Missouri will open the season Thursday night without one of its biggest names up front.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Saturday that star offensive tackle Cayden Green will miss the Tigers’ 7 p.m. opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Green has spent the summer piling up preseason recognition, including preseason All-SEC and preseason AP All-American honors, but his debut will have to wait a little longer.
“Cayden Green will miss the opener,” Drinkwitz said. “That's what it is right now, I'm not going to give a medical report on it. We're going to do what's best for him.”
Green, a 6-foot-5 senior, is viewed as a possible first- or second-round NFL draft pick after two strong seasons at Missouri. In 2025, he posted the fourth-highest Pro Football Focus grade among tackles and earned first-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press along with second-team All-SEC recognition from conference coaches. Over his two seasons with the Tigers, he has missed only two games because of a right foot injury in 2025.
With Green sidelined, Missouri is expected to lean more heavily on Jack Lange and Whit Hafer. Drinkwitz said both linemen have earned the staff’s trust.
“(We) have a lot of confidence in Jack and Whit and how they'll handle it and now its their opportunity to prove their capabilities,” Drinkwitz said. “There's been multiple days where (Lange) would take the left tackle with the ones and he's done an excellent job with it. Whit Hafer is also a guy that's really been pushing and somebody that's consistent (and) we know can play that tackle position for us too.”
Lange, a former No. 1 prospect in Missouri, appeared in one game last season as a true freshman. The sophomore stands 6-foot-8 and 318 pounds and is listed as the backup left tackle on the depth chart.
“Jack's a dog,” offensive lineman Dominick Giudice said. “The way he attacks stuff, he's always around and he's always looking to improve.
He's always asking us questions. He has all the talent in the world and now that he's able to go and put it on film is exciting to see.”
Hafer, meanwhile, is Missouri’s backup right tackle, though he can move around the line. He spent last season making the transition from tight end to lineman and appeared in 11 games as a reserve.
“Whit's getting better every day. He's been getting moved around a whole bunch and I think he really found a position where he could stick at,” Green said.
“He's really able to play all five (positions) at a high level right now and just being able to get comfortable at one spot at a time was important for him,” Giudice said. “But being able to have that position flexibility is just good for him moving over to the offensive line. So, excited to see his future and the way he continues to grow and he's working really hard.”
In Other News...
Mizzou Finally Settles A 1960 Title Debate Fans Never Forgot
More than six decades after the season ended, Missouri has officially added its 1960 football team to the schools list of national champions. The recognition came after a U.S. Senate resolution introduced by Sen. Eric Schmitt was adopted, giving formal weight to a claim Tigers fans never really let go of and putting the programs place in that title conversation in an entirely different light.
The review behind the resolution leaned on historical records, including the forfeiture of Kansas wins because of an ineligible player, which technically left Missouri with an undefeated season. Even with several schools staking a claim to the 1960 crown, the Tigers now have the university and the Senate on record in their corner, a long-awaited acknowledgment of a debate that has lingered for generations. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous Freshman Core Already Looks Ready For The Spotlight
Missouris volleyball team opened the season with a clean start at the Mizzou Invitational, rolling past Western Illinois and Towson in back-to-back sweeps. The early results gave the Tigers a quick jolt of momentum, but the bigger takeaway was the way the freshman class immediately fit into the action, with Ceylin Kuyan making an eye-catching debut and Eva Smith following with a strong showing in the second match.
Dawn Sullivan had plenty to like about the groups energy and consistency across the day, and that matters for a team trying to build its identity early. What makes the opening weekend even more interesting is how quickly those first-year players seem capable of shaping the rotation, giving Missouri a deeper and more versatile look as the schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous Backfield Picture Just Got Clearer Ahead Of The Opener
Missouris first depth-chart clues for the opener are starting to come into focus, and Jamal Roberts is right in the middle of it. Eli Drinkwitz said the veteran running back will be part of the starting group as the Tigers line up for the new season, a notable step for a player entering his fourth year after a career-best campaign. Roberts is joined on the list by left tackle Cayden Green, center Dominick Giudice, linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez, safety Santana Banner and kicker Blake Craig, giving Missouri a clearer sense of the core it expects to lean on early.
The rest of the group also speaks to where the Tigers believe their experience is strongest. Green and Giudice anchor the offensive line, Rodriguez and Banner give the defense familiar names in the middle and back end, and Craig handles a specialist role that can quietly matter in a tight September rhythm. For Missouri, the bigger takeaway is less about any one spot than the way the picture is settling ahead of kickoff, even if the full rotation in the backfield still leaves a little room for the opener to take shape. [Read more 🡒]