Reviewing Mizzou's Transfer Portal Additions at Every Offensive Position

Missouri is in clear need of an offensive overhaul.

That was clear through the regular season, where the Tigers finished dead last in the SEC in passing yards per game. The 13-7 loss in the Gator Bowl to No. 19 Virginia was another reminder of how stuck the unit is.

The first step in the overhaul was made when Eli Drinkwitz hired Chip Lindsey as the program's next offensive coordinator to replace Kirby Moore, who accepted the head coach job at Washington State after three seasons at Missouri.

The rest of the overhaul will mostly need to be done through the transfer portal.

Three offensive starters have announced plans to enter the transfer portal. A handful of other players who were expected to be key players in the future also announced plans to do so. There's no gurantee more important offensive players won't do the same.

Meanwhile, three other starters are set to graduate, while one underclassmen could declare for the NFL draft.

Looking back at Missouri's track record of acquiring offensive players through the transfer portal though, there's reasons to be optimistic that the coaching staff will be able to adequately build the unit for 2026. In recent history, whenever the team has needed a starter at a position, for the most part, the coaching staff has been able to add someone suitable for the job.

Here's a look at every transfer portal addition the program has made at every offensive position over the last three seasons and how those additions played out.

Quarterback

2023 - Jake Garcia, Miami
2024 - Drew Pyne, Arizona State
2025 - Beau Pribula, Penn State

A pretty meh list.

Missouri's 8-5 result in the 2025 season can, to some degree, be drawn back to being unable to catch a big fish in the quarterback market. The Tigers had to take a gamble on Pribula after he had just 56 collegiate pass attempts to evaluate. In a transfer class that produced a handful of game-changing quarterbacks that elevated their programs, Pribula was not one of those. He completed 182 of his 270 (67.4%) pass attempts for 1,941 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions for Missouri in 2025.

For Pyne, Missouri unexpectedly needed to add a backup when Sam Horn underwent Tommy John surgery in February of 2024. Though Pyne's three-interception day at Alabama was ugly, being able to find someone who had started at Notre Dame and Arizona State in the spring window of the portal was a fine solution for the emergency. And who could forget his heroic three-touchdown day against Oklahoma?

With Garcia, Missouri needed another competitor for the job after a frustrating first season with Brady Cook as the starter. Garcia proved to be a level below both Cook and Horn and transferred again after one season. Cook taking a huge step up in 2023 made this strikeout pretty irrelevant.

With Pribula now announcing plans to enter the transfer portal and true freshman Matt Zollers still seemingly needing more time to develop, Missouri will need to do its best job yet at landing a quarterback in the transfer portal.

Running back

2024 - Nate Noel, Appalachian State
2024 - Marcus Carroll, Georgia State
2025 - Ahmad Hardy, Louisiana-Monroe

A pretty flawless track record here. Even more so when you consider the reason Missouri didn't have to add one in 2023 was because of the incredible return on investment that Cody Schrader provided after transferring from the D-II level as a walk-on ahead of the 2022 season.

In 2024, Missouri didn't get one of the top-of-the-line options, and instead formed a one-two punch with guys in the middle of the pack coming from lower-level schools. Nobody was confusing Noel or Carroll for record breakers, but the shiftiness of Noel and the power of Carroll made for an effective rushing attack. Noel rushed for 818 yards and three touchdowns on 163 carries, while Carroll added 595 yards and 12 touchdowns on 140 carries.

And Hardy, of course, is a knock out of the park. It was already a home run when Missouri was able to land him over Ole Miss after a season where Hardy had the most rushing yards of any true freshman in the country. But his 2025 season where he was named a consensus All-American was even more of a surprise.

"I didn't think he was gonna be this good," Drinkwitz said after Missouri's win over South Carolina, where Hardy rushed for 138 yards. "I mean, let's be honest. The dude's running through people like he's a dump truck."

There's an argument to be made that Missouri has recruited running back, both out of high school and through the transfer portal, better than any other position.

