‘Toughest job in football’: No. 9 Mizzou’s offensive line made a statement last week
A few of Missouri’s most impactful players in its season opener did not even appear in the stat sheet.
While much of the attention steered to the running backs after the Tigers rushed for four touchdowns in their season-opening 51-0 victory over Murray State last Thursday night, the five big men up front who cleared the way for Missouri’s rushers quietly went under the radar.
It’s a familiar feeling for offensive lineman who arguably have one of the most difficult jobs in football but usually receive little fanfare for it. But as Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz knows all too well, the offensive line is integral to a successful offense.
“It’s a really important part of any successful football team,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t think there’s ever been a successful football team that didn’t have five selfless men (on the offensive line.)“
The Tigers displayed this sentiment in the offseason, when they rebuilt and reinvested in the unit that makes the offense go.
Anchored by a veteran offensive line corps and the addition of offensive line coach Brandon Jones to the staff, the Tigers finished the season with a winning record for the first time since 2018 last season. The unit, made up of Javon Foster, Xavier Delgado, Connor Tollison, Armand Membou and Cam’Ron Johnson, finished as semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding offensive line.
Missouri’s offensive line finished the campaign with the nation’s fifth-highest run blocking grade and 35th-highest pass blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus. But with the dominance came the realization that the Tigers had to remake their offensive line almost as quickly as they had built it up.
Foster and Delgado both headed to the NFL, sending Missouri to the transfer portal for their replacements. The Tigers found two of the most sought after linemen in the transfer portal — former Oklahoma guard Cayden Green and ex-SMU tackle Marcus Bryant — both of whom find themselves slotted along MU’s starting offensive line.
“When we lost Javon Foster and Xavier Delgado, who combined had almost 40 starts, we knew that that left side was going to be really important for us to fix and provide competition,” Drinkwitz said. “So we went out and looked at what was best available in the portal and we were able to get them.”
Green and Bryant are both natural tackles, although Green played left guard at Oklahoma during his freshman season. After spending all of spring ball at the left tackle spot, Green elected to move back to left guard in order for Bryant to play tackle, clearing the way for Missouri’s starting lineup of Bryant (left tackle), Green (left guard), Tollison (center), Johnson (right guard) and Membou (right tackle).
Green’s unselfish decision not only paved the way for the best five players to play, but it also likely aided in PFF’s decision to list Missouri’s offensive line unit as the seventh-best in the country entering the season. Through one week, that already seems to be ringing true.
“I don’t think we gave up any sacks and not many tackles for loss,” Tollison said. “I think those are two stats that show how an offensive line did throughout a game, and those were two categories we did well in.”
Behind their offensive line, the Tigers rushed for 189 yards and four touchdowns in the season-opening 51-0 win against Murray State last Thursday. Missouri’s offensive line did not allow a sack, nor a quarterback hurry, while providing senior quarterback Brady Cook ample time in the pocket.
“They were excellent,” said senior running back Nate Noel, who rushed for a team-high 48 yards against Murray State. “From the offensive line to the tight ends to the receivers, everybody just was excellent blocking. We had a lot of rushing yards.”
Green finished with the highest pass-blocking grade of the game (84.4) and Johnson had the highest run-blocking grade (88.7), according to PFF. Tollison was one of two Tigers to make PFF’s Team of the Week, joined by cornerback Toriano Pride Jr.
Tollison, a redshirt junior, graded out at 84.1, the highest mark among centers nationally.
Perhaps the lone negative surrounding the performance came down to the opponent, as the Racers are an FCS program coming off a two-win season in the midst of a full-on rebuild. But regardless of opponent, the Tigers were dominant and look poised to compete against more challenging opponents in the weeks to come.
Missouri’s first true test along the offensive line could come as soon as this weekend when it hosts Buffalo. The Bulls’ defense recorded four sacks and 11 tackles for loss in their 30-13 victory over Lafayette.
The Buffalo linebacker duo of Shaun Dolac and Red Murdock, both of whom were named to the preseason All-MAC first team, combined for 18 tackles in Week 1. Dolac finished the game with 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack, while Murdock recorded seven tackles and a tackle for loss. All-MAC second-team defensive tackle George Wolo tallied one tackle and a half-tackle for loss, and edge rusher Kobe Stewart led the Bulls with two sacks.
Although Missouri certainly boasts more talent on paper, the Buffalo defense is a disruptive one and will likely give the Tigers a much stiffer challenge than Murray State did. That means Missouri will call upon an offensive line that it invested in to maximize the embarrassment of riches the Tigers flash at the skill positions.
“They have to do the toughest job in college football, in my opinion,” Drinkwitz said. “They have to move immovable objects and they have to be able to work backwards and protect the quarterback.
“Then, they have to be selfless. It can’t be about them; it has to be about the team and everybody else.”
Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 2:48 PM with the headline "‘Toughest job in football’: No. 9 Mizzou’s offensive line made a statement last week."