They’re all back.
One of Missouri football’s strongest looking rooms entering the 2024 season is at wide receiver, where every player who caught a pass last season returns for another year.
The Tigers are one of the teams who will draw preseason consideration as a candidate to reach the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff this season. The strength of Missouri’s offense, particularly at wide receiver, is a big reason for the lofty expectations.
Here is how Missouri’s wide receiver room looks heading into fall camp. Every scholarship player and any notable walk-on is mentioned:
The options for Missouri football at wide receiver
Starters: Luther Burden III, jr.; Theo Wease Jr., sr.; Mookie Cooper, sr.
Reserves: Mekhi Miller, jr.; Marquis Johnson, so.; Daniel Blood, so.; Joshua Manning, so.; Courtney Crutchfield, fr.; James Madison II, fr.
Options? Yeah, a few.
Burden will primarily start in the slot for Mizzou again this season, and Wease will more than likely resume his role as the primary X receiver.
After that, there will probably be a little more rotation. Cooper started a majority of Missouri’s games last season, and proved to be a reliable option. Marquis Johnson will rotate in plenty to provide a potent deep-ball threat.
Miller will likely serve as the primary backup in the slot, and Manning and Madison’s height could make them reserves for Wease. Plenty will become much more clear here through the fall and in the early portion of the season. It wouldn’t be a surprise, with the wealth of talent at the position, to see some spread formations in 10 personnel get tested.
Dec 29, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III (3) celebrates after he catches a pass for a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The upside
The short answer: 2,892 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns of returning production.
The longer answer: The depth and versatility Missouri is bringing back makes this one of the top returning wide receiver rooms in the conference and the country.
Burden is likely going to be a top-10 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. His ability to generate yards after the catch is probably unparalleled in college football. Wease is a proven entity in the red zone, has been dominant in contested-catch scenarios and at 6 foot 2 offers Cook a tremendous high point for passes. Cooper has been reliable as both a pass-catcher and a blocker. Johnson’s incredible speed let Cook take the top off defenses on multiple occasions last season.
On paper, it’s one of the stronger wide receiver rooms in the country. Wease was among the players during spring camp to say that the unit’s ambition was to end the season as No. 1.
One question or concern
When you have such a wealth of options, how do you get the ball everywhere?
Just because Mizzou has one of the best preseason groups at wide receiver in the country doesn’t mean it should become overly reliant on the group. Forcing the ball into their hands for the sake of forcing the ball into their hands could risk flying a little too close to the sun.
Missouri leaned heavily on an excellent outside-zone running game last season, and shouldn’t abandon that just because Cody Schrader is off to the NFL.
Sure, take the top off whenever the option is there — and the option will be there. Granted, it’s rarely a poor decision to put the ball in the general vicinity of Burden.
But restraint might be the order of the day in Columbia. The Tigers have fielded the SEC’s leading rusher in two of the past three seasons between Schrader and Tyler Badie.
Breakout candidate
Good luck to the youngsters taking reps from Burden, Wease, Cooper and Johnson, but if anyone is going to do it, freshman Courtney Crutchfield may be your guy.
The four-star Arkansas native, ranked as a top-100 player in his class and the No. 2 player in the state. His tape is eye-opening. He’s strong; he’s tall; he’s fast and can make players miss.
Joshua Manning and Daniel Blood will likely see some time in their sophomore campaigns, but keeping an eye on Crutchfield’s progression may be an exciting part of camp and into the season. There will at the very least be important special teams reps, including returning duties, available in fall camp.
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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here’s how Missouri football’s wide receivers shape up heading into fall
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Publish date : 2024-07-22 05:16:03
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