Let’s assess MU’s work.
Missouri football has added 17 players via the transfer portal since it opened in December, and the Tigers are set to lose 16 players the other way. Of the 17 newcomers, seven have come on the offensive side of the ball.
So, how do those seven figure into next year’s plans?
Mizzou entered the portal with multiple positions of need, mostly due to players exhausting their eligibility or declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. The Tribune is handing out grades for how the Tigers fared at filling those open roles.
Our criteria: Do they plug an instant need for the Tigers in 2025? Do they set Mizzou up for success beyond next season? Were they among the top available players at their position?
Here are our grades for Missouri’s work transfer portal work at each position on offense:
More: Missouri football live transfer portal news: Tracking who joins, leaves Mizzou in portal
Quarterback: B
Transfer in: Beau Pribula (Penn State)
Transfer out: Aiden Glover (Undecided)
Both the floor and the ceiling for Pribula are still somewhat of an unknown. The Tigers almost certainly will enter a quarterback competition to determine Brady Cook’s successor in the spring and into the fall, but given that QBs command top dollar out of the transfer portal, Pribula is almost certainly the frontrunner ahead of returners Sam Horn and Drew Pyne.
Still, there’s a lot to like about the limited reps Pribula took at Penn State.
His rushing numbers are encouraging, as he’s tallied 10 rushing touchdowns and 3.9 yards per carry in the past two seasons. He completed 74.3% of his passes for five touchdowns and a pick in his reserve role as he played a significant, situational role in PSU’s offense last season.
Mizzou first chased USC transfer Miller Moss, who opted to go to Louisville, and reportedly had California transfer Fernando Mendoza, who opted to go to Indiana, on campus for a visit. Moss was certainly a target, although it’s tough to tell how hard MU chased Mendoza, as that recruitment overlapped with Pribula’s portal entry.
Pribula is an exciting signing, if not a safe bet. There’s a lot left to prove, which is reflected in the grade.
Running back: A
Transfer in: Ahmad Hardy (ULM)
Transfer out: Kewan Lacy (Ole Miss)
Kewan Lacy was one of the more surprising portal entrants of this cycle. He earned reps and burned a redshirt as a rookie. He appeared to be in line for an increased role next year.
Now, he’s at Ole Miss. That, on paper, is a big loss.
But Mizzou might have found a player with equal eligibility with more potential to have a major impact on the 2025 squad.
Ahmad Hardy rushed for 1,356 yards and 13 touchdowns at Louisiana-Monroe last season, earning him first-team All-Sun Belt honors and a Freshman All-American nod by several outlets. More than 1,000 of those yards were after contact, and Hardy did a majority of his damage on zone runs, which will suit Missouri’s scheme.
Even with an eye-opening loss to the portal, Missouri appears to be in a better place now than when it began its portal shopping at tailback.
Offensive line: B-
Transfer in: Keagan Trost (Wake Forest, OT); Johnny Williams IV (West Virginia, OT); Dominick Giudice (Michigan, C/OG)
Transfer out: Jack McGarry (Undecided)
Missouri has to replace three starters along the offensive line, including both tackles and a right guard. The Tigers have replenished those numbers, but whether they have replaced the talent is still to be determined.
All three newcomers have started games at the Power-conference level, but only Trost was a full-time starter last season. Williams was a backup to a consensus All-American at left tackle at West Virginia, and Giudice started the opening five games of the season at center for Michigan before moving to the bench as a backup interior linemen.
That’s not to say all three won’t fill rolls and fill them successfully next season. But, there is at least a question. All three players Missouri is losing — Armand Membou, Cam’Ron Johnson and Marcus Bryant — at one time or another earned all-conference honors in their careers.
Tight end: C
Transfer in: Vince Brown II (Colorado State)
Transfers out: NA
Mizzou didn’t necessarily need to add a tight end in this window. Brett Norfleet, who will enter 2025 on the back of an offseason surgery he underwent after the regular season ended, is expected to return, as is his main backup Jordon Harris. Both players have two years of eligibility remaining.
The Tigers are set to lose veteran Tyler Stephens, so the addition of Brown makes sense to fill that void. Brown caught 24 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns in 2024.
Wide receiver: A-
Transfer in: Kevin Coleman Jr. (Mississippi State)
Transfers out: Mekhi Miller (Tulsa); Courtney Crutchfield (Arkansas)
The lone complaint here is that Missouri perhaps could have added a second wide receiver out of the portal.
The Tigers are losing a lot of production between Luther Burden III, Theo Wease Jr. and Mookie Cooper. And while Joshua Manning and Marquis Johnson should be ready for the step up in roles, another starter with a proven college record wouldn’t have hurt.
More: A way-too-early, post-portal prediction at Missouri football’s offensive depth chart in 2025
But Kevin Coleman Jr. was a stout addition to fill in the slot receiver role left open after Burden. Coleman was a third-team All-SEC selection by the coaches after catching 74 passes for 932 yards and six touchdowns, and should have an instant impact with the Tigers.
Neither Miller nor Crutchfield looked likely to be starters next season, so this was an overall win for MU.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Grading Missouri football’s transfer portal haul on offense
