In with the new …
The college football season is right around the corner, now less than a couple of months from officially kicking off for Missouri football. If ever there was a reminder of the current landscape of the sport, Monday marked the official introduction of Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference, along with a barrage of movement, quite literally, from coast to coast.
As the SEC gets bigger and, presumably, tougher, good work in the transfer portal gets all the more important. Missouri football had a busy couple windows, securing commitments from 15 players for the new season.
Here are three transfers who may have flown a little under the radar but could be vitally important to Mizzou’s success in the 2024 campaign, when a spot in the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff appears to be an attainable ambition for Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers.
More: Here’s where Missouri football defense looks strong and where questions still need answered
Marcus Bryant, left tackle
The Missouri offense’s success is in no small part going to be dictated by the performances of its potential new left tackle, Marcus Bryant.
Good news, at least in preseason: This was about as promising a transfer at the position as there was available.
Bryant stands a stout 6 foot 8, 318 pounds. He was a first-team All-AAC selection last season with SMU. Although it’s not a perfect stat of O-Line efficiency, the Mustangs allowed just 16 sacks in 14 games last season — a rate good for No. 13 in the FBS.
Now, Bryant is tasked with protecting quarterback Brady Cook’s blind side.
Outgoing Mizzou left tackle Javon Foster was a first-team All-SEC selection in his final year, before being picked by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft. He was a mountain in the run game, often operating as the play-side blocker for running back Cody Schrader in his record-breaking season.
Bryant still has to go through his first camp with the Tigers, but best guesses suggest he’ll get first go at tackle when the Tigers open their season on Thursday, Aug. 29, at home against Murray State. There’s a possibility he lines up next to highly touted left guard and Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green on the left side of the line.
If Bryant does earn the starting gig at left tackle, the success of the team won’t all fall on his shoulders, but his level of play will be a major indicator for how Missouri’s offense is faring.
Zion Young, defensive end
New defensive coordinator Corey Batoon has a set plan for how he wants his edge rushers to operate. On one side, in what he’s calling the ‘Joker’ role, is the boundary end and seemingly the team’s premier pass rusher. On the other is likely Zion Young, the big-bodied field end.
Young, who stands at 6-6, 265, was among the more oft-mentioned players by coaches during the spring. The Michigan State transfer, who had 47 tackles and 2.5 sacks in two seasons in East Lansing, has been hailed as the prototype for what the Tigers are looking for on that side of the line, which looks like it’ll primarily focus on setting the edge in what new MU defensive ends coach Brian Early called a “bigger, anchor type.”
How Batoon wants his edge rushers to create havoc will become more clear in the fall. Missouri’s defense — especially in a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State — made its name by hounding the passer. Johnny Walker Jr. was an able threat for most of last season. Georgia transfer Darris Smith will split reps with Walker and appears to be a promising addition.
If Mizzou can get both of its ends playing the disruptor role, that’s a solid basis for a CFP push.
“Zion’s like a bull in a china shop, man,” Walker said during spring camp. “The dude, he’s an aggressive pass rusher, aggressive edge setter — just aggressive and a great player.”
More: Meet ‘massive’ Chris McClellan, Missouri football’s potentially pivotal new defensive tackle
Nate Noel, running back
The wide receiver room shapes up to be the Tigers’ Golden Child. Tight end Brett Norfleet added a new outlet to the Tigers’ offense in his freshman year. Georgia State transfer running back Marcus Carroll gives MU a big, bustling, downhill running back.
But don’t underestimate what Noel could provide for this offense from the backfield.
The coaching staff seemed impressed by Noel’s shiftiness and elusivity through the spring. If Mizzou has a capable change-of-pace tailback, that could change the dynamic of its run game.
More: One question facing every position group on Missouri football’s offense in 2024
Noel ran for more than 3,000 yards during his four-year Appalachian State career. Of his 18 career-touchdowns for the Mountaineers, five started from inside his own half. Ten were from inside the red zone.
Mizzou running backs coach Curtis Luper isn’t opposed to running with two tailbacks, and drew a comparison in Carroll and Noel to former MU standouts Larry Rountree III and Tyler Badie.
One of the staff’s main offensive missions was for better red-zone efficiency. The 5-10 back’s tape shows big-play ability, elite speed — it’s worth noting Noel was part of a state championship-winning 4×100-meter relay team in high school in Florida — and a natural ability to make defenders miss, which won’t hurt Mizzou’s cause.