a pass-catching option at the position.
‘You can never have enough 6-5, 240-pound guys who run and can catch the ball and add value on special teams,” Drinkwitz said April 29. “Gavin didn't get to play very much last year, but watching the tape of what he was able to do, I anticipate he'll find a role for us.”
Breakout candidate
The Tigers aren’t going to be able to run massively deep at tight end. There’s only one football to go around. But look for James, a redshirt freshman, to get more involved on special teams during his second year on campus.
He’s a 6-2, 236 player out of Francis Howell High in St. Charles, and certainly has a future as a pass-catching tight end.
“Jude James was a guy who really came along. Look for Jude to be an important, impactful piece for us,” Drinkwitz said on April 8. “I thought he did an excellent job embracing special teams, and was very impressed with his continued growth for us.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Can Missouri football get tight ends more involved in 2025?
Category: General Sports
