Might shake out like that but it’s proven production

Big time get considering all we've lost in the pass rush department.

Might actually be an upgrade. Nwawieri looks like Tarzan. So far he has played like Jane.

He was the third-best freshman DE on the roster last year.

I found this story this morning on the 33rd team. I like Membou, but never thought about him going first round.

Missouri right tackle Armand Membou entered the season as a potential Day 2 pick, but he’s vaulted himself into the first round, and at this point, it would surprise me if he made it out of the top 20.

Membou is my highest-graded tackle in the 2025 Draft class, my second-ranked offensive lineman, and my 13th-ranked player overall.


There’s some uncertainty about whether he ends up at tackle or guard, but he can play outside in the NFL. Of all the potential guard converts in this class, I feel the most confident in Membou thriving at tackle by a comfortable margin.

SIZE/ATHLETICISM
Membou has an unconventional build for an offensive tackle. As a true junior, we don’t have official measurements from the summer, but he’s listed at 6-foot-3, 325 pounds. I would estimate his arm length is between 34.5 and 35 inches.

Because most NFL tackles are tall, there’s a misconception that height is an important trait for that position, and many people will want Membou to move inside because he looks more like a guard. But nothing that an offensive tackle does requires being tall, and height is actually a limiting factor when it comes to anchoring and playing with proper leverage. If given the choice, I would prefer a tackle to be 6-foot-2 rather than 6-foot-8.
Membou is a very good athlete for his size and ranked 39th on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List. According to Feldman, Membou runs a 1.63 10-yard split (99th percentile) and was clocked at 21.8 mph. He doesn’t appear quite that explosive on tape, but his acceleration, range, and fluidity are firmly above average for an offensive tackle.

STATISTICS
He allowed nine pressures and zero sacks in 2024 and ranked ninth in pressure rate among tackles in the 2025 Draft class.


PASS BLOCKING
Membou has impressive foot speed and pocket range for a player of his size. He has good burst into his pass sets and is able to expand his set point and gain depth later in the rep. His foot speed and arm length create a wide corner to cut off outside rushes.


He primarily uses an outside hand punch in pass protection, which can be a risky strategy as it leaves the tackle vulnerable to getting cornered if his hand gets swiped/chopped down. For the most part, Membou does a great job of timing his punch so it lands on the rusher’s frame when it’s most exposed.

He has outstanding strike power and grip strength, which results in some devastating finishes but also allows him to stay connected for the entire rep. Many tackles land their punch accurately but can't survive a swipe or cross-chop and end up losing the edge. Membou stabs and latches with enough power to withstand the rusher’s move and tie him up.
He flashed some advanced inside hand usage and can read moves and work both hands in unison. This rep against Nic Scourton is one of Membou’s best plays from the season.

He initially punched with the outside hand, anticipated the cross-chop, and then fired his inside hand with perfect timing to neutralize the move. At the exact moment Scourton lifts his right arm and exposes his frame, Membou stabs the armpit and completely locks him out:


He'll also use his inside hand to proactively counter certain moves while keeping his outside hand free to corral his opponent when they press the corner. On these reps, Membou swats down the rusher’s inside hand the moment they extend it to defend against a long-arm or cross-chop. His outside hand is unoccupied, so he can reload with a two-hand punch and finish the play.


Membou is sometimes too “heavy” with his outside hand strike and lunges into the defender, causing him to lose through the B-gap. This was an issue for him a couple of times against Vanderbilt in Week 4, but he improved later in the season.


Overall, he is very fluid, sliding with counters, and has a strong inside hand to stay in phase as he redirects. As long as he strikes from a balanced platform, he's athletic enough to mirror pass rushers on an island in both directions.

There's a lot more, including video clips, if you want to check out the link. It's free content. No paywall

https://www.the33rdteam.com/2025-nfl...ensive-tackle/

Trade up Burnt Vag.

Here's another interesting read that I came across. I included the first part, with the link below if you are interested in the rest.

