COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 The rotation keeps on rotating.
Down one player after edge rusher Darris Smith鈥檚 season-ending injury earlier in the week, Missouri鈥檚 group of defensive ends was one fewer in number during Friday鈥檚 practice but still conducting business as usual.
Zion Young and Johnny Walker Jr. remain the projected starters at the end positions. Joe Moore III remains solidly in the mix as a regular sub. Jahkai Lang has impressed enough during preseason camp that he could be in line for some snaps. But the edge rusher who could see the biggest increase in role because of Smith鈥檚 absence is Eddie Kelly Jr.
鈥淢e, Zion, Joe, Jahkai, we gonna all get after it,鈥 Kelly said this week. 鈥淲e all got depth so we know what we need to do.鈥
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He seemed to take a healthy number of second-team snaps during Friday drills, an indicator he鈥檚 likely to be one of the four edge rushers the Tigers will rotate through during games.
Kelly transferred to Mizzou from Georgia Tech during the offseason, making this his second consecutive year in a new place after moving on from South Florida ahead of the 2023 campaign.
鈥淯ltimately, why it was Missouri is because I believed in Coach Drink(witz),鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淚 appreciated Coach Drink for taking a shot on me and I understood what the program did the year before.鈥
In a depth role, Kelly recorded 6.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks during the 2023 season after playing minimally during his first year of college football. Each step of his career has seen an uptick in level of competition, but that doesn鈥檛 seem like something that intimidates the Orlando, Florida, product.
鈥淚 played a lot of SEC teams when I was in the AAC (with South Florida), and I played a lot of SEC teams when I was in the ACC (with Georgia Tech),鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淓verybody puts their pads on the same way, their shoulder pads on the same way, so if you鈥檙e a dog, you can go out there and ball regardless. That鈥檚 how I feel about the game of football.鈥
Tech played Georgia and Mississippi last year 鈥 Kelly picked up a sack in the latter affair 鈥 and South Florida faced Florida during the defensive end鈥檚 stint there.
His game doesn鈥檛 make him a like-for-like replacement for Smith, whose long, lean, athletic build makes him a prototype for the Tigers鈥 joker role on the defensive line. At 6-foot-4, 278 pounds, Kelly has the versatility to play closer to the interior as well.
鈥淎nything the team needs me to do, I鈥檓 willing to do it,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey need me to rush from the three (technique), they need me to take some blocks from the three, I鈥檓 here to do it.鈥
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz allowed writers to observe the entirety of Friday鈥檚 practice 鈥 usually, media are only invited for individual drills 鈥 which allowed for a handful of observations as the Tigers close out preseason camp.
Tight ends Brett Norfleet and Jordon Harris, who have both been absent from practice of late because of unspecified injuries, returned to action as expected. Both donned green non-contact jerseys, though Norfleet didn鈥檛 seem to be particularly limited in drills. Harris, however, spent a significant portion of practice doing individual work on the sideline.
During situational offense vs. defense drills, Mizzou鈥檚 personnel usage almost completely aligned with the projected version of the depth chart that the Post-Dispatch published earlier this week.
Interestingly, though, Marquis Gracial took more first-team reps than Chris McClellan did at defensive tackle, perhaps suggesting that the competition for a starting spot alongside Kristian Williams remains open. Regardless of who gets the starting nod, D-tackle is likely to be a four-man rotation with Sterling Webb also involved. Sam Williams and Jalen Marshall, who have been consistently pushing the first four tackles throughout camp, looked competitive.
One bit of schematic consistency between new defensive coordinator Corey Batoon and Blake Baker, his predecessor, looks like it will be the use of a prowler package in some scenarios 鈥 likely 3rd and long situations. That look involves trading out a linebacker for an additional defensive back, turning into something of a 4-1-6 alignment. It鈥檚 more fluid than those numbers suggest, though, allowing for more creative coverages and blitzes with an unconventional personnel grouping.
During Friday鈥檚 snaps where the defense played prowler, Khalil Jacobs occupied the lone linebacker role.
Wide receiver Daniel Blood was the first punt returner to take the field, followed by Marquis Johnson with the second team. Johnson and safety Marvin Burks Jr. were the first-team kick returners, with running back Jamal Roberts and wide receiver Joshua Manning as the second unit.
Playing with the second-team offense, Blood secured a stellar catch against cornerback Nic DeLoach, who was alternating first-team reps with Toriano Pride Jr.
Mizzou鈥檚 offensive starters struggled to string together much. During one sequence that placed the offense on its own 15-yard line with the task of getting enough first downs to start a drive 鈥 and with the defense trying to secure field position, Cook went through all of his progressions on first down but threw a checkdown to running back Nate Noel incomplete. Walker 鈥渟acked鈥 Cook on second down 鈥 quarterbacks weren鈥檛 live, so he didn鈥檛 hit Cook 鈥 and a third and 17 pass to wideout Mookie Cooper on a crossing route went off Cooper鈥檚 hands.
To close out the practice, Mizzou ran 4th and goal plays from the 8-yard line. Cook tried to force a pass to a double-covered Luther Burden III at the pylon for the first team鈥檚 attempt, which safety Joseph Charleston broke up. Second-team quarterback Drew Pyne threw a fade at the feet of Blood, who would have been short of the end zone anyway.