Mizzou football reaches midway point of spring camp

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Seven spring camp practices down, just six to go for Mizzou football.

On Tuesday morning, the Tigers put the seventh practice of camp into the books, as they continue to blend the old and the new, in Columbia. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz brought on a lot of new faces on both the roster and the coaching staff. So, spring ball has been all about building chemistry and setting standards.

Special teams coordinator John Papuchis is one of those new faces, as Coach Eli brought him on in Jan. to replace former special teams coordinator Erik Link. After spending the last six seasons at Florida State, Papuchis is bringing some new energy into the special teams unit.

"One thing with Coach Drink is special teams is of importance already, right? So, that part is already kind of laid in that initial foundation. But, just bringing my perspective to not only the development of the individual player from what he can do from a special team standpoint, but it's my belief that if you are really good at what you do from a drill work, especially in space, that makes you a better player on offense and defense," Papuchis said. "Just getting those guys to buy into the fundamentals and understanding some of the conceptual things that we're trying to bring is really the initial step. Then, just having that mindset of being a game-changer. You know, we get one play to go out there and execute and that's kind of one of our mantras is one play and out mentality. When we go out on the field, no matter which unit's on, we want to be able to impact games."

You can watch the full press conference with Papuchis in the video player below.

Papuchis added that having a good special teams unit isn't just good for Mizzou, but also for the player, as an individual. As guys up and down the roster hope for chances in the NFL, he said if you're not a first or second round pick, odds are you're probably going to have to play on special teams. That's why taking your roles seriously at the college level can help lift you to the next one.

As players compete for roles on special teams, there is one that is locked down: kicker.

Redshirt junior Blake Craig is back in practice, after tearing his ACL in the first game of the 2025 season. He said he's never been a player that's had many injuries in his career, but he learned a lot in his time on the sideline.

"It was a bad situation, obviously, no one's not accounting for that, but, honestly, I've learned so much about myself and I learned that through adversity. Like, you just grow and mentality-wise [I'm] stronger than ever. I feel stronger than ever, body-wise and everything like that. So, you know, I'm excited to get back out there," he said. "I think like just growing up maturing a little bit from it because you know, as you know, something like that happens to you, it's automatically you switch into a different mode, right? You're like, okay, how can I get back from this, better than ever, right? So that was my instant thought. You know, I don't think I wasted a second of, like, feeling sorry for myself or anything like that. You know, it was instantly like I gave myself that day, you know, that night. But [our trainer] was just like okay, let's go, let's move forward and so that that helped me a ton."

You can watch the full press conference with Craig in the video player below.

Craig said he feels back to the level that he was ahead of the 2025 season and only wants to improve upon that in this spring camp.

In the offseason, Coach Drinkwitz brought on former Florida State kicker and punter Brunno Reus, who adds a little bit of competition in who will handle kickoffs in 2026. Of course, prior to his injury, Craig handled both kickoffs and field goals for the Tigers and it sounds like that's not out of the question for 2026, at least yet.

"Obviously, we have Bruno, he's a very good specialist, overall. I mean, a combo guy and everything. So, obviously, the kickoff job is a competitive, competitive world. So, I'm ready to compete for that, though. I believe that I can do it, like I'm not going to shy away from that," Craig said.

In the return game, Coach Papuchis has been rotating through quite a few new and old faces. On Tuesday, wide receivers Naeshaun Montgomery, Donovan Olugbode, DaMarion Fowlkes and Shaun Terry II were all fielding returns in practice.

Papuchis said that is going to be a competitive role.

"We have kind of a whole group of guys getting work, but they've all done a really good job, so I'm excited about that group. I think, you know, whoever it ends up being is going to be a weapon for us and have a chance to be a game changer," he said.

Amidst the sea of new faces, there are some old faithfuls mixed into Mizzou spring camp practices, including tight end Brett Norfleet, who - like Craig - is recovering from an injury.

The St. Louis native sustained a shoulder injury in Nov. of 2025 and played injured for the rest of the season. Ahead of Gator Bowl, Norfleet had surgery to clean that injury up. However, that didn't come without adversity, as that procedure marked the senior's third surgery in his time as a Tiger.

"It's been hard, just because I went through it again and then I have to do it all over again. But, you know, I'm kind of seeing it as a blessing, just because it's hard doesn't mean I can't do it," Norfleet said. "This is my third [surgery] and it's it's it's been rough. You know, you go through half the year playing hurt and then you have surgery at the end of the year. You do it once and it's fine because you don't know what to expect. But, then you have surgery again and you know what to expect. You just got done with doing it and then you got to do it all over again. So, it's been a challenge, but, I wouldn't want it any other way."

You can watch the full press conference with Norfleet in the video player below.

Norfleet is working in spring camp with a no-contact jersey on, as he still rehabs from that surgery. Despite not being able to be in the action, he said he's going to take on more of a leadership role this season. It's been difficult to do from the sideline, but it's a goal he's set.

Running back Jamal Roberts will, undoubtedly, be a leader on this Tiger team, as well.

After the 2025 season wrapped up, Coach Drinkwitz made it clear how important it was to keep the redshirt junior in Columbia. But, from the sounds of it, it doesn't seem like Roberts ever even thought about leaving.

"I started a legacy here, I built my foundation here and I just want to finish it up," he said. "I already had my decision made. I didn't want to go anywhere. I want to stay home, you know, just trying to stay motivated, you know, after the season, after loss...Get back here and get back to the grind."

You can watch the full press conference with Roberts in the video player below.

Roberts is one half of MU's one-two punch in the backfield, as Mizzou also returned All-American running back Ahmad Hardy for the 2026 campaign. In addition to those guys, former Houston Christian running back Xai'Shaun Edwards and freshman Max Warner, among others, joined the running back room this offseason. Roberts is excited to see his unit stacking days in spring ball.

He's also working with a new offensive coordinator in Chip Lindsey, who is bringing in new ideas to the Tiger offense. He put an emphasis on finding his playmakers in spring ball and Roberts is likely to be one of them.

"Just guys that are going to step up and lead, pretty much. Like, not just an overall playmaker, but guys that go step up and just lead in adversity moments and rough moments," Roberts said, when asked what being a playmaker means to him.

Next up - Mizzou will continue with the final six practices of spring camp.