Missouri’s right tackle job is up for grabs, and the timing couldn’t be more important. The Tigers need someone ready to step in and handle weekly matchups against top edge rushers while protecting starting quarterback Austin Simmons and taking over for All-American and NFL Draft Pick Keagen Trost.
For much of the offseason, Arizona State transfer Josh Atkins looked like the likely answer because of his previous starting experience. That picture changed in spring when Atkins suffered a leg injury, and head coach Eli Drinkwitz said he had a “setback” in June. Atkins is now expected to miss a significant chunk of time and won’t be available when the season opens.
That opens the door for a real camp competition, and Drinkwitz made it clear nobody has separated yet.
“I mean, there's somebody that's going to run out there first as far as what that is, but the opportunity for everybody to establish their roles is wide open, and we need the consistency of performance before we say anybody's going to be the starter," Drinkwitz said.
Offensive line coach Brandon Jones echoed that message, saying fall camp, which starts Monday, will be all about consistency and sorting out the best five up front.
"The biggest thing is just consistency," Jones told Missouri On SI in a one-on-one interview. "Then ultimately, figuring out who the best five is.
That's what fall camp's all about. Obviously, we went through this last year, and you'll see who's kind of separating themselves.
And expecting Luke (Work) and Logan (Reichert) really at right tackle to battle, I think that's one of the biggest biggest deals that I'm looking forward to seeing. But I think it's just the day to day consistency on top of just them them improving daily, will kind of determine who's the starter, right tackle."
Two names sit at the front of the race. Luke Work, a third-year offensive lineman, arrives from Mississippi State with two seasons of contribution under his belt.
He played 20 or more snaps in 12 games there and lined up at every spot except center. In 2025, he earned a pass-blocking grade of 74.3 and a run-blocking grade of 60.2, and he checks in at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds.
Jones is clearly high on him.
"Luke has a ton of potential, a lot of upside," Jones said. "I think he's game put on some really good muscle on this off season.
He played a little bit at Mississippi State. His versatility being able to play guard and tackle, obviously, we're happy he's here so he can play tackle, but he's just worked his butt off."
Drinkwitz’s view sounds just as bullish. At SEC Media Days, he said Work had "as good of an offseason as I've ever seen an offensive lineman have."
Logan Reichert is the other leading contender Jones pointed to. The redshirt junior has battled injuries and hasn’t played much at Missouri, but the tools are there. He stands 6'6, and Jones said he has trimmed down from about 344 pounds to 335 pounds.
The physical changes have come with noticeable growth elsewhere, too.
"He's by far one of the strongest kids on the team," Jones said. "He's probably one of the faster kids on the team.
He's right at about 335. So he's doing an unbelievable job with his body.
Obviously, he's had some setbacks. So just looking forward to seeing him out there and competing.
And I think overall, just he's improved significantly -his football IQ, so I'm really proud of him in that regard."
Still, the door is not limited to Work and Reichert. Drinkwitz said the spot remains “wide open,” and that even the backup left tackle could push into the conversation.
"There's always the possibility that you know the backup left tackle is performing so well that we have to give him a shot," Drinkwitz said.
The rest of the tackle group includes Charleston Southern transfer Colin Sorensen, redshirt freshman Jack Lange, four-star freshman DJ Jones, junior tackle Ryan Jostes, redshirt sophomore Whit Hafer and Kansas State transfer Will Kemna.
However it shakes out, this should be one of the most interesting position battles of Missouri’s camp. There are multiple bodies in the mix, but only one player will end up with the job when the Tigers line up in 2026.
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