Missouri’s defense came out of nonconference play with a pretty clear outline of who the Tigers trust - and where the competition still has room to breathe.
The snap counts tell the story. Some spots are already locked in.
Others are still being sorted out. And as Mizzou heads into a nine-game Southeastern Conference schedule loaded with ranked opponents, those usage patterns matter.
At safety, freshman Jayden McGregory was one of the offseason names tossed around as a possible early contributor. Drinkwitz said he looked forward to McGregory being a "guy that can play for us early" in the summer.
That looked plausible after McGregory played 29 snaps against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, added two tackles and wasn’t targeted once. But he then played zero snaps against Kansas and Troy.
That drop-off points to a room that seems mostly settled. Missouri has leaned on a veteran quartet there, with Trajen Greco leading the defense at the position with 170 snaps and Santana Banner right behind him at 148. Elijah Dotson has also carved out a role, playing 63 snaps - the third-most on the team - against Troy and Kensley Louidor-Faustin has logged 30 or more snaps against Kansas and Troy.
McGregory may still be the next option if Missouri has to adjust at safety, but through the three nonconference games, he doesn’t look like a major piece of the SEC plan.
Cornerback appears even more settled. Chris Graves Jr., Jahlil Florence and Sione Laulea were the only boundary corners to take snaps against Kansas or Troy, and Laulea leads the group with 142 snaps.
Graves is close behind at 129, with Florence next at 80. At this point, it doesn’t feel like a position that will see much rotation once conference play begins.
The depth behind them includes true freshman Jaxson Gates, former starter Nick DeLoach - who has mostly been on special teams the last two seasons - and sophomore Cameron Keys.
Up front, the edge group looks largely mapped out as well. Sophomore Daeden Hopkins has been the clear workhorse, playing 120 snaps while leading Missouri in pressures and sacks.
Langden Kitchen is next with 85 snaps, six pressures and two sacks. Darris Smith has 84 snaps, though an injury against Troy has left him questionable against Mississippi State, and he would likely rank even higher if not for that issue.
Brian Early said during the offseason that it would be interesting to see who could "make the biggest jump and become our top four guys." After three games, Jaden Jones seems to have grabbed that fourth spot. He has played 48 snaps and appeared in all three games, joining Smith, Kitchen and Hopkins as the only edge rushers to do that.
The defensive tackle rotation has been a little more fluid than some expected. Heading into the year, the interior was supposed to be led by upperclassmen.
Fifth-year seniors Jalen Marshall, Marquis Gracial and Sterling Webb all played in 200 or more snaps in 2025. But this season, sophomore Jason Dowell is out front with 77 snaps.
Marshall follows at 73, then Webb at 71, Gracial at 70 and Donta Simpson at 57.
That group has been shifting game to game. Dowell led the way against UAPB and Troy, while Webb led against Kansas with Dowell down at fourth. Compared with 2025, when Chris McClellan was the centerpiece, this year’s defensive line looks headed toward a much more even snap split.
At linebacker, Nicholas Rodriguez with 145 snaps and Robert Woodyard Jr. with 122 were the expected leaders. Jeremiah Beasley also stepping into a larger role and ranking third on the unit with 56 snaps fits the early picture.
The most notable number in the linebacker room belongs to sophomore Dante McClellan. He has played 46 snaps, good for fourth on the unit, even though he logged none against Kansas. He played 26 snaps against UAPB, most of them after the game was already out of hand, and then handled a more meaningful 20 snaps against Troy.
Last season, four Missouri linebackers played 250 or more snaps. If that kind of distribution holds again in 2026, McClellan looks like an early candidate for the final spot, ahead of veterans Brian Huff and Bobby Washington Jr.
In Other News...
Missouri Heads To Starkville With Two Big Availability Questions
Missouris first SEC availability report for the Week 4 trip to Mississippi State gave a clearer picture of the Tigers depth chart heading into Saturdays game at Davis Wade Stadium, and it wasnt especially reassuring. The list included several players on the out or questionable side, with star running back Ahmad Hardy among those unavailable and defensive end Darris Smith sitting in the questionable column as the team tried to sort through its first conference injury report of the season.
Mississippi States report brought its own set of issues, with defensive tackles Trevion Williams and Diesel Moye ruled out for the season and other Bulldogs listed across the availability spectrum. With kickoff set for Saturday on SEC Network, both teams now have at least one more day of uncertainty before they find out how much of their depth they can actually count on in a game that could hinge on who is able to suit up. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Simmons Just Added Fuel To A Mississippi State Rivalry
Missouris trip to Mississippi State already had the feel of a ranked SEC measuring stick, and the buildup has only sharpened with the broadcast now set for the SEC Network. Austin Simmons brings an extra layer to it, too, given his past in the state and his familiarity with the kind of atmosphere Starkville can generate when the Bulldogs are at home.
The noise is part of the pitch there, of course, and Simmons was quick to brush off the looming cowbell backdrop as something he expects rather than something he fears. For Missouri, that kind of confidence matters in a game where the setting will be as much a part of the challenge as the opponent, and where every small edge in composure could end up meaning plenty. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Fraternities Turn Ole Miss Tragedy Into An Urgent Campus Warning
Two University of Mississippi students were found dead this week, prompting a campus conversation that has reached well beyond Oxford. With the cause of death still unclear, the tragedy has already put a harsher spotlight on the risks tied to drugs and alcohol, and on how quickly a campus night can turn into an emergency.
On the Missouri side, the Interfraternity Council moved to address that reality with a statement urging students to take overdose prevention seriously. The group emphasized the importance of Narcan in overdose situations and encouraged education around recognizing the danger before it becomes irreversible, a reminder that fraternity leaders here are treating the story as more than news from another campus. [Read more 🡒]