In the midst of the American heartland, one SEC program is quietly building one of the strongest programs in the entire country.

At first glance the Missouri Tigers, a former Big 12 staple, may seem out of place in the Southeastern Conference as opposed to the Big 10 with their fellow midwestern schools. However, the Tigers are using that intersection of football cultures to build a program destined to be a mainstay of the new college football landscape of NIL, the transfer portal and the 12-team College Football Playoff.


Consecutive 10 win seasons and a rising program
After three losing seasons to start his tenure at Missouri, Eli Drinkwitz has completely turned the program around in the last two seasons.


Over the past two years, just eight Power Four programs have finished with double-digit wins in each year: Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Penn State, Ole Miss, SMU and Missouri. All of these teams except the Tigers and Rebels have a recent College Football Playoff berth. It feels like only a matter of time before Mizzou joins their ranks with the program’s first CFP appearance.

The Tigers had six players drafted in 2024, tied for 11th-most among all schools with LSU and Clemson. Both of those schools have won national championships in the last decade. Missouri is earning a reputation as a strong developer of NFL talent at key positions.

Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine were arguably college football’s top cornerback duo in 2023, and have each shown flashes as rookies. Isaiah McGuire and Darius Robinson were raw athletes entering Mizzou, and emerged as powerful defensive ends with bright NFL futures. Javon Foster and Larry Borom were early-day-three offensive tackles that earned praise from scouts for their versatility and pro-readiness. The coaching staff and strength and conditioning program are doing something right in Columbia, and the talent pool is just getting started.

Mizzou’s development should come to the national spotlight in the 2025 NFL Draft with two first-round hopefuls in Luther Burden III and Armand Membou. Burden has been one of the most dynamic receivers in college football since arriving on campus three years ago and has a chance to be the first pass-catcher off the board in April. Membou is one of the draft’s big risers. The 20-year-old right tackle has guard-tackle versatility, two-years of SEC starting experience and should test well in the pre-draft process.


The program is on an upward trajectory and showing no signs of slowing down.

Long article. Link to the whole story

https://twsn.net/2025/01/the-missour...sleeping-giant

Please tell me he's 1 year away from being 1 year away it's concerning to spend all that money on a kid who sucks.

I wonder where Burden is going to get drafted at?

Yeah. I wonder too. I've seen mock drafts with him going as high as 8th to the Browns, 12 to the Cowturds or as low as 19 to the Bucs. I would love to see him as a Chief, but that seems pretty unlikely.

He can think the coaching staff and Brady Cook for dropping him out of the top 5 more than likely.

Still don't understand how he only managed 11 passing TDs total with that group of pass catchers.

He should be a dominant NFL DL, but by all accounts, he's a lazy asshole. Constantly late to meetings, and had a bad attitude. If they were willing to cut his NIL deal after making that law in part for him, it's a bad sign.

Maybe he always wanted to go to Nebraska, and his old coach will unlock him. If so, he could be a terror. Or maybe he'll be a malcontent on his way to another team. I have no idea which will happen.

Eh. I really doubt teams are sitting in scouting meetings like, "boy howdy we would gladly take him at 5 if his QB could hit the broad side of a barn. Because of that, we just couldn't until Friday."

I've posted a few news pieces lately that I thought would be of interest. But I've noticed very little response to them. I don't want to spam the thread with unwanted information. Would you guys prefer that I quit sharing those long articles or would you like me to continue doing it? I'm good either way.

More content is fine. Just not a lot to talk about when their season is over while the Chiefs are in the playoffs.

Sounds good Bryan. In that case, here's a good one on the defensive transfer portal moves

Here's how we graded Missouri football on its transfer portal business on defense
calum mcandrew, columbia daily tribuneSee more
Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 3:05 AM CST·5 min read

Missouri football has been busy.

The Tigers have added 17 players via the transfer portal since it opened in December, and the Tigers are set to lose 16 players the other way. Of the 17 newcomers, nine have come on the defensive side of the ball.

