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Missouri football transfer portal tracker: Who is joining, leaving Tigers?
- Story byColumbia Daily Tribune
- Missouri football transfer portal tracker: Who is joining, leaving Tigers?
Here we go again.
The college football transfer portal reopened Tuesday morning and will remain open for inward and outward movement until May 1.
Missouri football, under a current estimation, has 79 players on scholarship, meaning the Tigers have six open spots for the 2024 season. That's not to say the Tigers won't chase or attempt to sign more players, but that's the likely threshold for the next fortnight.
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Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz and his staff have lured 12 players out of the portal since the 2023 regular season ended, with 11 players committing in the December-January window and quarterback Drew Pyne announcing his intention to join the team this summer back in early March.
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The Tigers are likely to target an interior offensive lineman to help bolster the right guard spot. On Monday evening at Missouri's Come Home Tour stop in Overland Park, Kansas, Drinkwitz told the Tribune that the Tigers have not specifically identified any positions of need but will seek out competitive depth.
"If there's a player who we think can come in and compete to be a starter we would always take that player, outside of the quarterback position," Drinkwitz said. "So I don't know that there's one specific area that we're really nervous about that we feel like we're not capable of playing SEC-winning football."
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The Columbia Daily Tribune will track all the comings and goings in and out of Columbia for the next two weeks:
Nov 24, 2023; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz celebrates after a defensive touchdown in the third quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Missouri won 48-14. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Missouri football gets commitments from Michigan linebacker, Georgia Tech defensive tackle
Missouri football added depth to its defense Wednesday, securing a commitment from Michigan transfer linebacker Jeremiah Beasley, per a report from On3's Hayes Fawcett that Beasley reposted to his Instagram account. And Missouri wasn't done there, as about 15 minutes later Georgia Tech defensive tackle Eddie Kelly announced via his X account that he also is transferring to the Tigers.
Beasley, who Mizzou recruited during high school, is a member of the Class of 2024 and enrolled at Michigan in December, so was not on campus for the Wolverines during their undefeated, national championship-winning 2023 campaign, meaning he arrives at Missouri with four seasons of eligibility remaining.
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The linebacker, listed at 6 foot 1, 230 pounds, was a consensus four-star prospect and was rated as the No. 6-overall recruit in Michigan.
Kelly was originally recruited by USF, where he spent one season before transferring to the Yellowjackets. He appeared in 13 games for Georgia Tech in his lone season in Atlanta , starting five, totaling 38 tackles, five of which for loss and 1.5 of which sacks, and two pass deflections.
He attended the same high school in Orlando, Florida, as former Mizzou safety JC Carlies, who was recently picked in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts . Kelly is listed at 6 foot 4, 278 pounds, and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Missouri football lands SMU offensive tackle Marcus Bryant
Missouri football made its first transfer portal splash of the spring window, landing SMU transfer offensive lineman Marcus Bryant on Wednesday, the player announced via his X account. Bryant started at left tackle for the Mustangs.
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Bryant shapes up to be a veteran addition to the big men up front. The Round Rock, Texas, native has played in 42 games over the past four seasons at SMU, making 29 starts. He was an All-American Athletic Conference first-team selection last season, when the Mustangs went 11-3 and defeated Tulane in the AAC championship.
The offensive tackle, who is listed a 6 foot 8, 318 pounds, has one year of eligibility remaining.
Missouri defensive ends Sergine Tounkara, Austin Firestone set to leave
On Friday, Missouri defensive ends coach Brian Early confirmed via X, the social media platform formerly know as Twitter, that defensive end Sergine Tounkara is entering the transfer portal. The coach wrote in the post that Tounkara was "buried a little in a talented room," but that he is "athletic, twitchy (and) has some natural pass rush ability. Great kid, good work ethic."
Tounkara, a former three-star prospect out of League City, Texas, did not appear for Missouri as a true freshman last season. He will have four years of eligibility remaining.
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On Thursday, fellow Missouri defensive end Austin Firestone announced via various social media accounts that he is retiring from football. It does not appear to be a medical retirement, as he wrote in the post that "the time has come to pursue what I believe to be a more virtuous path that aligns more with my future dreams."
The Northwestern transfer played two seasons of college football, including last season at Mizzou. He played in nine games for Missouri, logging a sack in the Tiger's win over Vanderbilt.
Three Missouri football players to enter portal
Three Missouri backups have either announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal or reportedly plan to do so during the spring window.
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Defensive tackle Ky Montgomery and tight end Ryan Hoerstkamp each announced via X, formerly known as Twitter, that they plan to transfer. Running back Michael Cox reportedly will follow, per 247Sports' Matt Zenitz.
Hoerstkamp, a Washington, Missouri, native, featured in 11 games over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, scoring a 32-yard touchdown against New Mexico State on one of his two career receptions. He only featured once in 2023, as Brett Norfleet and Tyler Stephens took the bulk of the Tigers' reps at tight end.
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Cox served as Tyler Badie 's primary backup for portions of the 2021 season, scoring twice in nine appearances. He featured in 10 more games in 2022 but took just nine carries. He did not play in 2023.
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Montgomery, a former four-star prospect, never featured for MU in three seasons.
The outgoing trio leaves Missouri with just two remaining members from its 2021 recruiting class: center Connor Tollison and star safety Daylan Carnell.
Players transferring to Missouri football
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Jeremiah Beasley, linebacker, Michigan
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Eddi Kelly, defensive tackle, Georgia Tech
Full list of Missouri players in the portal
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Ryan Hoerstkamp, tight end
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Ky Montgomery, defensive tackle
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Michael Cox, running back
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Sergine Tounkara, defensive end
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Austin Firestone, defensive end (retiring from football)
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football transfer portal tracker: Who is joining, leaving MU?
