Missouri Tigers football fills tight ends coach, recruiting coordinator positions

The Missouri Tigers football team announced more changes to its coaching staff for the 2022 season on Wednesday.

Special teams coordinator Erik Link will coach the tight ends position in addition to his current role next season. Linebackers coach D.J. Smith will take on the added responsibility of recruiting coordinator for head coach Eliah Drinkwitz.

“I am really excited for the opportunity to expand my role and coach the tight ends,” Link said. “I am looking forward to working with our offensive players and coaches in this role and can’t wait to hit the ground running.”

Link and Smith combine to fill the role of Casey Woods, who left in December to become SMU’s offensive coordinator.

“I’m thankful for and humbled by the opportunity to serve as our staff’s recruiting coordinator,” Smith said. “We’re focused on keeping the best players from Missouri at home, in addition to our recruiting nationally.

“We want to build a roster that our fan base is excited to support and can compete for the SEC East title.”

Drinkwitz still has one vacancy to fill on his staff.

This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 10:42 AM.

Lila Bromberg

The Kansas City Star

Lila Bromberg covers the Missouri Tigers for the Kansas City Star. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and was ranked as the best college sports reporter in the country by the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2021. In addition to covering the Terrapins for four years, Bromberg has worked for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports and USA TODAY Sports.