Georgia Opponent Offseason Overview: Missouri
It’s that time of year when football feels so far away. Spring practice has passed. There’s nothing to discuss from the draft anymore, and it’ll be several months before we see any more pads poppin’ across the country. That’s why at DawgsHQ, we’re starting to look ahead to those brighter days with out Opponents at a Glance series, previewing each of Georgia’s Power Five opponents for 2023 with an offseason overview. Next up, the Missouri Tigers.
Missouri Tigers
Head Coach: Eliah Drinkwitz (3rd season)
2022 Record: 6-7 (3-5 SEC), Gasparilla Bowl loss vs. Wake Forest
Last Meeting: October 1, 2022 (Georgia 26, Missouri 22)
After it felt like folks wouldn’t be able to get enough of me writing about Georgia-Florida last year, I know nobody wants to look back on the game at Missouri. Georgia won 26-22 in what was absolutely the ugliest game that the Bulldogs played last season, needing 14 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to walk out of Columbia with a win.
Enough of that. On to 2023 when Georgia gets Missouri in Athens – and with one of the Tigers’ top targets too.
Brady Cook is back at quarterback, but Missouri also brought in Miami transfer Jake Garcia. The former top-10 quarterback in the country spent two seasons in South Florida playing sparingly due to injury and the depth chart. In eight games last year, Garcia threw for 803 yards and five touchdowns on 68-of-115 passing. He’ll have to beat out Cook, who’s comfortable in the Eliah Drinkwitz offense after starting all 13 games last season. Cook finished with 2,724 passing yards – 11th most in program history – with 20 total touchdowns.
Running back Cody Schrader who transferred in as a walk-on from Truman State also returns. He led the Tigers in rushing last season with 744 yards, ahead of Cook’s second-best 585. Schrader and Cook were also first and second in touchdowns with nine and six respectively. Nathaniel Peat, a Stanford transfer last season, also had more than 100 carries. He too returns.
Talking Missouri receivers, things are a little different. Obviously Dominic Lovett is at Georgia after he led the Tigers with 56 catches for 846 yards. Meanwhile, Barrett Barnister graduated and Tauskie Dove transferred out of the program. That leaves just two of the top five pass catchers from 2022 still on the roster.
Luther Burden is an incredible talent, and Missouri will be hoping for even more out of him in his sophomore season after he hauled in a team-high six receiving scores while Mookie Cooper is also going to be counted on to fill the void left behind by Lovett and Barnister. Ole Miss transfer Dannis Jackson and Oklahoma’s Theo Wease Jr. could also contribute, picked up to joining the team out of the transfer portal.
As for the offensive line where Missouri struggled last season, Drinkwitz challenged them to set the tone this spring with competition across the board. The Tigers brought in Marcellus Johnson from Eastern Michigan as a transfer and hope for improvement from within.
Flipping the script to the defensive side of the ball, Missouri got a major boost with the return of Jaylon Carlies, Ty’Ron Hopper and Chad Bailey, the team’s top three tacklers last season. In fact, Martez Manuel is the only one in the top five that’s gone. Having Carlies and Joseph Charleston back at safety, plus Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw at corner, the Tigers’ secondary should be a strength.
Where the question lies would be on the defensive line. Georgia players and coaches said that Missouri’s unit was one of the best they played all season, and that showed up during the NFL Draft. Isaiah McGuire went in the fourth round. DJ Coleman signed as an undrafted free agent. Both players had 10.5 tackles for loss or better last season finishing first and second on the team in sacks each having more than 5.0. In total, seven Tigers totaled more than 5.0 tackles for loss including a team-high 14 from Hopper. His return at the linebacker spot alongside Bailey is big, but Missouri will certainly be looking to replace the lost production at the line of scrimmage from McGuire and Coleman. Darius Robinson and Kristian Williams would be names to watch there.
Previously in the series…
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