Category: Missouri Tigers

Former UGA defensive end suffers season-ending injury

A former Georgia Bulldog, who transferred to Missouri this offseason, will miss the 2024 season with a significant knee injury.

The Missouri Tigers were hit with unfortunate news: Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive end Darris Smith suffered a knee injury in practice. The injury will force him to miss the 2024 season, according to Eli Hoff of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The edge rusher appeared in 16 games as a reserve over his first two collegiate seasons with UGA before transferring to Missouri over the summer. He was in a competition for the starting job with Michigan State transfer Zion Young, but he’ll have to wait another year to start his first game in the SEC.

“We are devastated by the injury to Darris,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said,“He was having an outstanding camp and was poised to have a great year. We will support Darris in his recovery and look forward to him returning stronger than before.”

For the Tigers, it’s more than likely Young will fill the second edge rusher spot opposite Johnny Walker Jr. and replace 2024 first-round NFL draft pick Darius Robinson Jr. on the end. Regardless, it’s a blow for Georgia and Missouri fans looking to see how Darris Smith would’ve performed in a more expansive role.

Missouri adds First Team All-OVC forward via transfer portal

Missouri lands a commitment from a First Team All-OVC transfer

According to multiple reports, UT-Martin transfer forward Jacob Crews has officially committed to Missouri, becoming the Tigers’ first addition through the portal this offseason.

The fourth-career school for Crews, the forward comes to Missouri after a season at UT Martin where he enjoyed a breakout 2023-24 campaign with the Skyhawks.

Helping lead the Skyhawks to an OVC regular season title, as well as finishing the year at 21-11 overall, Crews was a key factor for UT Martin this season as he ranked second on the team in scoring at 19.1 PPG. Crews also posted averages of 8.2 RPG and 1.1 APG, while also shooting a noteworthy 48.5% from the field, 41.4% from three, and 81.6% from the free throw line.

Before UT Martin, Crews originally began his collegiate career during the 2020-21 season at North Florida, where he would spend two seasons. Crews would start in 3-of-31 games over those two seasons to average a combined 4 PPG and 1.9 RPG and then spent the 2022-23 campaign at Daytona State College.

The 2023-24 First Team All-OVC selection will now join a Missouri team coming off a down season in which they finished 8-24 overall.

Could new Missouri transfer addition Drew Pyne start in 2025?

Could former Notre Dame, Arizona State transfer quarterback Drew Pyne start for Missouri in 2025?

Over the weekend, Missouri added a notable addition to their 2024 roster via the transfer portal in former Notre Dame and Arizona State quarterback Drew Pyne.

An experienced transfer, Pyne comes to Columbia after spending last season at Arizona State, where he was the Sun Devils backup in his lone year with the program. In limited action, Pyne posted a 53.1 CMP% with 273 passing yards and a 2-3 TD-INT ratio.

Before Arizona State, Pyne spent three seasons at Notre Dame where he was the backup for the Fighting Irish during the 2020-21 campaigns, seeing time in only six games combined. Pyne would however enjoy a breakout 2022 season in which he was Notre Dame’s starter, posting a 64.6 CMP% with 2,021 passing yards and a 22-6 TD-INT ratio, while also rushing for two touchdowns.

Looking ahead, however, Pyne now joins a Missouri 2024 quarterback room where he is likely expected to be the most experienced backup behind starter Brady Cook. With the returning starter set to move on after the 2024 season, however, could Pyne be the early favorite to start for the Tigers in 2025?

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Pyne will have three years of eligibility remaining, and will certainly be a candidate to start for Missouri in 2025.

However, Pyne is not 100% likely to be the starter in Columbia, as he will have to beat out others for the job such as Sam Horn and Aidan Glover.

Will Pyne be under center for the Tigers in 2025? Time will ultimately tell.

Blake Baker announced as LSU’s defensive coordinator

Baker has spent the past two seasons as Missouri’s defensive coordinator after a brief stint as LSU’s linebackers coach.

