Evaluating Missouri's 2026 transfer portal class so far: Mizzou is struggling, but the offseason isn't over yet, and it's not time to panic.
The college football transfer portal opened Jan. 2. The deadline for players to enter the portal is Jan. 16 — excluding national championship participants — but players already entered on that day or before can commit to schools in the months following.
Come the end of Friday, the number of players available in the portal will begin to dwindle at a faster rate than any other point of the portal saga.
Missouri, while playing an active role in the portal quantity-wise, has fallen short on paper. The Tigers rank No. 12 in the Southeastern Conference transfer portal rankings with two of the four teams behind them being loaded on internal talent that guided the team to the CFP in 2025. Missouri finished eighth in SEC standings in 2025. The middle-of-the-road team is being passed in external improvement by programs both above and below it — the Tigers are poising themselves for regression.
Missouri lost roughly 20 starters — depending on what you consider part-time starters like Triston Newson, Marquis Johnson and Jalen Catalon — this offseason, due to the transfer portal, the NFL Draft and eligibility. Rebuilding the top-end production was always going to be a challenge.
Missouri isn't quite adding the external pieces needed to replace the starting production lost. Six of its 17 portal commitments started five or more games last season at the FBS level — the Tigers are currently heavily relying on big leaps from players who haven't played a high-usage role to replace previous veterans.
This isn't the standard for Missouri, though. The roughly 20 departing starters in the 2026 offseason laps the quantity of starters the Tigers lost the offseason before. Even so, Missouri brought in 11 players that were either rated a four-star or higher, or had started five or more games the season prior. Only five players in Missouri's 2026 class fit that bill, one of which is projected backup quarterback Nick Evers.
In short: Missouri had a worse 2025 season than its 2024 season, and is currently having a worse 2026 transfer portal class than its 2025 class. This is not a surefire recipe for success.
Maybe Austin Simmons is a stud and saves the offense, or maybe the young defensive players who have played minimal roles immediately step into starting jobs and maintain the Tigers' elite defensive production in 2025. But that is a lot to ask, especially in the SEC.
The sky above Columbia is not full of sunshine, but it's not storming either — there are still a few glares of sunlight shining down.
Excluding quarterbacks, running backs and former Tiger Damon Wilson II, there are still 10 four-star transfers available. There are also loads of former four-star prospects and experienced starters still searching for a new home in the portal — the offseason is far from over, and Missouri is still pursuing targets.
The Tigers are not on pace for a stellar offseason, and there are rightful worries to be had regarding the external improvement: They don't appear to roster a lockdown corner who can matchup with the likes of Cam Coleman and Isaiah Sategna III, or a monster edge rusher who can consistently beat the larger-than-life tackles residing in the conference.
But the offseason is far from over, and only Missouri knows what's going on behind the scenes as far as internal development goes.
It is not time to hit the panic button yet, but the hand is slowly creeping closer toward it.