Missouri’s second fall camp practice offered a short window, but there was still plenty to take in Tuesday morning.
The first thing that stood out was who set the tone. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Marquis Gracial led the rally to open practice, making him the second redshirt senior lineman in as many days to handle that job after right guard Curtis Peagler did it Monday. It was a small moment, but the kind that can tell you something about which players have the most juice early in camp.
The edge room is starting to take shape too, even if the final picture is still a work in progress. Missouri went into 2025 with Zion Young and Damon Wilson II locked in as the starting edge rushers.
For 2026, things are less settled, but the first two practices of camp have pointed in a pretty clear direction. Redshirt senior Darris Smith has been leading most drills, with senior Langden Kitchen next and redshirt freshman Daeden Hopkins behind him.
That matches the snap counts from last season’s roster, where Smith and Kitchen were third- and fourth-string pieces and Hopkins contributed while preserving his redshirt.
Brian Early said there’s real competition there.
"Langden Kitchen, Daeden Hopkins, Darris Smith, any one of those three players could have a breakout type season," Mizzou edge coach Brian Early told Missouri On SI in a one-on-one interview. "There's open competition going into camp.
It's going to be really interesting to see how this thing shakes out in the next 30 days, 25 practices. Who's going to be our top four guys?"
Missouri still hasn’t settled on that fourth spot in the rotation. So far, 6-foot-6 juco transfer Demarcus Johnson and redshirt senior Florida State transfer Jaden Jones have been the next men up in those snaps.
At quarterback, the order behind Austin Simmons didn’t seem locked in either. Returning sophomore Matt Zollers, redshirt senior transfer Nick Evers and three-star true freshman Gavin Sidwar were grouped together after QB1 without a clear pecking order separating them. That points to a real battle for the backup spots heading toward Week 1.
There was also a look at the kicking game. Redshirt junior Blake Craig was back and went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, including one from 40 yards out.
Craig missed most of the 2025 season after tearing his ACL against Central Arkansas in Week 1, but he’s projected to return to the starting lineup in 2026. In 2024, he finished 24-for-34 on field goals, including 10-for-10 from 30 to 39 yards out and 1-for-7 from 30 to 39 yards out.
At punter, Brunno Reus took first-team reps. Reus transferred to Missouri from Florida State after following special teams coordinator John Papuchis, while Connor Wesselman, who started all of 2025, exhausted his eligibility after the season.
One more notable presence: four-star freshman linebacker JJ Bush was at practice and wore No. 33.
Bush had been indefinitely suspended in May after his arrest on a Class D felony charge of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention of motor vehicle and a Class B misdemeanor charge of carless and imprudent driving. His charges were later dropped.
Bush is viewed as a long-term piece for Missouri’s linebacker group, though he could still factor early. True freshman Dante McClellan played 136 snaps in 2025 and had a pick-six.
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Hardy and Green also made the Preseason All-SEC First Team, giving Missouri a pair of headliners before the first snap is even taken. The larger question now is how that respect holds up once the games start and the Tigers face the kind of proving ground that can turn preseason buzz into something sturdier, or expose how much work still remains. [Read more 🡒]