LSU found a replacement for its defensive coordinator, and the Tigers found him within their own conference.

LSU announced on Saturday that Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker would take over the same position for their team. A tweet from ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed it was a three-year contract with an expected average annual value of $2.5 million, making Baker the highest-paid assistant coach in college football.

Baker helped lead Missouri to an 11-win season this past season, as the Tigers allowed 20.8 points per game to finish as the nation’s No. 25 scoring defense. His unit held all but three of their opponents under 30 points, including a 36-7 win over Tennessee and a 14-3 win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Baker spent the 2021 season in Baton Rogue as LSU’s linebackers coach before he took the Missouri coordinator job. He’ll be tasked with remedying a Tigers defense that allowed 28.0 points and 416.6 yards per game, both outside the top 80 in the country.

Get more LSU coverage at LSU Wire.

USA TODAY Sports lists Tennessee, Ole Miss as bowl season winners

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg named the Volunteers and the Rebels, as well as the playoff champs, as bowl season’s biggest champions.

With bowl season in the rearview mirror, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg took to the internet to decide who the biggest champions were from the past two weeks in college football.

The list of course kicked off with the two playoff champions, Michigan and Washington. The Wolverines finally got over the hump for their first playoff victory after coming up empty the previous two years, and the Huskies rode a superstar performance from quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Outside of the final four, however, Myerberg pointed out a trio of SEC teams. Tennessee got glimpses of promising young quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who put up 178 yards of offense and scored four touchdowns against Iowa’s formidable defense, while Missouri’s win over Ohio State issued a statement about the Tigers’ place in the college football pantheon.

Ole Miss set itself up for some positive 2024 momentum as well by capping off the first 11-win season in program history. The Rebels will only get better as Myerberg pointed out quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 2024 return and the best incoming transfer portal class in the nation will set Lane Kiffin’s team up well for the 12-team playoff.

The USA TODAY Sports writer rounded out his column by tabbing Kansas, who beat UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and Northwestern, who defeated Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, as other big winners. His full insight, as well as his losers list, can be found here.

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook will return in 2024

The Missouri quarterback started each of the past two years and led the Tigers to a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State on Friday.

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook will return for the 2024 season, he officially announced after leading his team to a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State on Friday.

He said he had one year of eligibility remaining and then confirmed his intentions once head coach Eliah Drinkwitz asked if he would use it.

Cook helped lead Missouri to one of the best seasons in program history this past year, with Friday’s victory capping off the fourth 11-win season in Tigers history. He threw for 3,317 yards, rushed for 319 more, and scored 29 total touchdowns while only tossing six interceptions. He was named the offensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl, and Missouri will assuredly end the year in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time since the rankings’ inception in 2014.

Cook was also the Tigers’ starter in 2022. Across his four years in Columbia so far, he’s thrown for 6,473 yards (the seventh-most in program history) with 38 passing touchdowns (the eighth-most) and 13 interceptions. He has 986 career rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.

Cook’s last season in Columbia will be his hardest yet, with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC added to elevated expectations as the Tigers hope to continue their renaissance.

Missouri defeats Ohio State in low-scoring Cotton Bowl

The Tigers managed back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the game’s only trips to the end zone, holding on for a 14-3 win.

The crowd may not have been treated to any offensive masterpiece, but Missouri came away with a victory nonetheless in a 14-3 triumph over Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

After a first half that consisted of one Buckeyes field goal and 12 punts, fans and analysts were cracking jokes on social media about how Missouri’s color scheme resembled Iowa.

However, the Missouri offense came alive (by comparison) in the final fifteen minutes. Running back Cody Schrader, who finished the regular season as a Doak Walker Award finalist with more than 1,400 yards, punched into the end zone from nine yards out to give the Tigers the lead.

In a complete reversal from the rest of the game, Missouri scored on back-to-back possessions. The Tigers marched 91 yards down the field on 13 plays the following drive, culminating in a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brady Cook to standout sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III to expand the lead to 14-3.

