RT Armand Membou, 74, 100% QB Drew Pyne, 74, 100% LT Marcus Bryant, 74, 100% RG Cam’Ron Johnson, 74, 100% LG Cayden Green, 57, 77% WR Theo Wease Jr., 53, 72% WR Luther Burden III, 51, 69% C Connor Tollison, 48, 65% WR Marquis Johnson, 44, 59% TE Jordon Harris, 41, 55% TE Brett Norfleet, 39, 53% HB Jamal Roberts, 32, 43% WR Joshua Manning, 31, 42% HB Marcus Carroll, 29, 39% C Drake Heismeyer, 26, 35% WR Daniel Blood, 19, 26% WR Mekhi Miller, 12, 16% HB Nate Noel, 8, 11% TE Tyler Stephens, 5, 7% HB Tavorus Jones, 1, 1%
• Drake Heismeyer did an impressive job filling in for Connor Tollison at center, taking over when Tollison was injured late in the third quater. Did not allow a single pressure in that cruical time for Missouri.
“Drake Heismeyer goes in,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “is in there the whole time after Theo [Wease’s] touchdown on the screen, he didn’t miss a beat.”
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• Nate Noel was active in this game after missing the Alabama game in Week 9, but he’s clearly not fully recovered from a lower-body injury he suffered against Auburn. Interesting to see redshirt freshman Jamal Roberts take 4% percent more than Marcus Carroll, but Roberts did a nice job, rushing for 54 yards on 13 carries.
Defense
CB Daylan Carnell, 59, 94% CB Nicholas Deloach Jr., 57, 90% CB Dreyden Norwood, 55, 87% LB Triston Newson, 53, 84% FS Joseph Charleston, 53, 84% FS Marvin Burks Jr., 50, 79% DE Johnny Walker Jr., 50, 79% DE Zion Young, 49, 78% DT Kristian Williams, 44, 70% WLB Corey Flagg, 42, 67% DT Chris McClellan, 35, 56% DT Sterling Webb, 25, 40% CB Toriano Pride Jr., 22, 35% SS Tre’Vez Johnson, 19, 30% MLB Chuck Hicks, 18, 29% DE Eddie Kelly Jr., 13, 21% SS Sidney Williams, 13, 21% DE Jahkai Lang, 12, 19% NT Marquis Gracial, 7, 11% FS Caleb Flagg, 3, 5% DT Jalen Marshall, 3, 5% LB Nicholas Rodriguez, 1, 2% FS Trajen Greco, 1, 2% LB Jeremiah Beasley, 1, 2% CB Shamar McNeil, 1, 2% LB Brady Hultman, 1, 2% CB Ja’Marion Wayne, 1, 2% MLB Will Norris, 1, 2%
• The rotation between Toriano Pride Jr. and Nicholas Deloach Jr. has really tipped into the favor of Deloach. Pride allowed two receptions on two targets. Deloach was targeted two times but allowed zero receptions.
Offense
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T Marcus Bryant, 615, 100% T Armand Membou, 607, 99% C Connor Tollison, 582, 95% G Cayden Green, 531, 87% G Cam’Ron Johnson, 530, 87% WR Theo Wease Jr., 454, 74% QB Brady Cook, 453, 74% WR Luther Burden III, 397, 65% WR Mookie Cooper, 328, 53% WR Mekhi Miller, 261, 43% TE Brett Norfleet, 259, 42% TE Jordon Harris, 246, 40% G Mitchell Walters, 244, 39% HB Nate Noel, 243, 39% WR Joshua Manning, 240, 39% QB Drew Pyne, 217, 35% HB Marcus Carroll, 214, 35% WR Marquis Johnson, 185, 30% HB Jamal Roberts, 158, 26% TE Tyler Stephens, 124, 20% WR Daniel Blood, 111, 18% C Drake Heismeier, 83, 13% T Jayven Richardson, 57, 9% G Logan Reichert, 56, 9% G Tristan Wilson, 48, 8% HB Kewan Lacy, 34, 5% G Curtis Peagler, 26, 4% HB Tavorus Jones, 24, 4% TE Jude James, 21, 3% WR James Madison II, 13, 2% WR Courtney Crutchfield, 10, 2% WR Logan Muckey, 8, 1% C Talan Chandler, 7, 1% TE Whit Hafer, 3, 0% QB JR Blood, 2, 0%
Defense
S Marvin Burks Jr., 419, 100% CB Dreyden Norwood, 399, 95% CB Toriano Pride Jr., 369, 88% S Daylan Carnell, 351, 84% ED Johnny Walker Jr., 346, 83% DL Kristian Williams, 339, 81% ED Zion Young, 317, 76% DL Chris McClellan, 286, 68% LB Triston Newson, 285, 68% S Joseph Charleston, 274, 65% LB Corey Flagg, 256, 61% S Tre’Vez Johnson, 249, 59% CB Nicholas Deloach Jr., 247, 59% LB Chuck Hicks, 218, 52% S Sidney Williams, 205, 49% DL Sterling Webb, 183, 44% ED Eddie Kelly Jr., 155, 37% LB Khalil Jacobs, 139, 33% ED Jahkai Lang, 102, 24% DL Marquis Gracial, 97, 23% ED Jalen Marshall, 87, 21% ED Joe Moore, 74, 18% LB Nicholas Rodriguez, 64, 15% S Caleb Flagg, 51, 12% DL Sam Williams, 49, 12% CB Marcus Clarke, 44, 10% S Trajen Greco, 36, 9% ED Williams Nwaneri, 33, 8% CB Shamar McNeil, 31, 7% ED Jaylen Brown, 31, 7% LB Jeremiah Beasley, 28, 7% CB Phillip Roche, 26, 6% CB Ja’Marion Wayne, 22, 5% DL Elias Williams, 11, 3% LB Brayshawn Littlejohn, 11, 3% LB Brian Huff, 8, 2% CB Jaren Sensabaugh, 6, 1% DL Justin Bodford, 6, 1% CB Cameron Keys, 6, 1% S Nasir Pogue, 6, 1% LB Brady Hultman, 2, 0% LB Will Norris, 1, 0%
The 3rd Hour of TODAY anchors are motoring west and heading to Springfield, Missouri for what we’re calling Destination: Route 66!
