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, filled with nonsense like legal battles, conference realignment, postseason restructures, transfer portal chaos, and a never-ending coaching carousel.
But this offseason gives us plenty of time to daydream about our team. Scholarship charts map out the future lineups we will 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 Hype Train series: Each installment will be a batch of five players I’m excited to watch in 2025. Last week I covered five veterans (seniors and graduates), back for their final hurrah as a Missouri Tiger. Coming soon I’ll have some hype train articles about our newcomers to the team.
But this week is all about the breakout candidates. These are five Tigers who are ready to blossom in 2025. Let’s get to it.
5. Logan Reichert, Guard
I chose Reichert as my hype train breakout candidate along the offensive line, because he already stuck his nose into the position battles last fall camp. But to be honest, I just want to see any of the offensive linemen from the high school recruiting classes of 2023 or 2024 get into the mix. While the starting experience of guys like Kaegen Trost or Dominick Guidice might give them an initial leg up, the blue chip pedigree of Reichert promises a higher ceiling of performance. I would love to see a young player become a starter on this offensive line; with the opportunities in the interior and Reichert’s push last season, I’m hoping for the vanilla gorilla to grab a starting guard spot this season.
4. Marvin Burks, Safety
Burks drew the ire of the fanbase last season with a handful of brutal coverage busts. He loves to hit, and his instincts to play downhill and suppprt the run got him caught looking in the backfield while a deep pass soared over his head a handful of times. His 49 PFF overall defensive grade was the lowest among the team’s defensive regulars. His first year starting was a rocky one, but he flashed potential.
As is often the case with young players, the problem was consistency: he had six games as an average/above average player, and seven as a below average player, by PFF grading. Burks’ tackling grade was 80 or higher five times. Jalen Catalon arrives for support as a deep safety, freeing up Burks to play closer to the line of scrimmage and in the box, a more natural fit for his skills. With better usage and a full season under his belt, I look for this staff favorite to make a big impact this season as a junior.
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3. Brett Norfleet, Tight End
Norfleet is already a household name around Mizzou fans, thanks to his sure hands, his big hurdle against Florida in 2023, and a pair of touchdowns against Arkansas in that year’s finale. That said, the Galloping Ginger only has 432 career yards and five scores.
I think he will surpass those numbers this year alone. Kirby Moore’s opening scripts often showed a desire to get the ball to his tight end early and often, but an injury-marred 2024 robbed Norfleet of a full season and the chance to capitalize on the gameplans. In addition, new quarterback Beau Pribula arrives from Penn State, a program that prints NFL caliber tight ends. Mizzou’s new trigger man has spent the past three years of practice developing chemistry with his big guys. Here’s to thinking he develops a similar connection with Norfleet, leading to a big year in the stat sheet finally.
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2. Darris Smith, Joker
Speaking of breakouts delayed by injury. Georgia transfer Darris Smith was earning rave reviews in camp last year, and possesses the kind of athleticism and versatility that makes Corey Batoon’s “joker” scheme work.
If you forgot, the Joker is the boundary side 4-3 defensive end, and Batoon uses that position like a Swiss Army knife, including coverage responsibilities. This is both a weapon against RPOs, and a tool for disguising blitzes. After Smith’s injury, the remaining ends didn’t fit the the role, and the team played a classic style at the position.
Smith is part of a deep edge room, which will give him plenty of time to work back to full health. His athletic profile gives the Tigers an explosive defensive element, and this former Dawg will finally be unleashed in 2025.
1. Joshua Manning, Wide Receiver
212 wide receiver targets are not returning in 2025. Kevin Coleman arrived in the portal to take most of the 80 targets that went to Luther Burden last fall. Joshua Manning is “next man up” to replace Theo Wease’s 89 targets at X-receiver. Last year he caught 13 balls for 192 yards, eight of which went for a first down or touchdown. He caught both throws at him that were charted as contested by a defender, and showed off his breakaway speed with a long catch-and-run. The former four star is ready to step into the starting lineup, and step into Mizzou stardom.
Eric Canha-Imagn Images