Missouri football is mainly based on the development of the wide receiver in 2025.
No more moments watching Luther Burden III, now a second round choice by the Bears of Chicago, ridicule himself of sprawling defenders with the ball in his hands. Completed, the days of Theo Wease Jr. going hand in hand with a database on an island outside, while he signed a free agent contract with the dolphins of Miami. The long -standing reliable receiver n ° 3 Mookie Cooper has graduated.
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If you count, it means that the full cast of tigers in the past two years has evolved.
It is a lot to replace.
Or …
“I would really not say replace him,” said Marquis Johnson, returning the spring camp. “I would just say to continue him.”
Johnson, who comes out of an outing of the city of the spectacular music city, is a name that most fans of mizzou know after having flashed an incredible speed in his recruit year. But, his role changes, because he now has the most attempt experience of all MU’s return receivers.
Joshua Manning patiently waited for his turn, taking vast representatives of the special teams before raising himself in a reserve role in 2024. He stayed the course and now, as a junior, seems to be on the fastrack to a starting job.
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Behind them, in competition for the representatives, the returners Daniel Blood and James Madison II, the transfer of the state of Illinois Xavier Loyd and the real first -year students Donovan Olugbode, Shaun Terry II and Damarion Fowlkes.
More: Projection of the Missouri football depth graphic: who will start the mizzou offensive in the fall?
And there is the headliner: Kevin Coleman Jr., a senior transfer of the state of the Mississippi with more than 1,804 care receiving yards of a season each of Msu, Jackson State and Louisville, takes over in the slit and figures as the unmissable option for Beau Pribula or Sam Horn, which saves departure work.
Coleman is the obvious reference receiver for Mizzou at this stage, with an enveloped spring camp, the transfer portal has closed and an autumn camp even more than two months. He was a player in the third team from the dry at Mississippi State last season.
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“Dude, Kevin Coleman is all you want him to be a slot machine,” said MU’s head coach Eli Drinkwitz on April 8. “Dynamic player. Really difficult man from man to man.”
But beyond him, the tigers must prove that they have developed well internally.
“Obviously, Drinkwitz said,” You can’t just play with a wide receiver. “”
Sept. 21, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, United States; The receiver of the Bulldogs of the Mississippi State, Kevin Coleman Jr. (3), directed the ball against the Gators of Florida during the second quarter at the Davis Wade stadium in Scott Field. Compulsory credit: Matt bush-Imagn images
The staff are encouraged by Olugbode, a first registered. Drinkwitz said he would pressure for representatives as a recruit outside.
“Very advanced from the point of view of the receiver,” said MU’s offensive coordinator Kirby Moore. “I think that in this stage of his career, he has very strong hands, capable of separating, of making disputed captures, which, according to my experience in this conference, you must be able to do so.”
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Drinkwitz is excited by the addition of Loyd, which was a highly sought -after receiver in the spring transfer portal window.
“It was a really key addition to us,” said Drinkwitz on April 29. … “We needed another veteran presence, a guy who had a flexibility of multiple position, a guy who can play outside and be a guy who can always open and make games vertically on the ground.”
But all success that Mizzou has in the air must be through the players they have now spent several seasons to develop – players who have waited for their turn.
Johnson, who was an escape from big players in 2023, had injuries before an impressive performance – seven receptions, 122 yards and a touchdown – in MU’s victory in 2024. Tigers had trouble finding deep targets during most of the year, which may not have helped Johnson’s match.
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But the upright junior must become a more rounded player rather than a guy from Huck-IT gadget. The bowl game said it was possible. In the spring, he took another step, thanks to a major difference.
“I’m in good health,” said Johnson. “In good health, and I have the impression of being more mature than where I was from my first spring ball at the place where I am now. I have the impression that it happens (great).”
More: Can the defensive ends of Missouri football be among the best in the country? Why Eli Drinkwitz thinks it
December 30, 2024; Nashville, TN, United States; The receiver of Missouri Tigers, Marquis Johnson (2), famous with Jordon Harris (86) of the winger tight after his touch against the Hawkeyes of Iowa during the first half at the Nissan stadium. Compulsory credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Then there is Manning – a soft -voice product that can sometimes fly under the radar but increased the rows in the receiver room. His personality is not flashy, but important things have not escaped his attacking coordinator.
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“You just take consistency, the scope of the perimeter,” said Moore. “There is no alignment problem, he takes disputed taking.
The passage game has never taken off for tigers like most expected it in the 2024 season. Wease led the team with 884 yards. Burden’s production fell by more than 500 reception yards for its second year in its junior campaign. After that, no receiver caught more than 18 assists in the regular season.
The reasons why the expectations were so high have now evolved and the stick has passed.
“They left a good inheritance, left a good place here,” said Johnson. “I’m just here to continue.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why development is crucial for wide Missouri football receptors in 2025
