Let’s get the offseason hype train started by looking at five Mizzou football Tigers we are excited for in 2025, starting with a batch of returning seniors.
The college football offseason is a long one. Nine months of no games gives us a lot of time – too much time – to fill. You end up talking about things like conference schedules ten years from now, assorted lawsuits and legal battles, conference realignment nonsense, and other topics that are only adjacent to the real thing we love, football.
But the offseason also gives us plenty of time to daydream about our team. Scholarship charts map out the future lineups we hope to see on the field. Recruiting news lets us dream on a star-studded roster. In the offseason, every 3-star is a breakout candidate, every transfer is an instant star, and every blue chipper is a first round pick. While the fall will give us emotional rollercoasters every Saturday, this is the team to dream about your team. It’s time for optimism, and excitement.
With this mindset, I’m approaching the 2025 team with a new four-part series: Each installment will be a batch of five players I’m driving the hype train for in 2025. Eli Drinkwitz’s ball club is coming off of back-to-back ten win seasons, and there are plenty of players to be excited about as they look to make it three in a row. This first piece will cover veterans, the seniors and graduates who are back for their final hurrah as a Missouri Tiger. Upcoming installments will feature five freshmen, transfers, and returning breakout candidates.
But this week is all about the returning stars. These are five Tigers back for one last dance in black and gold, and will be hoisted off the field with a rock in hand, hopefully in triumph, after senior night against Mississippi State.
5. Connor Tollison, Center
I think there is a chance Tollison’s senior year plays out like a microcosm of his career at Mizzou. The start was brutal; he was bullied as a first-year starter with a too-small frame, notching a dreadful 48 overall PFF grade. But as he rounded into shape, he became a force on a great line in 2023 (75 PFF) and was leading the charge in 2024 (73 PFF) before a catastrophic knee injury cut his campaign short.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts slow in September, working his way back into form, and then finishes his final stretch on campus with his road-grader status fully reestablished. His presence in the middle of the offensive line will be critical for this unit to be as good as they can be, and I am excited to watch this long-time true son finish off what turned out to be a stellar college career.
4. Triston Newson, Linebacker
With a court injunction granting eligibility back to players who had previously played seasons at the JUCO level, Newson decided to use his opportunity to come back. He has finished both of the past two seasons in full-time duty because of injuries to others in the linebacker room. I’m talking 50, 60 snaps a game kind of workloads.
He will join a linebacker room much deeper than the ones he found himself in each of the past two seasons. Transfers and breakout candidates abound here, and I do not think he will find the volume of playing time he was able to accumulate in each of the past two Novembers. But, he is still a HAVOC-y presence, and he should be a good weapon in the Corey Batoon defense this fall. We might not see as much of him, but he will still make his impact felt.
3. Toriano Pride, Cornerback
Toriano Pride’s first season back in the Show Me State was not a storybook one. He snagged a pick six in the opener, and made a crucial interception in the Music City Bowl win over Iowa, but things were rocky in between. His tackling was inconsistent, especially when he stuck his nose in the run game; this was a disappointing sight for Mizzou fans after watching Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw thrive in that duty over the previous seasons.
Transfers generally tend to do better in their second and third years on their new team; I’m thinking the same pattern will hold for the once highly-touted recruit out of St Louis. Another year in the scheme, with the position coach, around the weight room and diet and culture and all those things, will infuse more consistency into Mr. Pride’s game. He was Mizzou’s best cornerback in the final stretch of the season, and I am hopeful that will carry into a great senior season.
2. Chris McClellan, Defensive Tackle
If transfers are generally better in their second season at their new school, hoo boy, watch out SEC QBs. The Big Mac is comin’. Like most defenders who spend the majority of their work days banging bodies in the B-gaps, McClellan does not have fancy “back of the baseball card” stats: 2.5 sacks, 10 tackles. But watch the Tigers, and you will see someone with a knack for collapsing a pocket, swatting a pass, or enveloping a hapless running back at just the right time to kill a drive.
McClellan played a career-high 459 snaps last year, and was one of the best defenders on the team, despite not always being highlighted on the broadcasts. In 2025 he will be one of the leaders of this team and hopefully makes just as many timely plays as he did last year. He provides both strong pass rush (73 PFF grade) and rush defense (71), and should be a household name for Mizzou fans.
1. Daylan Carnell, Safety
Technically Daylan Carnell’s position is called STAR in the Mizzou defensive lingo. This year, his stature in the program will match the on-field title he has held for the past three seasons. Carnell is one of Mizzou’s biggest names among returning players, someone who has been in the building from the .500 years and a major contributor on the ten win teams. He has been good for at least one defensive touchdown a year, and I can’t wait to see what he adds to his ledger this year. Maybe a pick six against Jalon Daniels and KU? Maybe a scoop ‘n’ score in Norman?
Carnell can be deployed in the box or rushing the passer, which is part of the responsibility of the STAR player at nickel safety. He can hit, and has a few heat-seaking missile tackles in his Missouri career. But he best in coverage, where he will team with new deep safety Jalen Catalon to make one of the best coverage safety units in the league. He is destined for the NFL, but first, he is ready for his star turn in his final year with Mizzou. It’s time for DC to be one of the household names in the SEC, and forge his legacy as one of the best defensive backs in school history.