Is Missouri football considering changes to its lineup?
Well, some of those might already be underway.
Mizzou (5-1, 1-1 SEC) is entering the second half of its regular season, which begins with a matchup against Auburn (2-4, 0-3) on Saturday in Columbia. It's SEC games all the way out for Missouri in the regular season, and coach Eli Drinkwitz's team seemingly hasn't hit full tilt against prime opposition yet.
That could mean some in-season competition for reps.
Let's take a look at five positions — two forced, three perhaps in consideration — where the Tigers could look in a different direction:
More: Missouri football climbs in coaches poll, AP Top 25 after UMass win
More: Here's what Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz is paid, where it ranks among SEC coaches
Against UMass , left guard Cayden Green and oft-used sixth lineman Mitchell Walters essentially split reps with 36 and 35 snaps, respectively. Does that mean Mizzou is mulling a move up front?
The portions of the Tigers ' Tuesday practice made available to local media suggest Green is still running with the 1s. As Mizzou ran an interior-lineman drill — guard, center, guard — Green worked with the two set-in-stone starters to his right.
But Walters wasn't just making a fourth-quarter cameo on Saturday.
He played at left guard on MU's third touchdown drive in the second quarter and was on the field for Josh Manning's 63-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter. He relieved Armand Membou at right tackle for the Brett Norfleet touchdown drive.
"I think we're going to see more of Mitch Walters throughout," Drinkwitz said Tuesday. "You know, we just feel like, from an offensive line standpoint, we've got to create competition to get the best. I mean, Caden rotated and ended up grading the highest and was named offensive lineman of the game, so he responded well to the challenge.
"But, you know, Mitch can really play three positions for us. He can play right guard and rotates with (Cam'Ron Jonson), can play left guard and he can play right tackle."
Best guesses suggest the Tigers will run mainly with their core five against Auburn, but competition does appear to at least be in consideration. But Mizzou has had some difficulty containing pressure on the left side of its line, which seems to have sparked some competition.
Drinkwitz didn't quite agree with the premise of the question.
"I think he's played a lot," the coach said. "We rotate a lot of wide receivers, and we get criticized — we're playing too many wide receivers because ( Luther Burden III 's) not on the field, now we're wanting other guys to get more. So, you know, I can't make everybody happy on that."
That's a fair response. Manning, per PFF College, has played 134 snaps this season, which ranks sixth among wideouts on the team. Were it not for a tight hamstring before Texas A&M , that number may be even higher.
Manning's 63-yard, catch-and-run touchdown against Boston College was one of the more impressive plays made by a Missouri receiver — non-Burden edition — this season. He took a pass that was little more than a dump off and weaved his way all the way home.
The wideout's eight receptions for 126 yards rank fourth among MU players, and his 15.8 yards per catch are more than any MU player. PFF College has graded him as both MU's best pass- and run-blocker among the Tigers' wide receivers, too.
"I would say Josh has earned what he's got," Drinkwitz said. "He does a great job with his opportunity."
The Tigers are still going back and forth at corner.
Mizzou has rotated evenly between Toriano Pride Jr. and Nicholas DeLoach at the cornerback spot opposite Dreyden Norwood for the past two games, indicating they're still looking for a player to step up and grab that role.
Asked about whether he liked the rotation, Drinkwitz offered a somewhat unconvincing, "I mean, I liked it fine," and not much else.
Coverage mishaps are still a lingering issue, and Drinkwitz did say the timing between the secondary and the front is "not where we want them to be," which in turn perhaps hasn't allowed MU to create the pressure it would like bring to opposition backfields.
Mizzou may continue to rotate at the position, but that was not its modus operandi with now-NFL corners Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. while both were healthy. In an ideal world, the Tigers likely would prefer a set starter.
Now for the changes out of necessity …
Mizzou is beginning to look short at defensive end, where Joe Moore III has been ruled out for the year, joining Darris Smith on the sideline for the season. Backup edge rusher Austin Firestone retired from football in the spring.
There are now six scholarship defensive ends available to play, including starters Johnny Walker Jr. and Zion Young and rotational backup Eddie Kelly Jr.
The first and natural assumption is that means more snaps for Williams Nwaneri , the five-star, blockbuster recruit in his class. On Tuesday in practice, he was in a scout team jersey, which has been commonplace so far this season.
Jakhai Lang has played in five games this season, registering pressures in four of his 50 total snaps. He's now the likely the first option behind Walker at the 'Joker' edge rushing position on the boundary end of the field.
Nwaneri is still eligible for a redshirt as Murray State and UMass are his only logged appearances. But the reps needed are starting to stretch the availability thin, which could make room to see both.
All indications suggest true freshman Nicholas Rodriguez is stepping into the rotational reps at outside linebacker made available by key rotational linebacker Khalil Jacobs being ruled for the season.
Triston Newson, the starter at the position, is back at practice — albeit in a green, no-contact jersey — and expected to play against Auburn, per Drinkwitz.
Corey Flagg Jr. and Chuck Hicks will split time at middle linebacker, as they have all year.
Rodriguez appears to be the next man up for the second man in at OLB behind Newson.
"We've been utilizing him on special teams," Drinkwitz said, "to try to prepare him for this opportunity."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou football considering lineup changes? Breakdown of competition
