Transfer Portal Checklist: Where Should Mizzou Look Late in the Game?

With the transfer portal closed for entry (for the most part), here are a few last-minute positions the Tigers should take a peek at.

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers helmets rest on game day game day equipment during the first half against the Massachusetts Minutemen at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

To a certain extent, the NCAA football transfer portal is now closed. A few stipulations exist for that rule, including teams playing in bowl games, graduate transfers and fired coaches but, for the most part, it's done for now.

For a team busy in the portal and a team that is looking to contend nationally like the Missouri Tigers, transfer portal success is key to that. There are always holes to fill and positions to improve on in the transfer portal and that applies to the Tigers so far.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has done great work in the transfer portal so far, adding 13 impactful players who should see the field next season. There were plenty of departures as well but, so far, the productive additions seem to outweigh the losses. There are still small holes to fill on the roster and they should be expected. It's also worth noting that, as of now, Missouri players have until Jan. 4 to enter the portal on the back end of the five-day window to do so that opened up the day after the Music City Bowl.

Fortunately for the Tigers, there have yet to be any recent departures at the mercy of the transfer portal. Any losses now would certainly affect its current needs but, as of now, here's where Missouri could look in the portal to bolster any roster needs.

Cornerback

As of now, Missouri's top three cornerbacks are slated to return to the roster. Dreyden Norwood was the most consistent but the two below him showed many inconsistencies. Toriano Pride Jr. and Nic Deloach Jr. both had their fair share of struggles this season, along with flashes of potential. Pride will be a senior next season and Deloach a sophomore. There is a wide variety of younger and inexperienced players under both of them on the depth chart, which is where an addition becomes possible.

If the Tigers want more security at the position, one that saw arguably the most struggle during the 2024-2025 season, adding a veteran at the spot to place alongside Norwood couldn't hurt. There aren't any names to directly link with the Tigers at the position but adding another would simply be an insurance policy for Pride and Deloach.

Despite their mishaps this season, they have that year of development under their belts now. Whether Missouri's coaching staff trusts the development of the pair or not will be seen in a portal addition, or the lack thereof. Competition never hurt anybody and making Pride and Deloach work for their spots should only make them better players.

Defensive Tackle

Chris McClellan saw a breakout season for the Tigers in his first season in Columbia, posting 39 total tackles and 2.5 sacks on the inside. Behind McClellan is a long list of growingly capable players at defensive tackle but one of those guys must step up after the graduation and departure of Kristian Williams.

The list of players goes on and on at that spot who could fill that void, none of which are completely proven yet. Sterling Webb, Marquis Gracial and Jalen Marshall all made impacts at the spot this past season for the Tigers but asking them to make that large of a leap is a big ask. That's where adding another comes in.

It isn't exactly a priority but experience has never hurt anyone. Adding a productive interior lineman alongside McClellan would make Missouri's defensive front a force in the SEC next season. Who that addition is, however, is an unknown.

Another interior lineman on the defensive side of the ball would be a luxury. They don't exactly need it and Webb, Gracial and Marshall could take massive jumps in the spring, summer and fall seasons to deem them worthy of the second spot.

Offensive Line

Drinkwitz, so far, added interior lineman Dominick Giudice from Michigan and tackles Keagen Trost and Johnny Williams IV from Wake Forest and West Virginia. Williams and Trost look primed to start on the outside, barring any unforeseen competition from JUCO tackle Jayven Richardson, incoming freshman Jack Lange, or other tackles toward the bottom of the depth chart. The outside of the line is set but the interior could still use some work.

Cayden Green has surely solidified his starting role wherever he wants to play on the Missouri offensive line (either left guard or tackle), leaving the right guard and center spot up next. Conner Tollison is returning for a final season after a lower-body injury ruled him out of this most recent one, which makes right guard the only other question mark.

Giudice doesn't have the most experience playing for the Wolverines at center but appears to have the tools to be a startable guard. If Missouri were to add another offensive lineman, finding someone who could play either right guard or tackle with certainty, or a younger depth option, seems the most likely.

It should be said that Williams will have to earn his spot as well. Trost is experienced at the power five level and should be ready to go on day one but Williams is much younger and has seen the field much less. Williams will be a redshirt sophomore by next season and will have two college seasons to his name but whether that's enough to start in the SEC presents as the biggest question.

Young Players

The Tigers haven't taken too many hits in the transfer portal, but the ones that have left, for the most part, were freshmen. Losing defensive ends Williams Nwaneri and Jaylen Brown, along with receiver Courtney Crutchfield and running back Kewan Lacy, were big losses. Three of those four made up the top three prospects in Missouri's 2024 class, with Lacy ranked down further. Those guys were widely viewed as the future starters of their respective position groups and now, they are all gone.

Drinkwitz, so far, has done well recruiting a mix of freshman and experienced portal talent but now, there are developmental holes at certain positions. With the addition of Ahmad Hardy from UL Monroe, who led the conference in rushing this season as a true freshman, adding a running back is unnecessary. Both the wide receiver and edge position are both full and adding any more talent might cause someone else to leave but adding another player to either of those position rooms wouldn't hurt.

Another young receiver wouldn't be the worst addition to develop, if he wanted to, for a season or two. The same goes for the edge spot, which saw plenty of new additions so far through the transfer portal. Nate Johnson and Langden Kitchens, both of whom are recent additions, are upperclassmen. Another young prospect in that group to compliment incoming freshman Daeden Hopkins and Javion Hilson, for the future of the position, would ensure security when a large majority of the players at the top of the position room depart.

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