Missouri's offensive line is critical to its success. Run-blocking needs to create holes for elite running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts to be maximized, and the pass protection needs to hold long enough for transfer quarterback Austin Simmons to utilize his downfield passing. 

Missouri lost two trench starters over the course of the offseason in Connor Tollison and Keagen Trost. Backups Jayven Richardson, Johnny Williams IV, Keiton Jones, Henry Fenuku, Brandon Solis and Jaylen Early also departed via the portal. 

But just six days into the 2026 transfer portal opening, the Tigers have added two linemen with previous Power Four starting experience to the team. 

Missouri first earned the commitment of former Mississippi State offensive lineman Luke Work Wednesday evening, who has experience starting at both tackle spots and playing snaps at both guard spots. The versatile sophomore was a three-star prospect in the 2024 class comes to Missouri with two seasons of eligibility remaining. 

Work could be used as a utility player, given his experience all around the line. His prior experience as a starter will likely put him in position to compete for a starting job which, while unknown which specific position, could well be his. 

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound lineman brings the hard-to-find combination of size, experience and youth. 

Missouri then added former Arizona State tackle Josh Atkins Thursday afternoon. The redshirt senior is rated as a three-star transfer and a three-star prospect and has played at left tackle for his entire five-season career between Arizona State, Hawai'i and Houston. Although Atkins didn't play a snap at Houston, that's where he connected with now-Missouri offensive line coach, Brandon Jones. 

Atkins' addition is in an eerily similar vein to Trost's in the 2025 cycle, who turned into an AP All-American with the Tigers after a middling-six season career beforehand. 

Atkins: Five seasons of experience, 6-foot-4, 310 pounds, 73.8 pass-blocking grade, three sacks, five penalties, 12 pressures in 439 pass-blocking snaps, 59.2 run-blocking grade in 2025. 

Trost: Six seasons of experience, 6-foot-4, 316 pounds, 71.4 pass-blocking grade, two sacks, 19 pressures, four penalties in 432 pass-blocking snaps, 69.9 run-blocking grade in 2024. 

Neither Atkins or Trost were perfect players before committing to Missouri, but Jones and the rest of the staff helped Trost to a late-career breakout, and could do the same for Atkins. 

Atkins has exclusively played at left tackle, but has also never blocked for a left-handed quarterback at the collegiate level — he's been the blindside at each stop. Simmons, Missouri's new quarterback, is left-handed. This would mean Atkins' will have to adapt from his traditional play no matter what, either by switching to the right side as the blindside or sticking at left tackle instead. 

Atkins' addition is a bit clunky, given Missouri's main missing piece was its right tackle, and he is far from a surefire solution to the position. 

Work, as previously mentioned, has experience at all four non-center positions, but his strong-suit is on the outside. He played 53 snaps in 2025 blocking as the blindside right tackle for left-handed Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen, all of which came against Texas A&M in Week 6. He allowed one sack and four pressures with a 60.9 pass-blocking grade, his second-lowest mark of the season. 

Work has experience as a blindside right tackle, but it hasn't been pretty. Experimenting between the two during spring and fall camp is a likely scenario. 

A wildcard option would be to switch Green's position once again, and switch him to the right tackle spot — remaining a blindside blocker, but flipping sides of the line. 

Here's a few possibilities for Missouri's new-look starting line group, two scenarios where only one of Atkins and Work start, and two where both start. 

LT: Cayden Green
LG: Dominick Guidice / Tristan Wilson
C: Tristan Wilson / Dominick Guidice
RG: Curtis Peagler 
RT: Luke Work / Josh Atkins

LT: Josh Atkins / Luke Work
LG: Dominick Guidice / Tristan Wilson
C: Tristan Wilson /  Dominick Guidice
RG: Curtis Peagler
RT: Cayden Green

LT: Josh Atkins / Luke Work
LG: Cayden Green
C: Dominick Guidice
RG: Curtis Peagler
RT: Luke Work / Josh Atkins

LT: Josh Atkins / Cayden Green
LG: Luke Work
C: Dominick Guidice 
RG: Curtis Peagler
RT: Josh Atkins / Cayden Green

Missouri's starting offensive line — barring star addition — will heavily rely on the unseen versatility between Green, Atkins and Work. For each to start, at least two would have to try a position in which they've never regularly played in a setting like they will in Missouri, be it blindside tackle, visible tackle or on the interior. 

Missouri's offensive line may not be complete, but both Work and Atkins help to rebuild what has been torn down in the early stages of the offseason.