Mizzou linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez talks about his evolving role as a leader, along with evaluating his teammates in the room.
COLUMBIA — Mizzou’s linebacker room will feature a new trio at the top of its depth chart in 2026. Josiah Trotter, who led the team with 84 tackles, is headed to the NFL. So Khalil Jacobs, who was second in the group in total snaps. Starter Triston Newson also exhausted his final season of eligibility and will no longer be with the team.
The trio of departures leaves returning linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez at the top of the room. He’s ready for the role — head coach Eli Drinkwitz named him the lone spring captain of the defense.
“It's been a blessing,” Rodriguez said. “Just being in that position, to guide the younger guys that have been here, and just to be able to go out there and show the standard and show them what it is to be a Missouri Tiger.”
Part of why Rodriguez is ready for an increased role is because he’s holding what his predecessors taught him close to his chest and at the forefront of his mind.
“(Trotter) came in here, he was real physical,” Rodriguez said. “Khalil was real fast. Triston has been here, so Triston really had everything.”
Some of the younger guys Rodriguez shouted out include Jason King, JJ Bush, Brian Huff and Dante McClellan.
“One of our rules, like we always compete, so don't matter who's in the room,” Rodriguez said. “The young guys that's came in, the other guys that's been here, that's maybe their second, third year, like Dante, JJ just came in, King, Huff… we're just always competing, like we're going against each other, we're going, we're chasing the ghost, and at the end of day, we're just making each other better.”
McClellan showed flashes of stardom in his freshman campaign with the Tigers, most memorably a 99-yard pick-six in Week 1 against Central Arkansas.
Internal improvement will be crucial for the Tigers, given they only picked up one inside linebacker transfer in the portal and lack upperclassmen in the room.
But one member of the room that Rodriguez won’t have to show the ropes is Auburn transfer Robert Woodyard Jr., who’s entering his fifth season at the collegiate level. His fourth and most recent season was by far his best, as Woodyard broke out for 67 tackles and two sacks in 2025.
“He has a lot of experience,” Rodriguez said. “He's been playing ball for, you know, a couple years. He brings some intellectual mind into the linebackers. I like the way he thinks, he's really instinctive.”
Woodyard will almost certainly start alongside Rodriguez in the room, given he has more experience than any returner or newcomer. He, Rodriguez and the rest of the returners will look to pioneer a unit that has consistently produced NFL talent under Drinkwitz.