Mizzou entered the portal with multiple positions of need, mostly due to players exhausting their eligibility or declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. The Tribune is handing out grades for how the Tigers fared at filling those open roles.

Here’s our criteria: Do they plug an instant need for the Tigers in 2025? Do they set Mizzou up for success beyond next season? Were they among the top available players at their position?

Here are our grades for Missouri’s transfer portal work at each position on defense:

Defensive end: B
Transfers in: Damon Wilson II (Georgia); Nate Johnson (Appalachian State); Langden Kitchen (Northwest Missouri State)

Transfers out: Jaylen Brown (South Carolina); Williams Nwaneri (Nebraska)

Missouri’s additions at defensive end? Excellent.

Wilson is ranked as the No. 5 player to enter the transfer portal in this cycle by 247Sports, and Johnson was a freshman All-American at Appalachian State. Those two players appear like instant fits for the rotation off the edge.

The losses? Concerning.

Nwaneri was one of Missouri’s most high-profile high school recruits in team history. If anything, Brown appeared to be the more college-ready of the two players, finding a way to get some reserve minutes in 2024 and looking like an exciting future prospect. After one season on campus, both of them are gone.

That’s part of the game now. It’ll happen to most teams in the country. But, that doesn’t change the optics of losing two exciting players at a premium playmaking position.


Defensive tackle: C
Transfers in: NA

Transfers out: NA

In this case, no action may be an action in itself.

Missouri is only losing Kristian Williams from the room, meaning that if it stays put into spring camp with no additions or departures, the Tigers are trusting an in-house player to take on a starting role next year.

Is one of Marquis Gracial, Jalen Marshall, Sam Williams up for the job? By not making any transfer moves, that appears to be the hand Missouri is playing.

Linebackers: A
Transfers in: Josiah Trotter (West Virginia); Mikai Gbayor (Nebraska)

Transfer out: Brayshawn Littlejohn (Appalachian State)

The Tigers added two players with Power-conference experience to replace the two spots left open in the core four-player rotation, as Chuck Hicks and Corey Flagg Jr. exhausted their eligibility.

Trotter was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of American after his 92-tackle, one-interception redshirt freshman campaign at West Virginia. Gbayor had six tackles for loss and three pass breakups for Nebraska as a redshirt sophomore last season. Both players have multiple years of eligibility remaining. Those are all good signs.

If Missouri returns Triston Newson, who is now eligible for an extra year because of an NCAA waiver for former junior college players, then the rotation for reported new linebackers coach Derek Nicholson appears to be set. Littlejohn was a backup in 2024, and didn’t appear likely to jump into the rotation next season.

Josiah Trotter (40) intercepts a pass during a game between West Virgnina and Oklahoma State on Oct. 5, 2024.
Josiah Trotter (40) intercepts a pass during a game between West Virgnina and Oklahoma State on Oct. 5, 2024.
Cornerback: B
Transfer in: Stephen Hall (Washington State)

Transfer out: Jaren Sensabaugh (NC State)

Missouri wasn’t expected to lose any players from its cornerback room, but the corner play was inconsistent last season and the Tigers needed to find some competition for key returners Dreyden Norwood, Toriano Pride Jr. and Nicholas DeLoach Jr.

The Tigers did just that with Hall, who has played five seasons of college football and was a team captain at Wazzu last season. Hall appears to only have one year of eligibility remaining, but since he started his career in JuCo that could change, depending on the NCAA’s next decision.

Hall had 50 total tackles last season and returned an interception for a touchdown.

Sensabaugh entered the portal shortly after MU announced the signing of Hall. The staff spoke highly of him, but his path to reps appeared slim for next season with a large group of returners. His absence isn't an immediate problem.

Safety: A
Transfers in: Jalen Catalon (UNLV); Mose Phillips III (Virginia Tech); Santana Banner (Northern Illinois)

Transfer out: Phillip Roche (Undecided)

Job well done, Missouri.

