COLUMBIA, Mo. – The SEC. Only the biggest, the baddest and the meanest can last. 

It's anything but an easy transition for freshmen joining the league, both mentally and physically.

Mizzou freshman Nicholas Randall couldn't care less. 

"I'm not scared of nobody," Randall told MizzouRoundtable. "I don't care if they're considered a first-round draft pick next year. I'll get on that with anybody." 

It's uncharacteristic for a freshman to enter the SEC with the fearlessness Randall has, but it's exactly what the Tigers needed.

Former Tiger Josh Gray manned the center position last year, and was Missouri's brick wall down low. Whether it was bruising defenders down low for post position, crashing through the lane for a rebound or punishing opposing drivers with a bump, Gray was the man for the job. 

Gray ran out of eligibility and is no longer with the team, leaving a void of physicality in the frontcourt. 

Randall is ready to step up, and make the role – whatever it may be – his own. 

"An enforcer," Randall said. "That puzzle piece, the X-Factor... whatever (Dennis Gates) needs me to do, I'm going to do it." 

Randall's been capable of just about anything physically throughout his career.He enters his freshman season as a stocky 6-foot-9, 240 pound ball of energy ready to clash in the paint. Randall is the heaviest non-seven-footer on the team, and still has plenty of room to bulk up. He's been working on adapting his body while maintaining his physical play, as he knows the giants of the SEC are a completely different task than the high school scene in Arizona. 

"Making sure I take the weight room very serious," Randall said. Trying to get stronger, losing a lot of baby fat, losing a lot of weight, but gaining a lot of lean mass."

Randall's already a bowling ball of a center, and can hang around with other SEC bigs. But if he continues to build upon his mass and grow into his body, he could become the big that others become weary of.

Not only is he transforming his body, he's transforming his vocal presence too. Dennis Gates began his team's offseason training with two days of team bonding – no basketballs involved. It helped a collective of fresh faces familiarize with each other, developing off-court chemistry for it to later translate on the court.

“We had a lot of quiet people that didn't know how to get out of their shell,” Randall said. “It was hard, but when we did those things it really helped, and it made it way easier down the road.”

Randall was among those of the quiet bunch – it showed in his relaxed demeanor at media day. But he's multi-faceted. Everything Randall is away from the game, is everything he's not when he steps foot on the court. 

“Coach Gates says, off the court, I'm the quietest person on the team, but on the court I'm the loudest," Randall said. "I take pride in that.”

Most vocal leaders take time to grow into their voices. Often seniors who've been with their programs for years, seasoned veterans who've experienced ups and downs or the team's top scorer. 

It makes Randall's character even more impressive. He's not the cornerstone for Mizzou's program – he's not even a starter. Players like him don't come around often, and they don't grow into it either.

“He's been doing a great job,” Mizzou forward Mark Mitchell said. “I think just the natural personality he has, more of a leader... it's something you can't teach."