Curtis Peagler has spent long enough waiting his turn that the chance in front of him now looks a lot different. He’s no longer the new face trying to earn a look.
He’s the returning starter at right guard, the fifth-year Missouri lineman who walked into fall camp feeling, by his own account, “good. Really good.”
That matters for a Mizzou offensive line that enters 2026 with Peagler as one of three returning starters, alongside left tackle Cayden Green and center Dom Giudice. Those three give the Tigers a core up front, and Peagler is leaning into the role that comes with being one of the older voices in the room.
“We're trying to get better as a team, so we'll figure that out as we go,” Peagler said. “Me being an older guy, I'm just coming in and bringing everybody along.”
For Peagler, the confidence is built on a winding path. He grew up in Demopolis, Ala., started out on defense, then moved to offense.
He nearly ended up at a Division II school. Missouri landed him late, making him the final addition to the Tigers’ 2022 class, and his recruiting accounts were created the day he signed.
The early years were quiet. He didn’t play as a freshman or sophomore, and as a junior he was mostly limited to lopsided wins.
Then came last season, when he won a position battle over Tristan Wilson and locked down the right guard job. He started all 13 games and handled the SEC transition well enough to give Missouri something it can build on.
Peagler’s decision to stay says plenty about where he believes he can keep growing. He knew the portal was there.
He knew guys were moving. Still, he chose to return for one more season with Eli Drinkwitz, offensive line coach Brandon Jones, and the teammates around him.
“I felt like I had something to prove,” Peagler explained. “I know with the portal, guys are leaving, but I have a lot of support here, so why would I leave that?
I really love it here. Being able to come back and finish my last year, it was a great decision for me.”
The numbers from 2025 back up the progress. According to Pro Football Focus, Peagler allowed just one sack and nine total pressures over 13 games.
Only four SEC guards who were regular starters allowed fewer. He also posted a 98.7 Pass Blocking Efficiency rating, which ranked ninth among SEC guards, left or right.
There was a blemish, though. Peagler drew eight penalties in 13 games, including four holding calls and two false starts, with the other two flags declined. That total tied him for the fourth-most among SEC guards and the 11th-most among SEC linemen.
Jones wants more of the same from him, but cleaner.
“It just comes down to him being consistent,” Jones told PowerMizzou.com this summer. “I think him getting a taste of the SEC last year, playing in big games, he could've played better - and he knows that.
He admits that. I expect a lot out of him.
“He's changing his body. He's understanding his body.
He's working hard. I expect him to be a draft pick, too.
He knows my expectations for him, and ultimately, he controls that. He has to put the work in, but I think he'll have a really big year for us.”
That work has been the common thread throughout Peagler’s rise. He’s leaned on Jones, Giudice, Green and Wilson, who is expected to be in the starting lineup with him when 2026 opens. As Peagler put it, he’s been a late bloomer, and the people around him helped speed up the learning curve.
“I was a late bloomer,” Peagler said, “so having the ability to come in, and having Dom, having Tristan, having all those guys help me along the way, they've been really helpful.
“They helped with preparation and confidence, just having the ability to go out and play the next play, and understanding that the work you put in, it pays off.”
That patience has turned a once-overlooked recruit - barely a 3-star prospect - into an SEC starter with a chance to keep climbing. Jones has already put a draft-pick label on the table, and Drinkwitz sounded encouraged by what he saw during Missouri’s 13 spring practices.
“I thought Curtis Peagler had the most impressive performance so far,” he said. “Curtis Peagler is someone I've been really proud of.”
The momentum has carried into fall camp, and Peagler doesn’t sound like a player looking over his shoulder anymore. He sounds like someone who knows exactly where he is and what comes next.
“I’m very confident,” he said in closing. “I’m excited for the season to start.”
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