Missouri football may have Vanderbilt's quarterback to thank for the strength of its linebackers.
Mizzou's season-opener for the 2025 campaign against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28 on Faurot Field is less than 50 days away. Fall camp is right around the corner, as the Tigers typically have players report to campus in Columbia over the final weekend of July.
In the offseason, Vandy QB Diego Pavia sued the NCAA, claiming junior college eligibility should not count toward Division-I eligibility. In response, the NCAA issued a blanket, one-year waiver for former JUCO players to return in 2025.
In turn, Mizzou is able to return one of its leading tacklers and top projected linebackers.
Here is how Missouri 's linebackers shape up heading into fall camp, including a projected (but not finalized) depth chart, the upside and possible questions for the room and some snippets of what the coaches said during the spring:
Starters: Mike: Josiah Trotter , r-so..; Will: Triston Newson , gr.
Primary rotation: M:Jeremiah Beasley, so.; Brian Huff , r-fr. W: Khalil Jacobs , sr.; Nicholas Rodriguez , so.
Reserves:Dante McClellan, fr.; Jason King, fr.; Brady Hultman, jr.
It would be a surprise if Trotter and Newson don't end the season with the highest snap counts among MU's linebackers.
Beyond that, the listed rotation is our best estimate of how Mizzou will line up at linebacker this season. However you want to divide up the reps in the rotation behind the top two is as good a guess as any.
Jacobs, a former South Alabama player under second-year MU defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, should play frequently at weakside linebacker, especially with his familiarity of the DC's scheme. Rodriguez took his reps there as a rookie, too, and we'd expect to see him take a jump in playing time from Year 1 to 2.
Beasley is the most likely backup at middle linebacker, unless Rodriguez makes a slight position switch. Depending on how deep MU wants to go, Huff and McClellan are the likeliest next options.
Depth shouldn't be an issue for Missouri at linebacker this season.
It's a position that's caught Mizzou out a couple times in the past, with injuries forcing the Tigers into some midseason changes. In 2023, Newson went from reserve to Cotton Bowl starter when Ty'Ron Hopper and Chad Bailey picked up late-season injuries. Last season, Rodriguez stepped into a significant role when Jacobs missed the second half of the season with injury.
Missouri is at least three deep at both middle and weakside linebacker this year — potentially more, if the true freshmen are ready.
The experience of Newson is absolutely invaluable, too. With the blanket waiver for former junior college players, Missouri immediately returned a player with 123 total tackles, including 13.5 for loss, while wearing the black and gold.
Trotter earned a third-team, preseason All-SEC nod from Phil Steele's magazine, and his presence absolutely raises the ceiling of the group. He was good for 93 tackles and a pick in a freshman All-American season at WVU last year. If that translates to the SEC, Mizzou has a stout starting duo.
For starters, Batoon is going to need to be judicious about dividing up the reps. There are at least six players fighting for a couple of spots.
That is, of course, one of those good problems. You won't find a coach anywhere in the country disappointed by too much competition.
If we're nitpicking, there's also an experience question for this group of linebackers to answer.
The Tigers seem to generally be pleased with the group they have assembled this season, but on-paper assessments and live-game production are very different things. Four of the top-six options we have listed on the LB depth chart have spent two or fewer years in college.
That's a young room, and although experience doesn't dictate production, Mizzou will want to avoid a drop in performance as it moves down its depth chart.
Rodriguez earned some high praise through spring camp.
"I think Nick Rodriguez probably had the best spring of anybody on the defensive side of the ball," Eli Drinkwitz said April 8. "His playmaking ability at the linebacker position was remarkable throughout spring. Really challenging to block. I think him and Coach (Derek) Nicholson really hit it off. His instinctual play (and) physicality has been remarkable to watch."
That's another positive development for the Miami native. He was one of five true freshmen to burn a redshirt in the 2024 season as he appeared in 11 games for the Tigers as a rookie.
What Drinkwitz said about him after spring camp sounds like a lot more than plain-ol' coachspeak. That praise sounds like a player who is ready to move into a feature role on the defense.
Drinkwitz, April 8, on the room: "That linebacker group — very deep. Very deep and very impactful. … I look for that room to be as deep and as impactful as the edge position."
More: Deepest on the roster? How Missouri football's defensive ends shape up before fall camp
More: Who are Missouri football's 10 best players in EA Sports College Football 26 video game?
Batoon, March 5, on Newson's return: "It's like a reprieve. Like, he was done at the bowl game, hugged his neck, we said our goodbyes, almost. Then, boom — (the waiver) happens. It's been really cool, and he's looked at it as a blessing. … An extra year, what an awesome deal for him, and I'm excited to see what he does with it. He'll make the most of it. … We went in the portal and got some guys, and with (Newson) coming back, there's tremendous competition."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why JUCO eligibility waiver changed Missouri football linebacker depth
