How Mizzou football is replenishing defense with development + portal additions

As spring practices continue for the Missouri Tigers football team, one of the program’s biggest concerns is replenishing lost defensive talent.

Mizzou lost nine of 10 players who played more than 400 snaps last season. Four are projected to be picked in the 2026 NFL Draft, having taken part in the NFL Scouting Combine last week.

"There's a lot of new faces out there," Missouri defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said. "Spring has been really cool in regards to seeing these guys, a lot of them from the transfer portal. You watch them on tape, you see them in drills, and now we get an opportunity to go out and actually work with them. It's been really fun so far."

Batoon and the rest of the staff added 13 players on defense. Six of those players are in the secondary, as the Tigers try to replace Toriano Pride Jr., Daylan Carnell and Marvin Burks Jr., among several others.

"Some of those guys are really flashing. I think they're talented," Batoon said. "It's a learning process. That's the cool thing about spring is (that) it's totally like a lab. You can tweak and fine tune things."

All six transfers bring power-conference experience, with five of them having played for teams ranked in the Top 25 last season. One player who sticks out in terms of experience is Chris Graves Jr. from Ole Miss. Graves has played each of the last three seasons with the Rebels, recording career stats of 61 tackles and seven passes defended.

Other defensive backs to watch include Sione Laulea and Jahlil Florence. The two are old teammates, having spent the last two seasons together at Oregon. While they both saw limited playing time last year, they learned plenty as the Ducks reached the College Football Playoff semifinals.

With the tremendous turnover Mizzou's defense has experienced, there is a lot of uncertainty around the unit. More question marks linger around the transfers, but there is some reassurance that the Tigers will be able to lean on returning players who are eager to step into bigger roles.

Two such returners are linebacker Nick Rodriguez and defensive tackle Marquis Gracial.

Rodriguez has been with the program since 2024, and Gracial has been a Tiger since 2022.

"I'm the old head in the room now," Gracial said. "Just showing that I can be who they want me to be, leading the way for the other guys in the room."

Aside from guiding the younger players, Gracial hopes to continue developing as an athlete. He emphasized a desire to improve his pass rush.

"My pass rush is something that was kind of lackadaisical for me last year, just something I could get better at," Gracial said. "I was real good at the run, but pass rush is definitely something that I need to get better at."

Rodriguez is eager to emerge as a leader, and one way he exemplifies leadership is providing energy. With defensive end Zion Young's departure, Rodriguez has adopted the role of the hype man.

"Zion set the standard; he had energy every day he came in here," Rodriguez said. "We can't have Zion leave, and then we're just juiceless. I love bringing the energy and having fun out here. With fun comes success."

As for other key returners, Gracial shouted out younger teammates, specifically mentioning linebacker Dante McClellan.

"He's a real physical dude," Gracial said. "He's young. Still gotta learn and get that experience under his belt, but he's gonna be good."

McClellan saw action in 12 games as a true freshman in 2025, posting one interception, one touchdown and one pass deflection. He could be one of many defenders to step into a larger role this upcoming season.

"He has a great opportunity in front of him," Rodriguez said. "He's a great player. He's one of those guys that just comes in and works, keeps his head down."

All of Mizzou's transfers and returning players will have to work hard to replace the departing athletes. The task ahead is difficult but not impossible.

"We're all just building the team together, trying to establish the identity of Death Row again," Rodriguez said. "There's no one-man show. We're just building it together from the ground up."

Copyright 2026 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 6:30 AM with the headline "How Mizzou football is replenishing defense with development + portal additions."