Mizzou’s tight end room used to be a reliable source of offense. These days, it looks more like a position group waiting to be unlocked.
The Tigers are four games into the season, and the numbers tell a blunt story: their tight ends have combined for only seven catches, 55 yards and one touchdown. Every bit of that production has come from Brett Norfleet.
That is a far cry from where the group stood at this point in recent seasons. Through four games last year, Mizzou’s tight ends had 17 receptions for 189 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2024, they had 11 catches for 58 yards. In 2023, they managed six catches for 67 yards.
Norfleet has seen the sharpest dip. After opening last season with 14 catches for 122 yards and three touchdowns through four games, he has seven receptions for 55 yards this year. That puts him 18th among SEC tight ends in receiving yards, and seven tight ends in the league have already topped 100 yards.
The rest of the room has not chipped in as pass-catchers at all. Jude James and Jordon Harris both have zero catches through four games. Harris came into the season with coaches expecting a step forward as a receiver, but his main value so far has come in the run game.
That matters because Mizzou’s ground attack has not been consistently producing explosive plays. The Tigers have 623 rushing yards and six touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry, and some of the issues have come with Ahmad Hardy out. Blocking on outside-zone runs has also been a problem.
That makes the tight ends’ role against Florida worth watching.
Offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey has a track record of involving the position. At North Carolina over two seasons, tight ends combined for 137 catches, 1,733 yards and 16 touchdowns. Last season at Michigan, the position produced 56 catches for 604 yards.
Mizzou also added Alex Atkins as tight ends coach this season. Atkins was at LSU last year, where he coached Trey’Dez Green, who had 33 catches for 433 yards and seven touchdowns.
The pieces are there for the Tigers to get more out of the position. The question now is whether they can turn that history and coaching background into production with Austin Simmons under center.
In Other News...
Missouri Gets An Early Read On Key Defensive Help Vs Florida
Missouri got its first injury snapshot ahead of Homecoming against Florida, and the initial SEC availability report immediately put some focus on the defensive front. The Tigers listed eight players in varying statuses, with EDGE Darris Smith and DE Langden Kitchen both tagged questionable as they work back from ailments that affected their availability last week.
Smith sat out the previous game with an ankle injury, while Kitchen left early with a lower-body injury, leaving Missouri to monitor two important pieces as the Florida matchup approaches. The Gators own report was lighter, with two questionable wideouts in Vernell Brown III and Bailey Stockton, but for Missouri the bigger question is how much of its defensive line rotation it can count on when the conference deadline forces the first public update before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Florida's Breakout Season Faces A Huge Test At Missouri
Floridas visit to Columbia arrives with both teams trying to sort out what kind of October run they can make, and college football analyst Greg McElroy sees the matchup tilting toward the visitors. He pointed to Floridas running game as the most reliable edge in the game, with Jadan Baugh powering a ground attack that has helped shape the Gators breakout start.
Missouri, meanwhile, is being pressed by issues that have shown up in the margins, especially in finishing drives and keeping opponents from turning limited chances into points. The Tigers also face a Florida team whose defensive tendencies could create a tougher day for Missouris passing game, which makes the October 3 meeting feel like more than just another conference game for a team trying to keep its league standing from slipping. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Suddenly Has A Defensive Concern Heading Into Florida
Missouris trip to No. 8 Florida picked up an extra layer of uncertainty Wednesday night when the injury report listed several key defenders as questionable, including edge rushers Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith and linebacker Bobby Washington Jr. For a Tigers defense that will need to bring pressure and stay sturdy in the middle against a ranked opponent on the road, those names jumping onto the report immediately changed the look of the matchup.
Eli Drinkwitz had already acknowledged Kitchen and Smiths status during his Tuesday media session, so the situation was not a complete surprise, but it still leaves Missouri waiting on important pieces at a critical spot on the field. Florida has injury questions of its own, with leading receiver Vernel Brown III and third receiver Bailey Stockton also listed as questionable, but Missouris bigger concern is whether it can get enough speed and depth back on defense before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]