Missouri got a sobering update on Josh Atkins on Monday morning in Tampa.
Eli Drinkwitz said the transfer offensive lineman has hit “a setback with his injury,” dimming the outlook for a midseason return. The Missouri coach said, “He's still attacking it, but it's not going to be as hopeful that he'll be back midseason. We'll see how that goes, but we had a little bit of a setback in the early part of June.”
That marks a change from Drinkwitz’s tone in May, when he described Atkins as “ahead of schedule” at a ‘Zou to You’ fan event. At the time, he didn’t give a firm timetable, though he did sound optimistic about Atkins being available in 2026.
Atkins injured his leg near the end of spring practices in March. Missouri had projected him as its starting right tackle after he transferred from Arizona State in January.
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Texas native brings plenty of experience to the Tigers’ line. He has started 39 games over the past three seasons, beginning at Hawaii in 2023 before moving to Arizona State in 2024 and 2025. He was also part of the Sun Devil team that won the Big 12 and reached the College Football Playoff in 2024.
With Atkins still working back, Missouri’s attention shifts to the other options in the room. Luke Work, who transferred in from Mississippi State, and Logan Reichert, a Kansas City native with 57 career snaps, are in the mix to help fill the void. Drinkwitz was especially upbeat about both.
“I think Luke Work has had as good an offseason as I've ever seen an offensive lineman have,” Drinkwitz said Monday morning. “I think Logan Reichert has really done an excellent job. I'm fired up about this group.”
He also brought up Jack Lange, the former 4-star prospect from Eureka, while stressing that Missouri wants “the five best players on the field.”
Work, Reichert, Lange and the rest of the contenders will sort things out in fall camp, which is expected to begin in early August.
“We did as good a job as we've ever done in the portal attacking that position,” Drinkwitz said, adding: “I feel very confident in the offseason line.”
For now, most of Missouri’s starting front appears to be in place. Cayden Green is back at left tackle, Zack Owens is expected to start at left guard, Dominick Giudice is moving from last year’s left guard spot to center, and Curtis Peagler returns at right guard. Tristan Wilson, Whit Hafer, Lange, Work and Reichert are among the players expected to provide depth.
“I'll say this,” Drinkwitz said, “I've been around a lot of football in several years now as the head coach here, and I've never seen an offensive line work as hard as our offensive line works now.”
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Eli Drinkwitz is back on the College Football Playoff debate trail, and his message is the same one he has been pushing for Missouris sake and for the sport at large: let teams earn their way in on the field instead of leaving those decisions to a selection committee. With expansion still being hashed out, the SEC is aligned behind a 16-team model while the Big Ten is pushing for 24, and Drinkwitz is using the moment to argue for a format that would put conference contenders in play-in games rather than in front of a room of decision-makers.
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