Mizzou is losing three players — Joseph Charleston, Tre’Vez Johnson and Sidney Williams Sr. — from its rotation. The Tigers have recouped that lost production, and then some.

Catalon is a college football veteran and has SEC experience. He began his career at Arkansas and had 99 tackles in 10 games in 2020. He was a third-team AP All-American last season at UNLV after recording five interceptions in 14 games. Next season will be his seventh in the sport.

Phillips and Banner both were starters last season and should figure into the rotation in 2025. Tack on returning starters Daylan Carnell and Marvin Burks Jr., and the safety room appears to be in good standing because of some prompt portal work.

Please continue. I enjoyed the recent articles you posted.

Keep posting

Keep posting. It's all interesting stuff and a good read. I enjoy it and like that I don't have to search the stuff out.

Great! I'll keep sharing it. My phone has a news feed based off my interests. These stories come up a lot, so I'm not having to hunt for them.

A recent NCAA waiver for former junior college players will allow a Missouri football linebacker return in 2025.

Triston Newson, who started 12 games for the Tigers at outside linebacker in 2024, is expected to play for Mizzou next season, a source confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune on Tuesday.

Is this the guy they were talking about playing his last game for the Tigers in the bowl game? I think I remember them saying he might actually get another year because of a ruling.

Yes. I've read about him a few times lately.

Brady Cook and Johnny Walker Jr played in the East West Shrine game. Cook started and had the best game of the 3 quarterbacks against a dominant defense. Johnny Walker was on the East time, Cook on the West. Walker got a strip sack on Cook. Here's a little excerpt on Walker

Walker was arguably the best defensive player on the field on either team in this game. Regardless of who he was going against, Walker had a move to counter or beat his man. He did his best work rushing the pasher, with two sacks and a few pressures to his name. He beat the likes of Indiana's Trey Wedig, Florida's Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, Cincinnati's John Williams and NC State's Tim Mckay, among others. Previously predicted to be a day three pick, it's very possible, with good testing in the future, he bumps up a day.

Sounds like we're probably going to need a new OC soon.

Looks like Kellen Moore intends to bring Kirby on staff. Probably should've expected that as soon as Kellen's name hit the rumor mill.

Here's the only thing I find odd...if Cook and Walker both had good showings why do we not see anyone reporting on the Senior Bowl listing them as those who may have seen their stock rise?

I don't know about Cook, but there have been comments from scout types covering the senior bowl about Walker improving his stock into the 3rd round range.

Thanks...maybe I just haven't caught all the commentary yet....

Who in the NFL does his skill set compare to? Anyone that he would remind you of?

I’d take walker jr in the third. I posted him in the draft forum as my guy in the draft I wanna see the chiefs draft. He has brain lapses at time but had 9.5 sacks this year and at times looked like a beast

247 updated their transfer player rankings.

Damon Wilson got bumped up to the #2 overall transfer portal player and went from a 4* to a 5*. He's one of two 5* players.

Mizzou went from from the mid teens to #6 overall.

Where is wease projected to be drafted? I’ve seen 6th round which I find hard to believe and would absolutely be sick if we passed him up there. But I wonder where he’ll go. He reminds me of tee Higgins personally. I’d love him on the team (obviously I’d rather have burden but that ain’t happening)

Let Eli cook

The sad part for Burden is that he will probably end up as a Raider with no QB to throw the ball to he and Bowers next year.

He's a little slight in build, but he's got good height, hands, and catch radius. If he runs 4.5 or less, I would think he'd go no later than the 4th round.

Well, I guess that we get to keep our OC for another year. The Saints released the finalized coaching staff list. Moore didn't bring in his brother.

Nico Iamaleava has been kicked off Tennessee. Mizzou line 1

Except that according the SEC rules he cannot go to another SEC school and gain immediate eligibility.....and Tennessee can't raid another SEC school for their next starter.

He wasn't kicked off. He just entered the transfer portal. He can go wherever he wants.

