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Podcast: Cover 3 College Football Episode: Early 2026 Missouri Season Preview | Cover 3 Summer School Segment: Missouri podcast segment - Watch-list angle: Missouri's early schedule gives the offense time to settle before SEC play, but the right-tackle injury and defensive rebuild are the key September tells. - Betting-relevant lean: Missouri's offense should improve if QB Austin Simmons gives even plus-level passing, because the run game with Ahmad Hardy/Jamal Roberts should force loaded boxes. **Top Betting/Intel Takeaways** - Missouri retained Eli Drinkwitz after real Power Four interest and extended him, preserving the program direction entering Year 6. - OC Chip Lindsey is not expected to radically change the identity; Missouri should remain run-first behind Hardy, Roberts, portal OL help, and a stronger blocking emphasis at TE. - QB Austin Simmons is the swing piece: elite arm talent and leadership traits, but limited career reps and uneven efficiency mean the ceiling is still unproven. - OL has a strong core with Caden Green, Dom Giudice, Curtis Bigler, and portal adds, but Josh Adkins' leg injury makes right tackle/blind-side protection the biggest offensive question. - WR room has complementary pieces: Caden Lee as the reliable slot, Caleb Goody as vertical speed, and Donovan Olubade as the big X/contested-catch target. - Defense is replacing all 11 regular starters from a top-20 scoring/top-10 yardage unit, so any top-25 repeat would be a major Corey Batoon achievement. - DL replacement plan starts with Darris Smith, Langden Kitchen, Marquis Gracial, and Jalen Marshall; front-four development is the biggest defensive variable. - CB is less scary because Chris Graves Jr. transfers in from Ole Miss as a likely CB1, but CB2 and overall secondary continuity remain unsettled. **Game / Team Breakdowns** - **Missouri offense:** Run-first structure remains the base. Hardy and Roberts give Mizzou one of the stronger RB duos in the league, and Jason Edwards adds depth. - **Missouri QB:** Simmons was specifically targeted by Drinkwitz after missing on prior portal QBs. The staff believes his arm talent can change the offense, but the hosts want proof in live games. - **Missouri OL:** Green returning at LT is a major win. Giudice moves to center, Bigler is back at guard, and Adkins was supposed to stabilize RT before the injury. - **Missouri pass catchers:** Lee/Simmons Ole Miss familiarity should help early; Goody can stretch the field; Olubade gives the offense a true big-body third-down/red-zone type. - **Missouri defense:** The 2025 unit had pass rush, LB, and secondary strengths, but all regular starters are gone. The 2026 floor depends on whether the front can generate pressure without the old stars. - **Missouri schedule:** Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kansas, Troy, and Mississippi State give Mizzou a manageable runway, but Mississippi State and Florida are early measuring-stick games before the heavier SEC slate. - **Missouri injury note:** Episode was recorded before Ahmad Hardy was shot; intro update says Hardy was walking, expected to be discharged, and beginning rehab, with uncertain 2026 availability. Transcript excerpt: Dante Mora, he showed improvement, better command. What's going on, y'all? This is Bud Elliott, and we are back again with another episode of Summer School. That's my man, Cody Goodwin, Power Mizzou, covering all things Missouri Tigers, the number one Missouri site in the universe, right? Mizzou is one of the few teams that, like, knocked out their spring ball, like, way in advance, right? Like, they got done basically the first weekend of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. So we've got quite a bit to discuss when it comes to the Tigers, because we did our spring availabilities. We know all that we know, at least at this point of the offseason. So in summer school, we learn a lot about the team. I'm guessing you learned a lot about this team in spring, because there is a lot of changeover here for a Missouri program that, you know, Eli Drinkwitz entering year six. I think he's just done a tremendous job with overall, like, you know, a super competitive SEC landscape, and, you know, he's been innovative in a lot of ways, and certainly a guy I think, you know, pretty highly of. I guess, first, what, they had to try to keep him this offseason, right? Like, you know, last offseason, there wasn't much turnover. This offseason, I feel like there were probably a lot of people who came calling. You know, has he spoken about that at all? Like, do you know any kind of background as far as, like, their efforts to make sure that he was retained? Yeah, they, I mean, he ultimately signed a new contract extension on Thanksgiving morning. And so, I mean, you know this as well as I do. There was unprecedented coaching carousel extravaganza, basically, when it came to college football this season. I mean, it really started in season, right, with Brian Kelly getting the boot from LSU. And then, you know, Penn State was opened up. Like, there were a lot of high major jobs that Drinkwitz was interested in and that had interest in him to varying degrees, right? Auburn was also open up. He was a GA at Auburn way back when. And so, yeah, like, Missouri had to really pony up to make sure that they were able to keep him. And that was kind of the first unofficial domino, because that was pretty late in November. And by then, they were pretty well out of the SEC and playoff races. So at that point, it's like, all right, let's keep our guy and then, you know, we'll navigate the portal and then really start to build for 26. So, yeah, there was definitely a lot of interest when it came to a lot of the power four openings that were available this offseason. On the defensive side, I assume most of the change will be personnel-based. On the offensive side, they do have a new offensive coordinator who comes in. Strictly from like a scheme standpoint, how, if at all, do you see this thing changing? So the short answer is probably not much, right? Because when you've got Drinkwitz there and you look at the personnel on the offense, this is still going to be a run-first operation, right? A little over 1,000 yards, six touchdown passes, five picks. And so part of that could be, okay, he was still trying to kind of tinker and see what he could get away with and what he couldn't get away with. You know, but I also think that there's an element of, like, hey, like this guy, this guy needs to play a little bit more. And you could say that about everybody in Missouri's quarterback room. So, you know, the talent is tantalizing and I understand why Drink went and got him. But then there's also a part of me that's like, all right, like, before I truly believe that this guy can be the program changer that Drink and everybody on staff believes he can be, there's an element of I've got to see it first. And so that's at least where I'm at when it comes to Mizzou's quarterback room. Obviously, like, run game should be really good. Getting Caden Green to come back on the offensive line, major win for the Tigers. How does the rest of that offensive line look in your opinion? You know, they looked really good up until the end of spring ball. And so you look at the offensive line, three returning starters, Caden Green at left tackle, Dom Giudice, who was a Michigan transfer. He played left guard last year. So the right tackle is a little bit of a question mark. Everywhere else on the offensive line, I feel pretty good about this offensive line. So if they can solve right tackle, I think this has the chance to be a really, really strong unit this fall. Without tipping our hand as to the defensive chat, you know, coming up, receiver-wise, like this offense is probably going to have to carry this team more than it has in the past few years because Missouri's, like, had a phenomenal defense, in my opinion, you know, especially, like, relative to, you know, like, obviously Missouri has great aspirations, but, you know, what Missouri's been in my lifetime. Like, it's a really damn good defense and consistently so, you know, for a while now. If this thing's going to hum, like, they've got to have some studs at pass catcher, right? Like, or at least one guy they can really rely on. They brought in Caden Lee from Ole Miss. I assume there's some, you know, familiarity with Austin Simmons, the quarterback, that they also, you know, came from Ole Miss. Who else do you think on this offense really has the chance to step up and be, like, that guy at receiver? Yeah, I think Caden Lee absolutely has the capability of being that guy. And he's more of a slot guy, right? That's largely where he's played throughout his career.