Mizzou’s new offensive coordinator looks to find playmakers in spring camp
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
There's a new play-caller in Columbia.
Mizzou offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey is in the midst of getting his first spring camp under his belt in Columbia, as the former Michigan OC is laying down the foundation of his offense over the next few weeks.
Of course, spring camp doesn't come with a full install of the offense that the Tigers will run come the fall, but it's an important time for Lindsey to get to know his players.
"I was able to get here or on board, kind of, in December and start learning the team and for a few bowl practices. That was good to get to know some, but really, you know, Coach [Drinkwitz] does a great job of really forcing the issue from the standpoint of getting to know everybody in the program," Lindsey said. "That's all the way down, players, coaches, equipment people, everybody. You know, it's been fun. It's been fun to get to know them personally, not just on the field. I think that's an important part. You know, guys really don't care what you know till they know you care about them, that old saying. So, just trying to build relationships and I think that's kind of the most important thing. That's what we'll do all spring."
You can watch the full press conference with Lindsey in the video player below.
Another important part of Coach Lindsey's spring will be identifying his playmakers. There will be plenty to choose from, as Mizzou returned running backs Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts, along with wide receivers Donovan Olugbode and Shaun Terry II in the offseason. However, head coach Eli Drinkwitz also brought in some fresh talent in former Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee, former Florida receiver, Naeshaun Montgomery, Cincinnati wide receiver transfer Caleb Goodie and Minnesota wide receiver transfer Kenric Lanier II.
Lindsey said, at this point in spring, it's way too early to know who the playmakers of his offense are, but stressed that having an ability to make contested catches will be a requirement.
"In this league you're going to have to do [make contested catches]. We understand that and so these guys are gonna get a lot of opportunities this spring. That was as an emphasis of us just really trying to throw the ball down the field and see who can go make plays, you know," Lindsey said.
Hearing that the Tigers want to throw the ball down the field more will be music to not only the fan base's ears, but also Coach Drinkwitz. After the 2025 season wrapped up, the leader of Mizzou football said he wanted to attack the field vertically more next season.
MU's new offensive coordinator said he didn't look at what the team did last year in the vertical passing game, but knows it will be a priority in 2026.
"I want a mindset that we're going to take our opportunities down the field and really make an emphasis of, hey, we're going to attack the field vertically. You know, to do that you got to have guys that can do it, whether it's the receivers or whether it's the protection or even the quarterback," Lindsey said. "I just think for us, again like I mentioned, as a spring identify who can do it and what's the best way to go about it. Then, you know, you play against a good defense every day, it's not always be the the easy to do. But, that'll be something we'll take a lot of time this spring trying to figure out."
Olugbode, a rising sophomore, was a guy that showed his play-making abilities in his true freshman season. The receiver saw action in all 13 games in 2025, hauling in 30 receptions for 401 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He became just the eighth freshman in program history to go for at least 400 years in his debut season.
The wide receiver corps was a group that saw a whole lot of turnover, following the 2025 season. The Tigers graduated starter Kevin Coleman Jr. and then lost another pair of starters, Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning, to the transfer portal. Despite those changes, Olugbode said the transition has been good and so is the energy in the room.
"A bunch of new faces in the receiver room. It's good to get new guys in and see what they can do and how they can help us," he said.
You can watch the full press conference with Olugbode in the video player below.
Olugbode added that working with his new offensive coordinator has been a very positive experience, as Coach Lindsey has brought a new 'juice' to the offense.
Whenever a program brings in a new play-caller, there are going to be some changes, yes. However, Lindsey said his approach to offense is actually very similar to Coach Drinkwitz's. He said over the next few months it'll be a combination of blending the old and new, as the Lindsey offense gets installed.
"Whether you call something red or something blue, it doesn't really matter. It's the same concept.Then again, in this day and age when you have a lot of new players with a portal and so forth, high school guys coming in early, there is an element of reteaching it all the time," Lindsey said. "You always want to stay fresh, you know, change maybe what you call or how you identify certain things, but, you know, I think the biggest thing for us, no matter if we have run these concepts or plays here before or not, is find out who our playmakers are and figure out what we do the best and just try to keep doing that over and over."
When asked about Coach Lindsey's offense, veteran offensive lineman Cayden Green said it was 'o-lineman friendly.' He didn't go into specifics on what that meant, but it's clear he's liking what he's seeing so far.
Of course, hanging onto Green was massive for the MU offense, as he had an opportunity to take his shot at the NFL Draft.
"I love this place. This place has been good to me, it's been good in my family. You know, I couldn't I couldn't pass up an opportunity to come back and, you know, develop another year under [coach Ryan Russell] and Coach Chip now," he said.
You can watch the full press conference with Green in the video player below.
Green was a big part of the reason why Mizzou had such a successful run game in 2025. The other reason was a couple of guys named Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts.
Hardy was a show-stopper in his first season in Columbia, ending the year as a Doak Walker Award finalist and consensus All-American. In one season, he tallied 256 carries for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns to set the program's single-season record.
Coach Lindsey said with all the talent this team has at the running back position, he's comfortable with leaning on the run. In fact, he's done it at the last few places he's coached at.
"I think it goes back to identifying your best players. You know, who are the five guys that we have to get the ball to and, you know, obviously our running backs are probably going to be in that mix," he said. "Then, it's what's the most creative ways we give them the ball over and over and over. They had a lot of success running the football here last year and, you know, our goal is we want to be able to do that no matter what. If you can run the ball, then you can get the opportunities down the field."
Mizzou will continue laying the foundation of its new offense over the course of spring camp, as the Tigers will have another practice on Wednesday morning.
