Mizzou utilizing tight ends to find advantage on offense
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Tigers are looking to integrate the tight end room into its offense more under new OC Chip Lindsey.
When looking at what weapons Mizzou has brought in, many eyes go to starting quarterback Austin Simmons making the move from Ole Miss in the offseason, or the new receivers coming to Columbia. Even when looking at returning weapons, people think of guys like Ahmad Hardy, Jamal Roberts, or Donovan Olugbode.
The reason for that is the past few years, head coach Eli Drinkwitz has not featured the tight end room as much as he would like, and he admits to needing to improve that area of the pass game.
"I think one of the disappointing things is that we have not consistently done with Brett [Norfleet] is utilized him further down the field," said Drinkwitz back on August 2nd at the team's first press conference.
That emphasis can be seen throughout the first few weeks of practice, with many of the teams largest weapons getting one-on-one reps with the quarterbacks in practice.
"Any one of those guys can get the ball down the field," quarterback Austin Simmons said. "Everyone can have the opportunity to get the ball down the field, and to me that just really opens everything up."
"The offense has been really fun," tight end Brett Norfleet said. "It's a really explosive offense. We're able to run the ball, we're able to stretch the field with the pass, I'm just really excited to be a part of it."
Norfleet has been the team's leading man at that position for the past three seasons, playing in nearly every game in that span. Last year, he racked in 31 catches for 254 yards, while leading the team in touchdown receptions with five.
"I mean the guy is six-foot-six and the further down the field he gets, the taller he gets in comparison to the other players," said Drinkwitz on Norfleet. "So we need to challenge ourselves to utilize the tight end as an advantage for us this year."
To help put this plan into action, the team hired Alex Atkins to coach this group of players. He spent the 2025 season at LSU as the tight ends coach in Baton Rogue, while previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Florida State, helping the team to a 13-1 record in 2023.
"I'm really happy that coach Atkins is here," said Norfleet. "He's taught us all a mindset about really trying to use our hands, he's been a great add for us."
The Tigers are hoping that these improvements and the emphasis on the tight end group will help to add another dimension to the offense in the upcoming year.
