Missouri’s fall camp kept moving Monday morning, and for the first time this preseason, senior edge Malik Bryant was out there in full contact work.
Bryant, a transfer from Miami, had been wearing a green jersey earlier in camp, a clear sign he was being held out of contact. That changed Monday, when he took part in drills and even drew a shoutout from Eli Drinkwitz after making a defensive play.
Bryant’s path to Columbia has been shaped by a limited role and injuries: he logged just 31 snaps in four games at Miami last season, then followed that with 17 tackles, five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2024 while appearing in 12 games. If he stays healthy, he could settle into a rotational spot in Missouri’s edge group.
Special teams also had a clean morning. Blake Craig and Oliver Robbins each lined up for three kicks apiece, and neither missed.
The exact distance was tough to judge from the view directly behind the goalposts, but the attempts appeared to get longer each time. Craig is scheduled to speak to reporters Tuesday.
On the other side of the ball, Missouri’s receivers spent a lot of their time working on quick hitch routes. At one point, one of them was even singing along to Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle,” which apparently proved too catchy to resist. A separate group of four receivers was working through a different drill, and three of them appeared to be Cayden Lee, Shaun Terry II and walk-on Noah Flaskamp.
That grouping is worth watching because Lee and Terry seem like natural fits for the slot. Lee played mostly in the slot for Ole Miss last season, and Missouri is looking for someone to step into the role Kevin Coleman handled after Luther Burden III. That spot has been a key part of Missouri’s offense since Burden first emerged.
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The question now is which newcomer can make that jump fastest and give Missouri the biggest immediate lift in the SEC. A fan survey is already underway to sort through the possibilities, which says plenty about how many different directions this could go for a defense that has been so reliable. With several transfer pieces in the mix, the Tigers do not need all of them to hit at once, but they do need at least one to separate quickly and become a difference-maker. [Read more 🡒]
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The timing matters even more now because the backdrop at Memorial Stadium is changing, too. With construction work reshaping the North end zone area, Missouris special teams staff has to sort through a new set of kicking conditions while also figuring out how to reintegrate Craig after a year away. For a team that already learned how much hidden yardage and reliable kicking can swing a season, its an issue that will linger well into 2026. [Read more 🡒]