The Importance of Curtis Peagler's Leadership and Path to Starter Snaps

Curtis Peagler's road to becoming the starting right guard for the Missouri Tigers is becoming increasingly uncommon across college football. The "late bloomer" played a total of three games for the Tigers in his first three seasons and instead of entering the transfer portal, he stayed with Missouri ahead of 2025.

Peagler's dedication to the team paid off and he became a full-time starter that season. His path to starting snaps has become an anomaly in the sport, but at Missouri, he's the model for a Tiger with "something to prove."

"I just felt like I had something to prove to everyone," Peagler said to the media Tuesday. "I know with the portal a lot of guys (are) leaving, (but) I had a lot of support here and I was just like, 'Why would I leave that?' I really love the people, so just being able to come back and finish my last year, it's a great decision."

After playing in 36 snaps through three seasons, Peagler tallied 833 snaps and 746 at right guard last season. Peagler allowed just one sack and three quarterback hits through the course of the year. His 63.4 overall grade on PFF ranked in the top-half of his position and his 79.1 pass block grade was top 100 out of 631 guards.

Peagler credits high levels of preperation and confidence as reasons for his leap last season. He also cited a few teammates as instrumental to his dramatic increase in snaps.

"I was a late bloomer, so just having the ability to come in and having Dom (Giudice) and having Tristan (Wilson) and all those guys help me along the way has been really helpful," Peagler said.

As a returning starter and one of three returning starting linemen, Peagler is now a leader on the Tigers. Peagler joins NFL draft prospect Cayden Green and last season's transfer sensation Giudice as a third leader on the line.

A year ago, Peagler was fighting for a starting spot with Missouri, now he's leading younger teammates that may be in the same situation in coming years.

"Having that ability to bring the younger guys along has been really wonderful and seeing them develop as players has been a great sight to see," Peagler said.

At 6-foot-4, 335 pounds, Peagler adds immense size to Missouri's roster and a large leading presence following years of dedication to the Tigers.

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