Mizzou has set its leadership group for 2026, and the Tigers are leaning on a mix of familiar names and proven production as they get ready for a season that opens Sept. 5 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The offensive side of the room is led by Cayden Green, who comes in as a preseason All-SEC first-team selection. Green is expected to help anchor things up front again for Ahmad Hardy when he returns. He’ll be joined by Dominick Giudice, the Tigers’ left guard, as part of the offensive captaincy.
Jamal Roberts also earned a captain spot on offense. Roberts served as Hardy’s backup and stepped in with 753 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. He’ll handle RB1 duties while Hardy works through recovery.
Mizzou’s defensive captains are Nicholas Rodriguez and Santana Banner. Rodriguez played in every game last season and finished with 61 tackles and 4.0 tackles for a loss. Banner, now in his second year with the Tigers after transferring from Northern Illinois, put up 59 tackles and an interception in 2025.
Blake Craig was named the Tigers’ special teams captain. Craig had been Mizzou’s primary kicker in 2024 before getting hurt in the first game of the 2025 season against Central Arkansas.
The captain picks come as Mizzou tries to get back into the College Football Playoff conversation after finishing 10-3 in 2024 and then 8-5 in 2025. Chip Lindsey is now the offensive coordinator after Kirby Moore left to become head coach at Washington State.
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 🡒]