
Mizzou locked up their linebacker corps with the addition of Josiah Trotter from the transfer portal.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been riding the Missouri Football transfer portal news roller coaster for over a week now. Monday got the week off to a rough start for Eli Drinkwitz’s program, but things picked up in the evening as the staff reeled in a trio of transfers. The crown jewel of the day was Josiah Trotter, an NFL bloodline linebacker from West Virginia University.
Trotter was a force last season for the Mountaineers, earning the title of Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and starting every game at middle linebacker. He accumulated 93 tackles, one interception, half a sack, 2 PBU’s, and 4 TFL’s in his first season on the field. It was a heck of a first season on campus to live up to his father and brother’s marvelous gridiron careers, and he will take the next steps as a Missouri Tiger.
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Where He Fits: Mizzou in recent memory has shown a preference for two archetypal linebackers. One big thumper in the middle to play the run, and one “movable chess piece”* type, the sideline-to-sideline player to create havoc. Chad Bailey, Chuck Hicks in the former role, Ty’Ron Hopper, Triston Newson as the latter.
*that phrase is a pet peeve of mine. All chess pieces are moveable.
This year’s pair of linebacking transfers indicates perhaps a more flexible pairing next season. While Trotter is a prototypical MIKE, the Mountaineers were more than happy to let him rush the passer. Mikai Gbayor, the other backer in this class, played both MIKE and WILL for Nebraska.
You already saw this season that Corey Batoon was more likely to play different combos of linebackers than the more rigid Blake Baker, especially down the stretch. This pair, along with the blossoming Nick Rodriguez and the return of havoc-machine Khalil Jacobs, gives Batoon a chance to expirement with different permutations of play styles, disguising his blitz and coverage looks.
When He’ll Play: Trotter will arrive on campus and immediately be the starting middle linebacker. Sure, coaches make overtures about earning your spots, and he will need to do so. He will. Mizzou has a lot of snaps to replace at linebacker — Trotter will take a lot of them.
What It All Means: Drinkwitz and Batoon wasted no time grabbing his starting linebackers. Trotter and Gbayor could start together as soon as next season in Columbia. The fact that they arrived together on the same day, and are both highly-prized portal targets, left Mizzou fans feeling happy after the portal exits of some promising prospects.
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