Mizzou Football's Most Important Players, No. 9: Blake Craig

When looking back at what went wrong in Missouri's 2025 season, the first thing pointed out will almost always be the quarterback room that got derailed before it ever got a chance to truly begin.

Sam Horn suffered a season-ending injury on his first play of the season, Beau Pribula dislocated his ankle in the eighth game of the season and was never the same again and Matt Zollers was thrust into a starting role far earlier than expected, becoming the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Tigers since Drew Lock in 2015.

In all honesty, it makes sense that the treacherous quarterback situation will be most-remembered. But the special teams unit underwent a similar early-season disaster that hindered the offense just as much, leading to crucial misfires and limitations throughout the season.

Starting kicker Blake Craig was injured on the first game of the season while trying to make a tackle on a kickoff against Central Arkansas. He was 2-for-2 on field goals on the day — including one from 55 yards — and 3-for-3 on extra points. That would be Craig's final line for the season, as his injury was later revealed to be a torn ACL.

Replacing Craig midseason was far from easy — Missouri turned toward freshman Robert Meyer, sophomore Oliver Robbins and redshirt sophomore midseason-transfer Ryder Goodwin to take over Craig's responsibilities.

Craig was a promising but not perfect kicker in his 2024 redshirt season, going 24-for-34 on field goals and 1-for-7 from 40 or more yards out. He did, however, put on weight in the offseason and nail two field goals for 40 or more yards in his 2025 season-opener — perhaps his range had improved.

Even if Craig wasn't perfect, his absence brought to light just how shaky the alternatives could be. Meyer's leg wasn't strong enough to be a legitimate threat from long-distance, as he attempted just one field goal 40 or more yards in all of Southeastern Conference play. He also went 6-for-7 within from 20-29 yards and 3-for-5 within from 30-39 yards. Robbins largely handled kickoff duties, and although he hit a 49- and 41-yarder near the end of conference play, the switch was made too late into the season.

Missouri's lack of a long-range field-goal threat throughout the season severely limited their third-down options, allowing opposing defenses to heavily favor the kick.

Missouri returned both Craig and Robbins while also bringing in Brunno Reus as a backup via the transfer portal, so the room's depth already looks stronger than it did last season. However, atop of the list of importance is still Craig's availability.

If he's back to full strength, Missouri should have quality kicking for most of the season. But if he's not fully healthy, gets hurt again or struggles to regain his strength or accuracy, the kicking — and the offense as a whole — could be in a world of trouble.

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