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Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said Ahmad Hardy still had not returned to practice or advanced beyond rehabilitation and confirmed Malae Fonoti would miss the rest of the season with a non-contact ACL injury, calling running-back depth the team's biggest depth-chart concern without establishing a Hardy return date.
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Missouri lineman Cayden Green completed about three-quarters of the prior practice with an initially favorable response but still needed reassessment, while Jack Lange remained available after a first start that mixed good length and power with communication problems against edge pressure.
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Missouri's early rushing problems included inadequate frontside stretch and backside collapse on wide zone plus missed movement calls on inside zone, with Drinkwitz describing a productive adjustment to the odd front but still demanding better quarterback protection and rushing execution against Kansas.
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Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall drew Drinkwitz's praise for accurate vertical throws, tough running and acceleration, while Andy Kotelnicki's offense uses repeated shifts and motions to disguise pass, quarterback-run and unbalanced-formation answers built from familiar player assignments.
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Missouri's defense must maintain disciplined pass-rush lanes against Marshall's throwing and scrambling ability, with Drinkwitz stressing sideline communication and in-game adjustments because the new Kansas coordinator-quarterback pairing supplies limited film.