Mizzou's Armand Membou's Presence at 2025 NFL Combine Sign of Maturity, Growth

From being a late bloomer in high school to an immediate impact player as a freshman for the Tigers, Membou's displayed plenty of growth over the last couple years.

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Armand Membou (79) lines up against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the first half at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS — "I was trash."

Those were the exact words Missouri Tigers offensive tackle Armand Membou used to evaluate the state of his talent at the beginning of his football career. He was in the eighth grade and he was young, but Membou was brutally honest about where he stood.

With the guidance of an old head coach at Lee Summit North high School named Jamar Mozee, Membou received the advice he needed to continue to pursue his dream. Now, Membou is widely considered one of, if not the best offensive line prospect in the 2025 NFL draft after three seasons with the Tigers.

At one point in high school, his size was a genuine concern. Luckily for him and the teams he's contributed to, Membou hit a massive growth spurt during his junior year of high school, gifting him the strength and build needed to play on an offensive front.

“Freshman year of high school, I was like 5-foot-11, 185-pounds. Then my junior year, I got up to 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 [and] 270-pounds,” Membou said.

Membou is much bigger and more athletic now, a reason for the status he holds among other offensive line prospects in this draft class. He isn't the only highly regarded Missouri prospect at the NFL combine, with three other Tigers receiving invites and participating. It's been a special moment for all of them, including Membou.

“It’s pretty blessed to be here with my teammates and it’s crazy to look back at what we’ve done over the past couple years,” Membou said. 

Mar 1, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; University of Missouri offensive lineman Armand Membou (OL28) answers questions at a press conference during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

There was a lot that went into Membou's breakout 2024-25 season. On the Tiger offensive line, there were some growing pains at the beginning of the year.

Missouri did some addition and shuffling on the offensive front five, adding SMU transfer Marcus Bryant to play left tackle and Oklahoma transfer Cayden Green to slot in at left guard. Both were eventually sound players and minimized mistakes as the calendar year progressed, but it took some time for the group to grow close and play as a unit.

“With the new group, it was going to take some time for us to seal,” Membou said. “But as the season went on, we got closer, started hanging out more and started to gel more.”

An important part of Membou's growth at the University of Missouri started with head coach Eli Drinkwitz, who took a chance on Membou as a high school recruit with plenty of raw talent. It ended up being a good gamble for Drinkwitz and the Tigers, as well as the future NFL offensive lineman.

“I got a really good relationship with Drink,” Membou said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunities he gave me at Mizzou, especially being able to play as a true freshman. So I’m really thankful for him.”

There were important lessons that Drinkwitz instilled in his team and offensive line, many of which applied in Missouri's most recent season during tough stretches. After the Tigers' first loss of the season against Texas A&M, Drinkwitz delivered a powerful message on adversity that stuck with Membou.

“Coach Drink teaches us to have a next play mentality,” Membou said. “A&M was a big wake-up game for us, so you just got to learn from it and put it to the side and keep moving on.”

As for Membou, he's as hard working as any prospect in this 2025 draft class. The work he's put in to get to this point and blend his unique athleticism and his tools speaks to his work ethic. It showed up this season in the SEC, emerging as one of the conference's best tackles.

“First, it starts in practice,” Membou said. “My preparation in practice, watching film, dissecting opponents and then taking it to the field.”

Arguably the most important advice Membou has received during his football career came in 2020, when Mozee sat Membou down after he thought about stepping away from the sport. Mozee talked some sense into the to-be draft prospect, convincing him that it was worth staying.

“I remember back in my junior year when I started getting offers, my high school head coach Jamar Mozee, he sat me down and said if you take this serious, I think you can be a pro,” Membou said. “From then on, I just continued to work hard.”

Now, five years after Mozee told Membou he had the tools to make it to the NFL if he took it seriously, Membou put in the work to do so. Now, he has a chance to be one of the first offensive linemen off the board in the 2025 NFL draft.