COLUMBIA, Mo. — There’s a clear task ahead of the Missouri offensive line — other than protect the quarterback and open up run lanes, that is: Replace two valued veterans.
Gone are left tackle Javon Foster and left guard Xavier Delgado and the 80-plus combined starts they made over the last few seasons. After a successful and vastly improved 2023 season for Mizzou’s blockers, the start of spring camp is the start of the competition to succeed the stalwarts.
“That’s going to be a tough task,†coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “You’re not going to replace that day one.â€
Still, the Tigers have already started. The clear-cut part is replacing Foster at left tackle. Cayden Green, the transfer portal coup from Oklahoma, has immediately lined up on that edge of the offensive line.
“He’s a young dude, but he has so much potential,†fellow offensive lineman Cam’Ron Johnson said of Green. “He just got here and he already knows all of our plays, and he’s getting in run fits, pass blocks, holding his own.â€
People are also reading…
Green will be playing just his second year of college football, but he found a starting role as a freshman with the Sooners, which should smooth out his elevation to MU’s starting left tackle role.
There’s an interesting schematic connection between Oklahoma and Missouri that’s helping Green, too: OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh was Texas Tech’s offensive line coach when a center named Brandon Jones played there — and now Jones is Mizzou’s offensive line coach.
“We all know the similar techniques and we all teach the same thing,†Johnson said, “so he kind of knew everything that we did.
“We just added a few techniques and things to his game that’ll probably help him out this year.â€
Johnson has become more familiar with Green’s game because Mizzou is planning to switch him from right guard to left guard. It’s Johnson’s “natural position,†he said, and where he played at Houston — under Jones, it’s worth mentioning — before transferring to Mizzou.
The Tigers originally brought Johnson to Columbia to play center, providing some competition for Connor Tollison ahead of the season. But with Tollison winning that job and Delgado firmly in control of the starting guard spot on the left, Johnson slotted in on the right.
The offseason brought about an opportunity to shift him back to his original position.
“Cam coming with me from Houston, he started really three years there at left guard, so just a little bit more comfort,†Jones said.
“And then just having a new guy with Cayden, just having somebody that’s mature and that was in the system last year … just having somebody for him to rely on, to lean on and build some chemistry.â€
Johnson said his process for re-adjusting to the left side only takes “slight work.â€
“I’ve been doing it for like three, four years now, so it’s just back to the basics, honestly. But there are some things you got to just tighten up since you’re just so used to the other side’s footwork.â€
Rolling with Green and Johnson on the left could solve the original problem created by Foster and Delgado’s departures, but it creates a new opening at right guard — one that remains open for competition.
“It’s a position battle,†Johnson mused of his former spot on the O-line.
In the mix right now are Mitchell Walters, a former Post-Dispatch Super 30 player at Mehlville who started four games in 2022, Logan Reichert, one of the best O-line prospects in last year’s recruiting class, Tristan Wilson and Curtis Peagler.
During the limited portions of spring practice that are open to the media, Reichert has been lining up with the starters, but he has yet to secure the job.
“It’s just confidence, I think, for him,†Jones said. “Logan is a physical specimen. He’s gonna test through the roof and all those things. But just the confidence, trusting his technique, knowing and being confident in his assignment — which he’s making significant strides there. I’m patient with him because he’s rather young, he hasn’t been here a full year just yet. But I also have really high expectations for him.â€
There’s also the possibility Mizzou could look to add a lineman who could immediately slot in at right guard during the spring transfer portal window.
That’s what the program did by adding Johnson in May of last year after hiring Jones away from Houston.
“Ultimately, we want to do what’s best for the team,†Jones said. “Right now, I don’t see a ton of holes. I think we have just about what we need. But if there’s an opportunity for us to add a better piece, we’re obviously entertaining that.â€
On the rest of the offensive line, Tollison will reprise his role as the starting center. After struggling with some pre-snap penalties last season, he made a “pact†with the rest of the offensive line not to have any, Jones said, and has been good for his word so far this spring.
Armand Membou, who played with Green in high school, will be back as the right tackle. If and when he pursues an NFL career, Membou may need to move inside to right guard, but the Tigers aren’t keen on starting that process now.
“I try not to create just a ton of holes,†Jones said. “It took me and Coach Drink a while to get to ‘Hey, move Cam to the left and create some competition at the right guard spot.’ I think he’s comfortable at the right tackle.â€
Jayven Richardson, a transfer from Hutchinson Community College, is competing with Walters for the swing tackle or “sixth man†job held by Marcellus Johnson last season.
The right guard spot, in particular, is unlikely to be settled by the March 16 spring game. The O-line refinement process is not one that Drinkwitz views as over.
“We’re looking for the best combo of five,†he said. “Obviously, we’ve got a pretty strong three with Connor, Cam and Armand.â€