Mizzou RB Tavorus Jones to Enter Transfer Portal

Missouri is down to three running backs after Jones announced his intention to transfer.

Sept 27, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Tavorus Jones (22) rushes in a game against UMass at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Missouri running back Tavorus Jones is set to enter the transfer portal once it opens on Friday, per his social media.

🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/uKhXaGKoC8

— Tavorus jones (@Tavorus3) December 31, 2025

Jones rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown on seven carries during his junior season with the Tigers. The redshirt junior has recorded 111 rushing yards and a single touchdown on 27 carries through his four-year career with the Tigers.

An El Paso, Texas, native, Jones was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022, ranked No. 170 in the country and No. 13 of all running backs. He was the second-highest-ranked player in Missouri's 2022 class, only behind five-star wide receiver Luther Burden III.

The loss of Jones signifies a mass exodus of players on the Missouri offense. He's the third running back to hit the transfer portal, following freshmen Marquise Davis and Brendon Haygood. As of now, only Ahmad Hardy, Jamal Roberts and incoming freshman Maxwell Warner are on the roster at the running back spot.

Retaining Roberts, a St. Louis native and a player who could go find a true RB1 role at a different team, appears to have been a challenge so far for Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers.

"You got a tough situation, because you got Ahmad Hardy, who is consensus All-American, but I think Jamal Roberts is as good a back as there is in the country," Drinkwitz said on Dec. 16. "How do you how do you beg Jamal to take less to stay here? I mean, that's the that's the reality of it."

On offense in general, the Tigers have taken multiple portal losses. Names like quarterback Beau Pribula, wide receivers Joshua Manning and Marquis Johnson, and offensive tackles Jayven Richardson and Johnny Williams IV. The Tigers are going to have to load up at a variety of offensive positions in the portal after these losses.

The Tigers have also lost names like freshman defensive end Javion Hilson, freshman safety CJ Bass III and freshman cornerback Mark Manfred to the transfer portal. Many of the important depth players the Tigers had on their roster this past season will now need to be replaced, many of whom were freshmen.

The transfer portal window officially opens Friday and closes Jan. 16. The Tigers now have 17 transfer portal departures that have been made official. To keep up with all of the transfer movement for Missouri, follow our offseason tracker.