JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Eli Drinkwitz just had to make sure.
He knew Nicholas Rodriguez, one of Missouri football’s few real standouts with 15 total tackles in the Tigers’ disappointing 13-7 loss to Virginia in the Gator Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27, had put pen to paper to return next season. But, in college football in 2025, it doesn’t hurt to double-check.
“We’ve got a really strong foundation. Nick’s going to be back,” Drinkwitz said, then paused and turned to his sophomore linebacker over his right shoulder. “You’re going to be back, right?”
“Yeah,” Rodriguez said, smiling.
Rodriguez was among a list of four players the Mizzou coach, of his own accord, confirmed are signed to return in 2026. The others are star running back Ahmad Hardy, freshman quarterback Matt Zollers and defensive tackle Jalen Marshall.
Now, that’s a short list to work with while trying to get a feel for what the Tigers might look like in 2026.
And, as we’ve seemingly seen from some of Mizzou’s recent expected portal entrants and a lawsuit (and countersuit) involving Georgia and current MU defensive end Damon Wilson II, signing paperwork isn’t nearly as guaranteed as most coaches and teams would like it to be.
But it’s a start. And an important start.
Drinkwitz indicated that there are more players who were on the roster for the Gator Bowl who will not be suiting up in Columbia next season.
“Starting tomorrow (Dec. 28) we’ll finish up re-signing the current roster,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s going to be guys (transferring), there’s guys that already told us that they were going to transfer but they wanted to play tonight. We really appreciate those guys finishing.”
This is shaping up to be a crucial transfer portal for the Tigers.
Zollers, a true freshman, looked raw and more of a project than a clear-cut QB1 for the 2026 season. Quarterback is going to be an area of need for Missouri when the transfer portal opens up, as starter Beau Pribula is among the nine MU players who have already been confirmed as soon-to-be former Tigers.
There is still no public word on whether a trio of draft-eligible third-year players — Wilson, linebacker Josiah Trotter and left tackle Cayden Green — will stay in college or enter the NFL Draft process this offseason.
And, without getting into the weeds, here’s a quick glance at where Mizzou is losing starters or key rotation members just to eligibility: Right tackle; center; slot receiver; field defensive end; two defensive tackles; two more linebackers; both starting corners; free safety.
Like Drinkwitz said, the day after the Gator Bowl is going to be spent figuring out who they can get back. That means announcements are likely to be rolling in soon.
Then, if all of that wasn’t enough, the madness really starts.
“Then once we have kind of a final feel of where that is, then we’ll go attack the portal and build a new team. That’s college football now. I mean, every team’s looking to rebuild their roster post bowl games, post coaching changes, whatever. That’s what we’ll do.”
That’s not new. Missouri has mostly navigated the choppy transfer portal waters quite successfully over the past few seasons.
Drinkwitz, even back on early signing day Dec. 3, took “whatever it’ll be, it’ll be” stance to the numbers the Tigers will take when the frantic fortnight — the portal is officially open for entries Jan. 2-16 — gets underway.
Where Missouri fails to re-sign potential returners, it will add players. Where there is glaring needs, be it because of draft-bound players or otherwise, the Tigers will replenish. It’s not a complex formula but could become quite busy.
Tack on that the SEC is moving back to 105 scholarships in 2026, up from 85, and you might see an even larger influx this season.
Pure mathematics suggests the number of newcomers between now and spring ball will comfortably top 20 players. That does not account for potential early NFL Draft declarations or potential portal-bound players. The Tribune counted 75 scholarship players who can return to Mizzou next season, sheerly based on eligibility.
If that sounds expensive in the NIL and revenue-sharing age, you’re right. Teams have $20.5 million in the revenue pot to share directly with student-athletes, and that’s for all sports, not just football. You can bet the likes of Hardy and Rodriguez aren’t getting shortchanged.
Before sourcing third-party deals — and you can now see why Drinkwitz was so vocal about finding that form of funding this season as he weighed a contract extension — that’s a limited pool for massive offseason need.
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Exactly how that will impact Missouri’s portal strategy will be among the more fascinating offseason storylines. How many bona-fide stars do the Tigers chase, and at what positions? Who and where are the priorities?
“I think we’ve got a really good foundation in the trenches. We got a really good foundation in the skill positions. So, it’s about filling in the holes, sustaining the culture,” Drinkwitz said. “Guys like Nick and Ahmad and Matt and Jalen Marshall, all these guys that have committed to coming back and re-signing, they’ve got to carry the culture that’s been established, that (graduating center Connor Tollison) fought for.
“That will be what we do. Back to work. I mean, nothing good comes easy. It will be a fight to the finish here, or a fight to finish off re-signing our team, and then we’ll go to work. That’s what we’ll do.”
