The Tigers, who return with 15 regular players, are ranked 11th in the Associated Press and coaches’ preseason polls.

“Last year, our motto became ‘Something to Prove,'” Missouri quarterback Brady Cook said last month at Southeastern Conference Media Days in Dallas. “I’m sure you heard it. We lived by it and we still do. Even though we had a good year last year and accomplished some things, we still have to prove it this year. For the guys that came back, for the team we have now, 2024 is all that matters.”

A year ago, Missouri was not ranked in either preseason poll. The Tigers were not even among the 24 teams ranked at least 25th in the AP poll. Media covering the 2023 SEC Media Days picked Missouri to finish sixth in the seven-team Eastern Division, which was no surprise. The Tigers had finished fourth in the East for two straight years under Eliah Drinkwitz, who had a 17-19 record in his first three seasons at Missouri.

“We all understand that this job comes with certain expectations, and if you don’t meet those, of course the noise gets louder,” Drinkwitz said. “But I think it’s more of a hats off to the players and coaches who believed in what we were doing, who believed in our vision.”

Missouri turned things around with a balanced team. The Tigers averaged 434.3 yards per game, which ranked 28th in the country. They averaged 32.5 points per game, which ranked 28th. The defense was a little better, allowing 336.1 yards per game, which ranked 33rd, and 20.8 points per game, which ranked 25th.

Missouri will have a hard time being as balanced this year, as on defense it will have to replace end Darius Robinson and linebacker Kris Abrams-Draine, both of whom were first-team All-SEC, as well as linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, who was on the second team.

The good news for Missouri is that eight starters return on offense, led by Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden III, both of whom are coming off fantastic seasons. Cook threw for 3,317 yards with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions. He completed 66.5% of his passes and his pass efficiency of 157.2 ranked him 18th in the country and was the best in school history. Burden exploded last season with 88 receptions for 1,212 yards (14.1 average) after having just 45 receptions for 375 yards (8.3) as a freshman. He was selected to the second-team All-American by the Associated Press.

“We’re in our third year together now,” Cook said. “So our chemistry is at an all-time high. We worked really hard in the offseason. We had a lot of one-on-one sessions and worked on little details. He’s definitely growing. He’s getting better and better and we’re confident.”

Complementing Burden is senior Theo Wease Jr., who received 49 passes for 682 yards (13.9) and six touchdowns after transferring from Oklahoma. Senior Mookie Cooper added 36 passes for 447 yards (12.4 average) without scoring a touchdown. Sophomore right end Brett Norfleet added 18 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns.

“You know, offensively we’ve brought back a lot of core players,” said Drinkwitz. “We’ve brought back a lot of performance. But I think to be successful in this league you have to win in the trenches.”

Missouri returns three offensive linemen from a unit that was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s best offensive line. Junior right tackle Armound Membou, senior right guard Cam’Ron Johnson and senior center Connor Tollison combined to start 38 times last season and have started 68 times in their careers. But Missouri must replace the unit’s best player, left tackle Javon Foster, who earned All-SEC first-team honors, as well as left guard Xavier Delgado, another three-year starter.

Missouri has entered the transfer portal to replace Foster and Delgado. Graduate Marcus Bryant is slated to play left tackle. He started 29 games at SMU and was named to the All-American Athletic Conference second team as a junior and first team as a senior. Sophomore Cayden Green slides in at left tackle. He started five games as a true freshman at Oklahoma.

“These two are a perfect fit for our culture, a perfect fit for the lineup,” Cook said. “I’m excited to watch them work.”

Fifth-year senior Mitchell Walters, redshirt freshman Logan Reichert and junior transfer Jayven Richardson (Hutchinson Community College) are also vying for playing time.

“Now we have more depth on the offensive line than we’ve ever had,” Drinkwitz said. “All of those guys have the ability to fill our needs, but we have to play well at the line of scrimmage and we have our hands full trying to develop the dominance we want to have to protect the football effectively and run the ball the way we need to compete at a high level.”

Missouri must replace All-SEC running back Cody Schrader, who rushed for 1,627 yards and 14 touchdowns on 276 attempts (5.9 average).

The Tigers hope freshman Austyn Dendy, along with Nate Noel of Appalachian State and Marcus Carroll of Georgia State, will fill the void. The 190-pound Noel rushed for 3,074 yards on 541 attempts (5.7 average) and scored 18 touchdowns in four years for the Mountaineers. The 210-pound Carroll rushed for 1,891 yards on 400 attempts (4.7 average) and scored 20 touchdowns in four years with the Panthers.

Dendy rushed for about 80 yards in the first fall practice game, while Carroll played five games, Drinkwitz told the Columbia Tribune. Noel did not play.

“I’ve seen this guy tackled against Texas, A&M (and) North Carolina,” Drinkwitz told the newspaper. “He’s had a lot of action in his career, so I don’t need to see him live. (I’m) very excited to see how he fits into this offense.”

Missouri’s defense suffered a major setback when Darris Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice. Smith came from Georgia, where he appeared in 16 games in his first two seasons. The 6’5″, 230-pound player competed with Zion Young, who transferred from Michigan State, for a spot in the starting lineup.

Returning to the Tigers are senior end Johnny Walker Jr. (43 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 9 QBPs) and senior tackle Kristian Williams (28 tackles, 5 for loss).

Senior linebacker Chuck Hicks had 53 tackles last year, including 11 for a loss. Missouri also lists senior linebacker Triston Newson (51 tackles, 7 TFL) as a returning starter, although he only started three times last season.

Missouri has three players in the secondary. Senior safety Joseph Charleston has made 25 consecutive starts. He had 61 tackles, the second most on the team, including 38 solos. He is complemented by junior safety Daylan Carnell (51 tackles, 6 TFL, 6 QBPs, 7 PBU) and junior cornerback Dreyden Norwood (20 tackles).

Missouri has one of the easier schedules in the league, with half of its games coming against the bottom four teams – South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Alabama is the only team in the top seven that the Tigers play.

“I wouldn’t say that because every single game there are NFL-level players on every team,” Williams said. “You have to play your best every game. I wouldn’t say that’s in our favor. We’re just trying to prove something. We’re just trying to raise the standard from last year. Last year is in the past and we’ve accepted that and we’re just trying to move forward.”

Missouri opens with four home games before traveling to A&M on Oct. 5. It will be the first time the offensive-minded Drinkwitz will face A&M’s defensive-minded Mike Elko as head coach.

“He’s kicked my butt several times as a defensive coordinator and obviously has an excellent feel that he had at Duke,” Drinkwitz said. “Obviously, I have a lot of respect for what he’s gotten from his offensive coordinator, Collin Klein, having played against him the last two years (at Kansas State). But until you find out what their team really is like in the first four games, I don’t know if I can accurately portray expectations.”

Missouri will bring an experienced team to Kyle Field.

“We have 22 players on our roster who have started 12 or more times in their college careers,” Drinkwitz said. “So we have the expertise.”