According to what I have read this far....even entering the portal and not being kicked off, SEC rules prevent him from using the spring portal and getting immediate eligibility for the 2025 season.....Sectio 14.5.5

Now....would it be enforceable in a court of law? That would be for the Legal eagles to disseminate. But seeing how most rulings these days have been in favor of the the athlete anything could be possible.

But most reports have him headed back west to where he grew up....and considering the reasons he is purported to have been for leaving the team....would anyone in the SEC want to touch him.

That is no longer a bylaw. It's old, but was changed to align with NCAA rules.

https://www.secsports.com/news/2021/...ence-transfers

No way would I pay this kid $10 mil to play QB.

Except that he had to declare his decision to transfer by Feb 1st to be eligible for Fall Sports and May 1 for Winter Sports....so he can go elsewhere in the SEC but he won't be eligible for 2025. Football is considered a Fall sport..

Mizzou isn't in Cantwell's top four schools. That's the biggest recruiting L of the century.

It's going to be Oregon because of track. That's his main love anyways and more than likely what he will be pro at. Don't think at the end of the day it will be that big of a hit because of that purpose.

Their track program kind of stinks, which is really sad considering we're in the SEC.

I didn't realize that Membou was so highly ranked in the draft. We could have 2 top 10 guys. I don't think that's ever happened.

Potential top 10 talent at both OT and WR and Cook still sucked ****ing shit. What a waste 2024 ended up being.

I've been told for a few months to kind of expect the following on Cantwell:

1) He commits somewhere else
2) He transfers back to Mizzou after two years

Think he, like many Missouri OL, is a little overrated.

The issue, though, is that after Membou and Burden you have a pretty steep drop off to....I guess Wease. And he's MAYBE a top 200 prospect.

Now take a program that truly wasted a season -- Kansas. They have 4 guys who are possible top 150 selections. Nobody as high as we had, but a lot more NFL caliber depth in Neal, Bryant, Dotson and Brown.

You look at Mizzou's draft prospects last season and it makes a bit of sense why that team was better - they just had better depth in that regard.

Robinson went in the first then Rakestraw, Hopper, Foster and KAD all went in the top 150 with Carlies at 151.

So effectively six guys PLUS Membou and Luther that were top 150ish NFL talents last year. Not to mention the fact that Schrader, who went undrafted, was an elite college player.

The 2024 team just didn't have the depth of talent that the 2023 squad had. And their QB was worse while also being hurt for chunks of the year. And with that they won 10 games, ended the season ranked and ended up tied for 4th in the conference.

To whatever extent the season was a 'waste' I'd say it was losing that damn South Carolina game that probably kept them out of a playoff spot. And ultimately that was the defense cratering (the defense that had essentially no NFL talent on it) at the worst possible time.

{shrug}

The season was solid. Perhaps the real problem was unrealistic expectations of some recruits that came in and did precisely ****-all.

DC change I think also contributed to a set back but it's really being picky calling it a set back when they still won that many games with all the considerations.

Ended up going to UCLA for $1.5 million; $500K less than he'd have made at TN and due to the state tax rates, he'll lose another chunk off of THAT.

So he took about a 30% paycut to go to a far worse program and damage his NFL draft stock immensly.

FAFO in the NIL era.

Love to see it **** that guy

Why were they so far behind, though?

Track - Oregon top program and Georgia very good as well. His recruitment is more about track than football.

What a stupid mother****er. These kids are just dumber than shit sometimes.

He's his parents meal ticket.

The pressure on these kids that their families (and often friends) put on them is why so many of them end up broke. Even pros just get bled dry by folks with their hands out.

That's so ****ed up to have raised a talented kid like that only to possibly squander it by having your hand out

I'm really getting sick of seeing MU players go to Denver, where I now have to want them to fail. Ray, Lock, Albert O, Abrams-Draine, Badie, and now Walker. What the hell??? Do the Broncos have some connection to Mizzou??

Man, Membou to the Jets was one of the most telegraphed picks in recent memory. Everyone called that shit.