On Thursday, April 30, Al Roker and Dylan Dryer will be broadcasting LIVE from downtown Springfield — and we’re inviting you to get your kicks on Route 66 and experience the city’s one-of-a-kind culture at Birthplace Plaza.
We’ll take you along for an incredible tour of everything the city has to offer — from local food and music to the stories that made Route 66 famous. We’ll even catch up with legendary actor and proud Missouri State alum, John Goodman!
Join Al and Dylan as they experience all that Springfield has to offer and get a firsthand look at America’s most famous highway. Space is limited, so secure your place to attend this free taping by registering now.
Gov. Mike Kehoe announced two gubernatorial appointments Friday to vacant positions in mid-Missouri counties.
Doug Miller, of California, Mo., was appointed as Moniteau County associate commissioner, district one.
Miller is a Moniteau County native who has worked as a middle school physical education and health teacher in the county for 27 years. Since 2021, he has worked as an office manager for Rackers Manufacturing and a bus driver for the California school district.
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Rodney Southard, of Rolla, was appointed as Maries County eastern district commissioner.
Southard is a fifth-generation Missouri farmer who previously worked as a support specialist for NEW Solutions and a surface water specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey. He is currently the chairman of MU Extension in Maries County.
Edge rusher turned out to be a strong position for the New Orleans Saints last season. Saints edge rushers combined for 28.5 sacks in 2025, with Chase Young and Cameron Jordan accounting for 20.5 sacks and 52 pressures. Jordan is currently a free agent and will be in his 16th season if he does return. This leads most believing that the team will pursue a young edge rusher in the draft. One option could be Missouri Tigers pass rusher Zion Young if this happens. Young is one of a handful of talented edge defenders that could still be on the board midway through the second day. Here is a closer look at the profile of perhaps one of the more underrated defenders in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
Zion Young bio
Position: Edge
College: Missouri Tigers
Height: 6-feet, 6 inches
Weight: 262 pounds
Out of Westlake High School in Georgia, Young initially committed to the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten. He’d see limited playing time during eight games in 2022 but still managed a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss among 21 total stops. Young was much more involved for the Spartans in 2023, recording 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He’d enter the transfer portal after that season, landing with the Missouri Tigers in the SEC.
A stout Missouri defense was strengthened with Young’s addition. He contributed 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss among his 42 total stops in 2024. Last season, Young solidified his attention from NFL scouts. He led the Tigers with 16.5 tackles for loss, second best in the SEC, in addition to 6.5 sacks. Those numbers earned him 1st Team All-SEC honors.
Strengths
Prototype size and length for both 3-4 and 4-3 fronts
Displays good power and leverage on contact
Strength to muscle through double-teams
Sets the edge extremely well against the run
Keeps blockers off–balance with combination of speed and power
Sets up inside moves with good arm extension
Weaknesses
Inconsistent pass rush production
Lacks refined counter moves
Not a great bend around the outside of tackles
Must do a better job at disengaging for pursuit
Questionable agility for a stand-up edge rusher
Zion Young 2026 draft outlook
Most predictions have Young being selected in the second or third round. He does have the power and upside to be a surprise first round selection for the right scheme. While his agility and athleticism creates some questions, there is little doubt that he has the raw power and tenacity to be a defensive contributor.
New Orleans is expected to add an edge rusher within the first two days of the draft. With an emphasis on an improved run defense, Young could be a welcomed addition to their system as a strong side defender. Young’s upside as a pass rusher would govern how much he plays early, but he would likely be an immediate part of any defensive rotation along the outside.
