Jude James didn’t just step into the lineup against Mississippi because Brett Norfleet was unavailable. He made a case for more work, plain and simple.
With Norfleet sidelined by injury, James played a career-high 40 snaps in Missouri’s 31-3 loss and turned that volume into the most productive receiving day by a Tigers tight end this season. He was targeted five times, tied for third on the team, and finished with five catches for 57 yards.
The biggest play came in the third quarter and showed exactly why Missouri may want to keep finding ways to feature him. Working as the inline tight end, James released vertically with Donovan Olugbode while Cayden Lee motioned to the two-receiver side. The corner stayed on Olugbode, the safety took Lee, and James kept climbing the seam until Simmons found him for a 22-yard gain, the longest reception by a tight end this season.
That wasn’t just a checkdown hanging around in open space. It was one of two catches James made on routes that were more than simple safety-valve work. His other notable grab went for 16 yards in the fourth quarter.
There were other signs the staff was trying to get him involved in smarter ways. After Santana Banner forced a fumble and set Missouri up in Rebels territory, the Tigers got knocked back by a chop block and faced 2nd and 21 from their own 45.
Simmons ran play action, the two receivers on the short side pushed vertically, and James stayed in to help block before slipping into the flat. With the defense occupied downfield, he picked up 16 yards and made third down far more manageable.
That kind of usage stands out because Missouri’s tight end room has not been asked to do much through the air. Norfleet has been targeted 14 times for 80 yards and a score, with that touchdown coming on a late touch at KU. Most of his work has been close to the line, designed for modest gains.
The numbers back up the different profile James brings. Norfleet is averaging 1.14 yards per route run in 2026, better than his 1.00 mark in 2025 but still below his 1.31 in 2024 and 1.54 in 2023.
James is at 1.65 so far this season. Against Mississippi, he ranked second among all qualified receivers at 2.19 yards per route run, the best mark for a Missouri tight end this year and the best by a Tiger in an SEC game since Norfleet against Auburn in 2024.
At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, James looks more like a receiving threat who can stress a defense than the two seniors ahead of him. That doesn’t mean Norfleet or Jordon Harris can’t help in the passing game. It just means James brings a different kind of speed.
Still, the tight end position is about more than catching passes, and that’s where the role gets complicated. Of Norfleet’s 182 offensive snaps, 53% have come on designated run-blocking plays.
Harris has been in that same spot on 71% of his 252 snaps. James has also been asked to do his share there, with 53% of his 109 snaps coming as run-blocking reps.
Norfleet checks in at 255 pounds, while Harris is 269. Those are the bodies Missouri will lean on when it wants a tight end to help in the run game.
James, a former three-star from St. Charles, doesn’t have to be the full-time answer.
But what he showed against a top-10 opponent was enough to suggest he can push this offense forward and give a quiet tight end room some life.
He topped 15 offensive snaps for the first time since week one, and that alone is a sign his role could grow after the bye week, beginning with Halloween’s trip to Arkansas. He may not be in line for a full-time job this season, but Missouri left that game with a clearer idea of what he can add - and with reason to believe there’s more coming.
In Other News...
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It was not just football bringing good news around campus, either. Megan Jolly picked up SEC Womens Diver of the Week after sweeping first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at a recent meet, adding to a stretch of updates that has kept Missouri in the conversation across multiple sports as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mizzou Star Jordan Elliott Faces Career Crossroads After NFL Incident
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Titans coach Robert Saleh later framed the episode as a lapse in judgment rather than a criminal act, and said he would be willing to help Elliot land another opportunity. Elliott had signed a two-year deal with Tennessee in the offseason after previous stops with the Browns and 49ers, leaving the 27-year-old once again at a crossroads in a league that has already tested his staying power. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mizzou DT Jordan Elliott Is Suddenly Facing Serious NFL Fallout
Jordan Elliotts run with Tennessee ended abruptly after a practice incident that escalated far beyond the usual training-camp friction. The former Missouri defensive tackle, who signed a two-year deal with the Titans in the offseason, was released after an altercation with offensive tackle JC Latham led to Elliott retrieving a firearm, according to the account that emerged from the team.
Veteran defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers stepped in to help calm things down, and the episode was captured on the Titans security cameras. For a player once taken in the third round in 2020, it is a sudden and serious NFL setback, and one that leaves plenty unresolved about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]