'We're in good hands': Mizzou sees promising signs at important O-line spot

Despite cooler weather Friday at the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex, Day 4 of Mizzou football's fall camp was piping hot.

During the early portion of individual periods, Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz yelled, "Get your hands off your hips!" multiple times. After dropping a pass during drills, wide receiver Jayden Bolton did pushups before his next rep. The defensive linemen pushed sleds out of the back of the end zone, far enough that reporters were told to move out of the way before the drill began.

In terms of position battles, only quarterback seems hotter than left tackle. Following the departure of Marcus Bryant, who was selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, there was a hole at left tackle that needed to be filled.

Early in fall camp, there seem to be plenty of candidates to fill that spot, although two have stuck out thus far. One of them is West Virginia transfer Johnny Williams IV, who worked at right tackle earlier in the year, before Wake Forest transfer Keagan Trost established himself as the starter by the end of the spring.

Since then, Williams has worked at left tackle, where he took all 241 snaps last season with the Mountaineers.

"Johnny looks great," junior guard Cayden Green said Friday. "He's real good in pass (protection). He's starting to understand the scheme a lot more than he was in the spring."

But the incumbent is redshirt junior Jayven Richardson, who's entering his second season at Mizzou after transferring from Hutchinson Community College. Drinkwitz said on Saturday that Richardson has "predominantly" taken snaps with the first team.

Green had ample praise for Richardson, who only took 58 snaps last season — 36 on running plays and 22 on passing plays. According to Pro Football Focus, Richardson graded out well as a run-blocker, ending the season with a grade of 78 in that category. However, his pass-blocking grade was just 62.6, but that gap could shrink in 2025.

"He's night and day better. I think his pass pro has really improved," Green said. "He's always been a good run blocker, but he's really improved his pass pro. He put an emphasis on that in the offseason."

Whichever direction Mizzou decides to go at left tackle, both Green and Drinkwitz seem content.

"We got two guys that both know what they're doing," Green said. "Either way it goes, we're in good hands."

"I've been pleased with both of those guys," Drinkwitz said. "It's good when you're not noticing the left tackle, and so far, we haven't noticed them. That's a really good job by coach (Kirby) Moore with chip blocks. ... I think they're both handling it really well."

Change along an offensive line is unique. While there are five individuals within a single unit, they must work in unison to make a play work. Experience with one team is especially vital for an offensive line, which is what Mizzou had at left tackle from 2021-23. Javon Foster started there for three seasons and was a big part of MU's offensive success in 2023, as the offensive line was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore award.

Last season, Marcus Bryant filled Foster's shoes after four seasons at SMU; despite the newness, he was able to tally a quality campaign in 2024. When it comes to this season, meshing hasn't been too difficult, according to Green.

"Naturally, it's supposed to be," Green said of the acclimation process to a new running mate at left tackle. "But we've been able to pick up where Marcus left off last year. … They're both doing really well. It hasn't been much of an adjustment."

Luckily for the Tigers, they have plenty of returners, too, including Green at left guard. To the right of him is center Connor Tollison, who's been a stabilizing presence as he enters his fourth season as a full-time starter.

"Connor knows what he's doing at all times," Green said. "He helps us get on the same page."

Plus, even the newcomers have made immediate impacts. While right guard Dominick Giudice enters his first season with MU after four years at Michigan, Green called him a "natural-born leader." At right tackle, the aforementioned Trost has been labeled as the starter for several months.

Green also had plenty of praise for the younger offensive lineman. He said freshman Henry Fenuku has the playbook memorized "a lot more" than in the spring, while freshman Jack Lange, who's listed at 6-foot-8, "has length like nobody else". When asked about freshman Keiton Jones, who's listed at 6-4, 333 pounds, Green made a unique cross-species comparison.

"He's a freak," Green said. "Like, he's strong as an ox. Maybe even two of them."

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