Mizzou Football Position Preview: Defensive Line

Missouri is focusing on returning talent and a variety of backups on the defensive line in 2026. Although the Tigers lost three of its four starters in Zion Young, Damon Wilson II and Chris McClellan, they have many returning players that saw significant snaps last year.

The edge rusher room in particular will be tasked with taking a big leap this year and pass rush specialist and edges coach Brian Early believes many in the room are set for a breakout season.

Missouri's group of tackles return a 2025 starter in Sterling Webb and two key backups in Marquis Gracial and Jalen Marshall. The room is more established than the edge rusher room, but will still need to live up to the Tigers' mantra "something to prove."

Here is a preview of what the defensive line looks like ahead of the nearing season.

Current Players

Defensive tackles: Marquis Gracial, Jalen Marshall, Sterling Webb, Mark Hensley, Sam Williams, Elias Williams, Donta Simpson, Jason Dowell, Tajh Overton, Jocques Felix

Defensive ends: Darris Smith, Jaden Jones, Langden Kitchen, Malik Bryant, Cavan Tuley, Demarcus Johnson, Daeden Hopkins, CJ May, Kamauryn Morgan

Players Lost

Defensive tackles: Chris McClellan, Bralen Henderson, Justin Bodford

Defensive ends: Zion Young, Damon Wilson II, Nate Johnson, Javion Hilson

The Coaches

Dami Sowunmi and Chop Harbin — Missouri defensive line commit Dami Sowunmi poses with Missouri defensive line coach Chop Harbin. | via @Damisowunmi on X

Chop Harbin is entering his first year at Missouri after spending five at Tennessee and his last as the outside linebackers coach with the Volunteers. He has also spent time as the defensive analyst at Auburn and defensive line coach at Louisiana.

As the senior defensive analyst for three years at Tennessee, Harbin had experience with a loaded edge rusher room. The Volunteers' edge rushers ranked top 10 in six pivotal categories in 2024, including total defense, yards per play and tackles for loss.

Joining Harbin and the edge rushers is Early, who leads the positional group. Early is entering his third year coaching the position and in his two season has led fearful pass-rushing attacks.

In 2024 he coached Second-Team All-SEC Johnny Walker, who finished the year with 12.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Last season he led the duo of Young and Wilson to combine for 15.5 sacks and two All-SEC honors.

Rounding out the group is defensive tackles coach David Blackwell. Blackwell has been with the Tigers since 2023 and continues the trend of coaching Tiger legends. Blackwell coached Darius Robinson before he went in the first round of the NFL draft and developed All-SEC selection Chris McClellan last season.

The coaching staff is established in developing talent and with a slew of returning backups, they will be put to the test once again in 2026.

The Returners

Sept 27, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive tackle Sterling Webb (10) celebrates after a quarterback hurry in a game against UMass at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Missouri brought six defensive tackles and three defensive ends back from the 2025 season. The tackle room brings the most returning snaps back and is led by Gracial, Marshall and Webb.

Webb was recently given an additional year of college elgibility and is the most proven at the position. Last season he played the second-most snaps at tackle and boasted a 75.1 defense grade on PFF. His success in the pass rush allows the Tigers' room to be much deeper.

Gracial played the third most snaps at the positon last season and had the best defense grade of the group with an 80.4. Although he wasn't as elite against the pass rush, he was dominant against the run with an 86.8 run defense grade. Marshall is another backup that could have an elevated role this season after playing in 193 snaps last year.

On the outside of the line, Missouri has three returners that could all be poised for a breakout season in Darris Smith, Langden Kitchen and Daeden Hopkins.

Smith and Hopkins have each bulked up significantly in the offseason. Smith played the third most snaps at the position last season and after bulking from 240 to 265, he could be a new version of himself.

"He's made some tremendous physical gains down there and hasn't lost any of his mobility or speed or athleticism," Early said. "So... you're talking about a speed rusher that now has the element of power when he's rushing the passer."

Hopkins has also gained weight from his previous frame of 237 pounds and could see a jump from his 52 snaps last season. He showed a glimpse of what he can do against Mississippi State by recording six tackles off the bench and Smith believes he has next-level talent.

"He moves like a pro," Smith said. "Ever since he first came in he's been moving like a pro. At pass rush, he was very natural at it and... for him [it was] just getting tough in the run game. And he did that."

Making the group even more dynamic is Kitchen. The senior played in 171 snaps last season and specialized against the run with a 74.8 run defense grade.

Senior Sam Williams, junior Elias Williams and sophomore Jason Dowell all add returning depth to the tackle room as well.

The Transfers

Miami coach talks to player during second quarter. — Sep 7, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal talks to Miami Hurricanes linebacker Malik Bryant (24) during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Although the Tigers are heavily relying on returners at the position, they still brought in eight transfers to add needed depth and versatility.

At tackle, Missouri added senior Mark Hensley from Northern Illinois and sophomore Donta Simpson from Miami.

Simpson was a three-star out of high school, but appeared in eight games for Miami last season and can be a strong backup and building block for the Tigers. Hensley offers experience after starting all 12 games last season at Northern Illinois and finishing the season as a Third Team All-MAC selection.

While the Tigers didn't focus much on tackles in the portal, they went relatively deep on edge rushers by picking up six transfers.

The transfer talent is dispersed at the position with fifth year Jaden Jones bringing some starting experience from Florida State, junior Demarcus Johnson ranking as the No. 1 junior college defensive lineman and Malik Bryant offering three years of experience from Miami. All three will likely play a role with the Tigers this season.

Missouri also picked up senior Cavan Tuley from Houston. Tuley is undersized at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, but has valuable experience. Sophomores Kamauryn Morgan and CJ May were both four-star prospects and could play larger roles for the Tigers down the line.

The Freshmen

2026 Mizzou DL commit Tajh Overton during his official visit to Columbia | Credit @_iamtajh_ on Instagram

Tajh Overton and Jocques Felix are the only freshman on the defensive line and are both tackles. Overton is more likely to see snaps this season as a four-star prospect, but Felix could see action a three-star native lineman regarded as a top 100 defensive lineman by 247Sports.

Biggest Question for Fall Camp: Are Last Year's Returners Ready For An Elevated Role?

After losing three All-SEC players on the line last season, the Tigers have quite a bit of talent to replace and it is largely on returning players' shoulders. Watch for the improvement of the three returning edges and three primary returning tackles during camp.

The Final Word

"There's a lot of length in the room. There's some speed and athleticism in the room. These guys are all wired the right way, highly competitive and have a really good work ethic," Early said about the Tigers' edges.

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