Missouri’s injury list keeps getting longer, and Wednesday night’s SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report brought a season-high 24 Tigers onto it.
That’s eight more players than were on the initial Oct. 7 report before Missouri’s game with Texas A&M, and the Tigers are now dealing with a mix of familiar names and new concerns as they prepare for Ole Miss.
For the second straight week, linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr., offensive tackle Cayden Green, safety Santana Banner and edge Darris Smith are all listed as questionable. They were in that same category last week, and every Tiger who opened as questionable or probable against Texas A&M ended up playing. Smith, though, was on the field for only five snaps and didn’t look fully ready.
Missouri added several more players to the questionable group this week: backup offensive lineman Khalief Canty Jr., wide receiver Shaun Terry II, linebacker Jeremiah Beasley, cornerback Cameron Keys, tight end Brett Norfleet and defensive lineman Sterling Webb. Norfleet had been listed as probable throughout last week’s reports, while Webb and Beasley appeared to get hurt against Texas A&M.
Starting quarterback Austin Simmons appears on the injury report for the first time this season and is listed as probable for the matchup with his former team. He’s joined in that category by wide receiver DaMarion Fowlkes, linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez, safeties Kensley Louidor-Faustin and Jayden McGregory, tight end Jordon Harris and edges Langden Kitchen and Daeden Hopkins. Kitchen spent all of last week as questionable before playing anyway.
The Tigers’ out list remains unchanged on the whole. The same five players who were ruled out for the Rebels game have stayed sidelined since suffering season-ending injuries or, in the cases of running back Ahmad Hardy and offensive tackle Josh Atkins, have yet to play this season while continuing to work back. That group also includes tight end Gavin Hoffman, safety JaDon Blair and running back Malae Fonoti.
Ole Miss listed eight players as out: wideouts Izaiah Hartrup and Kervin Johnson Jr., offensive linemen Jalan Chapman and Emanuel Faulkner, safeties Edwin Joseph and Nascar McCoy, running back Ja'Michael Jones and linebacker Ant Davis Jr.
The Rebels also put safety MJ Preston, offensive lineman Enoch Wangoy and tight end Hayden Bradley in the questionable category, while cornerback Antonio Kite and Ladarian Clardy were listed as probable.
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Missouri running back Jamal Roberts, who was teammates with Lacy in 2024, said the two still keep in touch even with the game on deck. The connection adds a personal wrinkle to a matchup already loaded with SEC stakes, but once kickoff arrives, both sides know the familiarity should make for a fierce and competitive afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
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Missouris latest step forward came with a clean result against Texas A&M, a win that finally ended a long run of frustration in that matchup and kept the Tigers firmly in the national conversation at No. 13. Now the challenge gets louder and less forgiving, with Eli Drinkwitzs team heading to Oxford for a meeting with No. 9 Ole Miss and a chance to add a road result that would carry far more weight than another solid home performance.
The backdrop is what makes this trip matter so much for Missouri. The Tigers have not pulled off a ranked road win since Oct. 14, 2023, and the betting market is treating this one like a steep climb, with Ole Miss installed as a 6.5-point favorite. Missouri has already shown it can handle pressure in a big spot, but this is the kind of game that can clarify whether the Tigers are just ranked or ready to keep climbing. [Read more 🡒]
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For Missouri, the timing only heightens the significance, with Simmons continuing to settle in as the teams starter while the Tigers try to keep pace in a crowded SEC race. Ole Miss enters with its own momentum and its own coaching perspective on what this meeting means, which only adds to the tension surrounding a game that has plenty of weight beyond the box score. The only real question now is how Simmons handles the return trip when the spotlight is waiting for him in familiar territory. [Read more 🡒]