Look no further than the fact that a main reason Missouri took a big swing with Hardy is because the program lost Kewan Lacy, who transferred to Ole Miss after spending his true freshman season with Missouri. Lacy and Hardy were two of the three finalists for the Doak Walker Award in 2025, which recognizes the best running back in college football.

Hardy being set to return for 2026 makes him even more valuable of an addition. He broke the program's single-season rushing record in his first year in the Gator Bowl. After the loss, he said he'll be looking to break it again next year.

Wide receiver

2023 - Dannis Jackson, Ole Miss
2023 - Theo Wease Jr., Oklahoma
2025 - Xavier Loyd, Illinois State
2025 - Kevin Coleman Jr., Mississippi State

Missouri needed to land a quality starter here in 2023 and 2025, and the program managed to do exactly that in both years.

The team knew what they were getting in Kevin Coleman Jr. once the St. Louis product finally came back to his home state. Nobody was going to replace Luther Burden III's playmaking ability in the slot, but, for what it's worth, Coleman had more receiving yards in 2025 (732) than Burden had in 2024 (636). Neither benefitted from subpar passing attacks.

Theo Wease Jr. provided what Missouri needed and even more on top of that. After not eclipsing 40 catches nor 600 yards in one of his three seasons at Oklahoma, he achieved both of those marks in his two years at Missouri. He was a key deep-threat with his contested-catch ability, catching 109 passes for 1,566 yards and 10 touchdowns across his two years with the Tigers.

Loyd was a spring addition brought in to be a veteran depth piece in a room that was full of youth. He wasn't needed much after the quick emergence of true freshman Donovan Olugbode. Loyd caught two passes for 21 yards.

Tight end

2025 - Vince Brown II, Colorado State
2025 - Gavin Hoffman, Iowa

Nothing to write home about here. Brett Norfleet and Jordon Harris have held down the position in all three of their years, with the help of a hodgepodge of other players brought in from high school recruiting along the way.

Brown, like Loyd, was added to be a veteran presence and help in run blocking. He didn't catch a pass, but was a special teams starter.

Hoffman, entering his redshirt sophomore season, has promise to be a blocking and receiving threat. He was a four-star prospect out of high school, but has yet to see much playing time.

Offensive tackle

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Marcus Bryant (52) at the line of scrimmage during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

2023 - Marcellus Johnson, Eastern Michigan
2024 - Marcus Bryant, SMU
2024 - Jayven Richardson, Hutchinson Community College (JUCO)
2025 - Keagen Trost, Wake Forest
2025 - Johnny Williams IV, West Virginia

Bryant and Trost turned out to be slam dunks here, with both turning out to be steady starting players as one-year rentals. Bryant started the whole 2024 season at left tackle, and Trost all of 2025 at right tackle. Trost was expected to be solid, but him becoming an AP third-team All-American was certainly a surprise.

Richardson has competed for the starting left tackle job in each of the past two seasons, but was unable to win it in either of the two seasons.

Williams also competed for the left tackle job in fall camp, but didn't seem to be ready quite yet. He has some long-term potential as he enters his redshirt junior season.

Offensive guard

Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, MO; USA; Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Cayden Green stands on the sidelines during a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

2023 - Cam'Ron Johnson, Houston
2024 - Cayden Green, Oklahoma
2025 - Jaylen Early, Florida State

Green was the crown jewel of Missouri's 2024 transfer class, and has proven to be a worthy investment. In 2025, Green was asked to move to left tackle after spending 2024 at left guard. It wasn't a perfectly smooth transition, but his versatility was valuable to the Tigers as they smudged together a last-minute plan at offensive line. He's positioned himself to be a top guard prospect in the upcoming NFL draft if he chooses to declare.

Johnson was also a worthy investment, starting at right guard for Missouri for two seasons.

Early was a spring addition that didn't bring the versatility and depth that was expected. After starting in six games for Florida State at right tackle and right guard in 2024, Early couldn't win the starting jobs at either right or left guard. At right guard, Missouri favored Curtis Peagler, who saw just 36 snaps in his first three years with the program, over Early.

Early will have one year of eligibility remaining and could be a depth option in that final season.

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