Transfers bolster Missouri football roster

Help is on the way for Missouri’s offensive line.

American River College offensive tackle Kyle Mitchell — listed as a 6-foot-5, 301-pound freshman on last season’s roster — announced Wednesday on Twitter that he’d committed to the Tigers.

“I’m excited to further my education and career as a Missouri Tigers and I can’t wait to get after it,” Mitchell wrote, in part, announcing his commitment.

Mizzou was limited to only eight scholarship offensive linemen for much of spring practice after Andy Bauer retired due to injury, Malik Cuellar quit football, Clay Rhodes stepped away for personal reasons and Nate Crawford was sidelined by a second back surgery.

That forced first-year Tigers offensive line coach Glen Elarbee to play musical chairs with the bodies he had, including converted defensive lineman Tyrell Jacobs.

Mitchell joins a group that includes only four players — Crawford, tackle Paul Adams, guard Kevin Pendleton and junior Alec Abeln — with experience in the Southeastern Conference.

Missouri also bolstered its running back stable Sunday when Oklahoma graduate student transfer Alex Ross committed, according to PowerMizzou.com and KOMU-TV.

He visited Columbia two weeks ago and graduated from OU last weekend. He’ll be immediately eligible in the fall after signing a financial ad agreement with the Tigers.

Ross, a 6-foot-1 and 221-pound bruiser from Jenks High in Tulsa, Okla., averaged 6.4 yards, amassing 786 yards with five touchdowns on 123 rushing attempts, and 25.7 yards on 53 kickoff return during a three-year career with the Sooners.

He might be especially valuable for a beleaguered Mizzou return game. Ross ranked third in the nation in 2014, averaging 31.2 yards per kickoff return with two touchdowns.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Transfers bolster Missouri football roster."