This offseason, I’m previewing the Missouri football season with a countdown of the top 40 Tigers for the 2024 season. I wanted to highlight high-potential players that could move the team up, those with a proven track record that would be important cogs, and still find room to celebrate talented players in crowded rooms that could be the important Tigers of the future.

What makes a key player? Outstanding play, of course, especially at key positions. High-demand and low-demand players: High variance could determine the performance of a certain position group. Players at positions that are thin on the ground or looking to bounce back after a rough season. Players who are getting their first chance to start at Mizzou, either as young players filling in for veterans or as highly touted transfers.

This year’s countdown takes us straight to kickoff against Murray State, with five new players each. Last week we looked at some reliable stars who still have potential. This week we’re looking at some new additions to replace key stars.

10. Blake Craig – Kicker – Freshman

Of the five players on this list tasked with replacing last year’s stars, Blake Craig has the biggest task. He must replace Harrison Mevis, a program legend who literally won two games last year and several others during his time with crucial kicks. Not only does he have to meet high performance standards, but he must replace an impossible level of swag. The Thiccer Kicker spent his time in Columbia strutting, swaggering and saluting while making crucial kicks from all over the field, all while sporting one of the best nicknames in the country.

Missouri fans shouldn’t expect that from Craig, but he will need to have a solid base of kicking skills to keep the Tigers winning in close games.

9. Toriano Pride – Cornerback – Junior

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The Clemson transfer can’t be expected to replace both Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw. But his recruiting experience and impressive time at Clemson speak to the potential of someone who can easily fit into the rotation and replace one of the departed heavyweights. Pride, like those two NFL draft picks, is a good coverage player and also shows a willingness to make some hits in the run game.

If there’s one position on the field where performance could drop off significantly, it’s cornerback. If Pride lives up to his blue chip reputation, he can prevent that from happening.

8. Nate Noel – Running Back – Senior

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You can’t just plug and play for departed program legends. KAD and Rakestraw were iron men who brought a workmanlike attitude to the secondary. Darius Robinson was a key player in the locker room. Mevis’ nickname and demeanor are irreplaceable. And you definitely can’t replace Cody Schrader, an All-SEC performer with a storyline like something out of a Disney movie and a work ethic like something out of a fairy tale. His stats are one thing; his standing as a leader is another.

But Nate Noel can be a damn good running back for these Missouri Tigers. He’s explosive in a way that Schrader never was, and he’s a skilled ball carrier and pass protector. According to reports from preseason training camp, Noel is putting some distance between himself and the rest of the running backs. I don’t think he’ll dominate the ball like Schrader did, but Noel has a clear chance to be RB1.

Eli Drinkwitz will be tasked with finding a replacement for Schrader’s leadership and locker room mentality. Noel will be tasked with replacing a fair amount of his yards, and he should be up to the task. He has over 3,000 yards in his career and should add many more as Mizzou’s lead back.

7. Cayden Green – Guard – Sophomore

6. Marcus Bryant – Tackle – Senior

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As has always been my wish in this series, I will take these two as a package.

Remember that time last year when fans were hoping Mizzou’s offensive line could at least reach some basic competency? We knew Javon Foster was a star at left tackle, but we just hoped anyone with a halfway decent pulse could step into the left guard role. Xavier Delgado did just that in his sixth year.

Now those program heavyweights are being replaced by two freshmen. Bryant, who is in his final year of college football, has chosen to play at Missouri under the tutelage of Brandon Jones. He is the prototype of a massive left tackle and the PFF grades are very positive for his work in pass protection. The caliber of pass rushers he faces will be significantly better in the SEC, and he will also have to improve as a run blocker to mimic Foster, who was a killer in Drinkwitz’s outside zone scheme.

Filling in for Delgado at guard will be Cayden Green, a former blue-chip recruit from Oklahoma who played left guard as a freshman last fall. Green’s PFF grade shows he was a capable pass blocker, especially later in the year when he moved into a full-time starter role. But it doesn’t bode well for his run-blocking grades.

While I love PFF’s stats and service, the grade can be a little wonky and is hardly a player’s bible. One more year in a high-level strength and conditioning program and working with another talented O-line coach, Brandon Jones, and perhaps Green is ready to take off as Mizzou’s starting left guard. Delgado followed a similar recipe for success last year. Green will have to do the same to replace him and rebuild the left side of the line with his running mate Bryant.

Previously:

#15 – #11

#20 – #16

#25 – #21

#30 – #26

#35 – #31

#40 – #36

Introduction and honorable mention