Missouri football has one of those good problems.
There’s a reason why most prognosticators and insiders have labeled Luther Burden III as a – if not O – Top returning wide receiver in college football in 2024 and as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in 2025. His 1,212 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season will earn him that kind of recognition.
Theo Wease Jr. would be the pass catcher on many rosters across the country. Wease’s 682-yard, six-touchdown rookie year at Columbia while competing for touches with Burden supports that.
More: Who will be Missouri football’s defensive MVP for the 2024 season? Here are three candidates
In total, the Tigers have every wide receiver who caught a pass in 2023 returning in 2024. In all, 10 different Missouri players caught 248 passes for 3,410 yards last season. Removing tight ends and running backs, Mizzou receivers accounted for 197 of those receptions (79.4%) for 2,892 yards (84.8%).
Mizzou also has three more receivers on board who didn’t catch a pass last season but are or were three- or four-star recruits.
So…how does Missouri keep them satisfied?
“Every year is a new year, right? You need to reevaluate and see what your needs are,” Missouri wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler said on March 12. “For us, we want to make sure — you don’t want cookie-cutter copies, you don’t want the same guy. …You have to have different guys that do different things in different parts of the field.
“Having a guy that picks up yards after the catch, or maybe it’s a guy that picks up 50-50, or a guy that’s really good in the red zone, or an experienced slot that can get open. You just need to have different pieces of the puzzle.”
Assuming Burden and Wease are near cornerstones of the lineup — the duo has combined for more than half of the team’s total receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2023 — that leaves a narrow window of opportunity for the remainder of a nine-person receiver group. who could plausibly take the field.
The favorite to take the third-most reps is likely Mookie Cooper, who is entering his fourth season with Mizzou. Mekhi Miller, who scored Missouri’s first touchdown in what turned out to be an 11-2 Cotton Bowl-winning campaign in 2023, will likely be a key backup, particularly to Burden in the slot.
But with plenty of options, offensive coordinator Kirby Moore is faced with an intriguing temptation.
Don’t rule out the possibility of something a little flashy; A little different; a little adventurous.
When Moore met with the media before spring camp, the OC praised the idea of trying different sets, including 10-person and 20-person looks, because of the familiarity returning to the team and scheme.
This could open new avenues in the air.
“We need to continue to find ways to be explosive,” Moore said in late February. “That was something I considered a strength (last season).”
One name that comes to mind is Marquis Johnson.
Think back to Memphis in Game 4 last season, when Johnson took off on Missouri’s third snap for a 76-yard home call. Or at Kentucky, when Luke Bauer threw a 39-yard fake punt over the Cats’ defense to Johnson for another touchdown.
Mizzou has a lot of tried and true things.
If the Tigers decide to change the lineup from time to time, they also have options.
Internally: Josh Manning, a four-star recruit in the class of 2023, was MU’s offensive MVP in the spring game in March but was primarily a special teams member last season. Daniel Blood, a three-star recruit last year, played 10 games in 2023, mostly as a member of special teams, but caught two passes against LSU.
Coming in: Courtney Crutchfield, a four-star signee from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is 6-2 and displays great hands on tape, making him a plausible instant option on the outside. James Madison II, another four-star from Florida, has a 6-8 wingspan that should intrigue Missouri coaches.
More: Recruiting Snapshot: Eight Class of 2025 Recruits Visiting Missouri Football This Month
There’s a world where both make instant impacts – à la Johnson in 2023 – in their respective debut years. Moore, more than once, mentioned that he would be exploring options and pieces that would suit each individual member of the room.
But if the core reaches its heights, these calls could be moderated.
“A lot of guys had good production last year, but last year, we have to move on,” Moore said. “And a big part of it is just competing and getting better…with the guys in your class and really doing your best.
“Everyone’s personal best is a little different. Guys who have been here three, four years – their personal best might be a little bit higher than someone who has been here two months.”
This article originally appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune: How will Missouri football utilize its wide receiver room in 2024?