Ohio State’s backs pressed against the wall with five minutes to play and two scores needed, but quarterback freshman Lincoln Kienholz started to churn. The young quarterback, who had thrown five collegiate passes before the game, led the Buckeyes into Missouri territory quickly with hopes of a miracle comeback. He lost the ball on a sack around the 40-yard line with three minutes to play, however, and the Tigers pounced on the ball and ran the clock out from there.

Kienholz finished the game with six completions on 17 attempts, throwing for 86 yards. Both teams combined for 534 yards, with 203 of those coming on the ground for Missouri. Schrader ended the game with 128 yards on 29 attempts.

The win gave the Tigers a final record of 11-2, their first 11-win season since 2014 and just their fourth in school history.

Here are the best photos from the Tigers’ big win.

Former Florida defensive lineman Chris McClellan commits to Missouri

The former top-100 recruit from the Class of 2022 had 46 total tackles and 2.0 sacks in two years with the Gators.

Former Florida defensive end Chris McClellan is staying in the SEC. He announced on Tuesday that he was committed to the Missouri Tigers, according to a report by On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

“I felt as if they are going to put me in the best position to make me successful and develop me over the next (two) years,” McClellan said in Fawcett’s report on the decision.

McClellan was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2022, one of 247Sports’ top 100 prospects in the class. He was the No. 12 defensive lineman, and the Oklahoma native was the top recruit in his state.

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound lineman had 23 total tackles in both of his seasons with the Gators, finishing with seven solo tackles and 16 assists in both 2022 and 2023. He has 2.0 career sacks, with his only full sack coming against Missouri last season.

His highest PFF grades from this past season came as a tackler (74.6) and run defender (67.5).

McClellan joins a Missouri team on the rise. The Tigers won 10 games this season for the first team since 2014, and while head coach Eliah Drinkwitz has only pulled six transfers now with McClellan, four of them are four-star prospects.

Missouri nails a 61-yard field goal to beat Kansas State

Missouri remains perfect after an unlikely field goal from 61 yards out.

We haven’t seen the Missouri Tigers and Kansas State Wildcats face off in Columbia since 2010. The Tigers won that matchup 38-28. The Wildcats were able to take care of business last year but this time Mizzou had other plans.

It was close throughout the game and it felt like the team with the ball last was going to win the game. After an inexcusable delay of game penalty, the Tigers and kicker Harrison Mevis lined up for a 61-yard attempt to win the game.

The “thicker kicker” was up to the challenge as Missouri looked to keep their perfect record in tact.

Here is how social media reacted to the game.

Former Cyclone commits to play for Missouri

Former Iowa State and UNLV guard announces his transfer decision.

The [autotag]Missouri Tigers[/autotag] added to their basketball team for the 2023-24 season. Former Iowa State Cyclone guard Caleb Grill will head to Columbia, Missouri, to continue his collegiate playing career.

Grill spent time between Iowa State and UNLV in his four seasons at the collegiate level. He began with the Cyclones in 2019 and joined the Rebels in 2020 before returning to Iowa State in 2021. Over three seasons with the Cyclones, Grill has averaged 5.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in 89 games. He mostly played in a reserve role until 2022 when he started 22 games.

Grill unceremoniously left Iowa State towards the end of the 2022-23 season. He was dismissed from the team in March due to a failure to meet the program’s expectations. The 6-foot-3 guard will now get a new start with his third different program since 2019.

Coming out of high school, Grill was listed as a three-star point guard out of Maize, Kansas, by 247Sports. Joe Tipton of On3 announced the commitment on Twitter.

Grill joins former Indiana guard Tamar Bates and former Colorado State guard John Tonje on the Tigers roster as incoming transfers. Missouri finished the 2022-23 season with a 25-10 record and 11-7 in SEC play. They were tied for fourth in the conference along with the Tennessee Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores.

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