Missouri’s defense has been built around the headliners in recent seasons, but the real intrigue for 2026 might live a little deeper down the depth chart.
In a new installment of “The Read Option,” Missouri On SI reporter Killian Wright pointed to two redshirt freshmen who could grow into much bigger pieces for the Tigers: defensive end Daeden Hopkins and safety Blair. Both bring unusual athletic profiles, and both flashed enough to make you think their best football is still ahead of them.
Hopkins was one of the more encouraging young defenders on the roster in 2025. The true freshman defensive end appeared in four games, which allowed head coach Eli Drinkwitz to preserve his redshirt, and he made those snaps count.
Hopkins finished with seven tackles, one tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks. His top outing came against Mississippi State, when he posted five stops in just 21 snaps.
“He really loves his craft,” Drinkwitz said in the days following the performance. “He works on his craft. He's got a really bright future.”
That upside was part of the appeal when Missouri landed him. Hopkins came out of Hermann High School as a four-star prospect and had nine sacks in his junior season.
At 6-foot-6 and 237 pounds, he’s not the biggest edge rusher in the room, but his length and burst give him a way to win anyway. He can shoot past blockers and finish with those long arms, which is exactly why Missouri saw enough to keep him on a short leash in 2025.
Drinkwitz said he and his staff were “impressed” by Hopkins in spring ball, and the next step is simple enough: add more bulk without losing the traits that make him dangerous. If that happens, Hopkins could move from promising depth piece to regular part of Missouri’s edge rotation in 2026.
Blair brings a different kind of intrigue. The redshirt freshman safety is new to Missouri, but not new to the college game, having spent his freshman season at Notre Dame. The former four-star recruit from North Carolina checks in at 6'5, 205, giving the Tigers a tall, athletic defender with the kind of frame that can create problems in the box.
What stands out with Blair is how he combines movement skills with awareness before the snap. He can read things quickly, trigger downhill and get into the backfield before plays have a chance to develop. That kind of profile makes him an interesting fit for a defense that can use a versatile safety in different ways.
He may not be ready for a major workload right away, especially after playing just 19 total snaps for Notre Dame as a true freshman. But as a future piece, Blair looks like the kind of player who could become a useful gadget option for Missouri down the line.
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