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COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� How does Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz set the tone for spring practices ahead of a year in which the Tigers are replacing key playmakers with a swath of newcomers?

With a bit of silver-lined snark.

Addressing his team before their first practice of spring ball, Drinkwitz鈥檚 message was this: 鈥淚 told them, 鈥楾oday should be the worst you are as a Missouri football player, because it鈥檚 your first day, you鈥檙e unsure of everything.鈥� 鈥�

Good, bad, ugly or developmental, football is back in Columbia for a small window of practices that bring together several dozen returners, 17 incoming transfers and 11 true freshmen for the beginning of the build-up to the 2025 season.

Gone are the faces of the past couple of years 鈥� Brady Cook, Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. are in Indianapolis at the NFL鈥檚 scouting combine.

鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly surreal to not have those guys,鈥� Drinkwitz said.

In their place are team-defining faces fresh out of the transfer portal: Penn State quarterback transfer Beau Pribula, Mississippi State wideout transfer Kevin Coleman Jr., Georgia edge rusher transfer Damon Wilson II. Mix in returning veterans like safety Daylan Carnell, and Saturday鈥檚 practice inside the indoor training facility had a different feel to it.

鈥淲e got a whole new makeup,鈥� Carnell said. 鈥淚t looks like a whole new team, new quarterback 鈥� almost a new everything, it feels like.鈥�

As far as the starting quarterback situation goes: It鈥檒l be a competition, as expected, between Pribula, Drew Pyne and Sam Horn. True freshman Matt Zollers enrolled early to participate in spring practices, too.

Perhaps intentionally, none of the starting QB suitors threw a pass with media in attendance during Saturday鈥檚 practice. Mizzou decided which QB started out playing with the first-team offense with a miniature rock-paper-scissors tournament.

That underscores the nature of spring ball for MU: A loose concept of the depth chart will come together when spring camp breaks on March 20, just in time for another transfer portal window. There are some positions up for grabs, some left empty by injured players working their way back in. The favorable schedule still sitting nearly six calendar pages away seems quite far off.

鈥淲e got a ton of new guys here, right, between early enrollee freshmen and then transfers,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us 鈥� spring is all about individual player development. It鈥檚 all about their growth 鈥� not to try to put too much pressure on themselves to come out here.鈥�

Media observed about 25 minutes of Saturday鈥檚 practice, which was the team鈥檚 second of spring ball. Some takeaways, based on that viewing window and a conversation with Drinkwitz:

• Very few, if any, of the newcomers had earned their numbers yet, meaning the indoor practice field was filled with a lot of blank jerseys. Tight end聽Brett Norfleet, who underwent surgery at the tail end of last season, and outside linebacker聽Khalil Jacobs, who also suffered a season-ending injury, were wearing green non-contact jerseys. Safety聽Marvin Burks Jr.聽was as well, but the nature of his injury is unclear.
  
  
• Defensive end聽Darris Smith, whose knee injury on the doorstep of 2024 kept him out for the season, is a limited participant right now but on track with his recovery, Drinkwitz said.
  
  
• 颁别苍迟别谤听Connor Tollison, another season-ending injury sufferer, is able to do some snapping, Drinkwitz said, but he wasn鈥檛 doing so during the portion of practice open to media. Michigan transfer聽Dominick Giudice聽filled in at that spot alongside returners聽Tristan Wilson听补苍诲听Talan Chandler聽鈥� the group that likely would鈥檝e been getting reps even with Tollison fully available.
  
  
• Two standouts, from a physique standpoint: running backs聽Ahmad Hardy听补苍诲听Marquise Davis. Even from a considerable distance, it was clear they hit the weight room regularly and have builds reminiscent of Philadelphia Eagles star tailback Saquon Barkley. It鈥檒l take more than an arm tackle to bring either of those MU running backs to the turf. Davis earned a post-practice shoutout from Drinkwitz for a crisp outside zone rep 鈥� the run scheme that will remain a foundation of the Missouri offense.
  
  
• It鈥檚 quite early to be getting into depth chart-minutiae, but from a positional standpoint, young safeties聽Trajen Greco听补苍诲听CJ Bass III聽鈥� a sophomore and a true freshman, respectively 鈥� are working at the nickleback position held down by聽Daylan Carnell. Called the 鈥淪TAR鈥� in Mizzou鈥檚 defensive system, the Tigers will likely want to have a reserve safety familiar with that role to operate under Carnell in the depth chart.
  
  
• Kevin Coleman Jr., who will likely start at slot wide receiver when fall comes around, put together an impressive Saturday practice. 鈥淗e made some incredible plays today,鈥� Drinkwitz said, including a deep catch down the sideline and a strong showing in one-on-one drills against defensive backs.