(TIGERSDRAFT)—Here’s a sign of the times for college football.
Six Missouri Tigers were chosen in the NFL Draft for the second time in three years. That ties a record for most draftees from a single class since the league cut back to seven rounds of the draft in 1994. Six Tigers from the 2009 and 2015 teams—Gary Pinkel was the coach then—established the record. The only other time in school history this has happened under current circumstances was two years ago.
These six raise the total NFL draftees from Missouri to fifteen, the most for any three-year period since the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970.
In 1981 when the NFL went twelve rounds, seven Tigers were picked.
None of the six in this draft was a home grown Tiger. All six were NIL carpetbaggers.
The top Mizzou draftees, defensive end Zion Young and linebacker Josiah Trotter went in round two, Young to the Baltimore Ravens (45th choice) and Young to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (choice 46).
Two other guys were drafted in the third round with Green Bay taking defensive tackle Chris McClellan and the Rams taking right tackle Keagen Trost. They were choices 77 and 93, respectively.
Day three saw wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr taken in the fifth round (#177) by the Dolphins and cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., (#220) by the Buffalo Bills.
Missouri has had seven draft picks in a class before. In 1981, when the NFL Draft lasted 12 rounds, the Tigers sent seven players to the NFL as draft picks.
(RELATED)—A lot of people, Tiger fans included, were surprised that Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, didn’t get drafted. He certainly look pretty Heismanish when the Commodores played our Tigers. He’s the first Heisman runner-up to go undrafted since nobody wanted Iowa’s Brad Banks 23 years ago. He’s the first Heisman finalist since Jordan Lynch form NIU in 2014 to go undrafted. Both buys wound up playing in Canada.
(CHIEFSDRAFT)—The Kansas City Chiefs went aggressive in the NFL draft, trading places to get the people they most wanted. They haven’t had a first round pick 2017, they year they took Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs went shopping for a cornerback in the first round, trading with the Bears to move up from 9th to 6th in the first round. They snagged LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. They hope he’ll plug a hole created by the losses of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to the Rams. With their second pick in the first round, they went to Clemson DT Peter Woods.
Round two: They took Oklahoma edge rusher Mason Thomas, a choice that surprised some analysts, one of whom forecast the choice could “go down as one of the biggest surprises in recent Chiefs draft memory” because he is “an undersized, bendy defensive end,” the kind of guy defensive coordinator Steve Spagnola likes.
They had no choice in the third round but in the 109th player picked, in round four, was Oregon small cornerback Jadon Canady who also can play safety. Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson was the fifth-round pick (#161). He also catches passes. A second choice in the fifth round was WR Cyrus Allen of Cincinnati who, some analysts think, has some special teams talent.
Nothing doing in the sixth round so their final choice (#249) was LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who is considered a “developmental pick.”
“This is the first time the Chiefs have picked in the top 10 since dealing up for Patrick Mahomes in 2017, and the first time they’ve gone into a draft day with a top-10 selection since Andy Reid’s first year in Kansas City (’13), when they held the No. 1 pick,” Breer wrote. “That, to me, is why GM Brett Veach has been so active looking at both moving up and potentially moving down. This is a rare opportunity for the Chiefs that might not come along again for some time. I think if Kansas City moves down, then Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq will be on the radar.”
UDFA: Houston Cornerback Zelmar Vedder, Sand Diego State CB Bryce Phillips, Oklahoma RB Jadyn Ott, Louisville OT Pete Nygra, Iowa Safety Xavier Nwankpa, Miami LB Wesley Bissainthe, Wyoming TE John Michael Gyllenborg, Cincinnati WR Jeff Caldwell, DT Cole Brevard of Texas, CB D’Arco Perkins-McAllister from Louisiana-Monroe, Duke edge rusher Vincent Anthony Jr., LSU guard Josh Thompson, and Toledo LB Anthony Dunn. Other UDFA signings: Virginia Tech RB Terion Stewart, Iowa DL Ethan Hurkett, Michigan DT Damon Payne
The Chiefs also are going to look at several guys in their spring rookie minicamp: Temple receiver Kajiya Hollawayne, Montana CB Kenzel Lawler, Pittsburgh OL Jeff Persi, safety Desshon Singleton of Nebraska, Washington WR Omari Evans, WR Jacob DeJesus of Cal, Charlotte LB Shay Taylor, USC WR Jaden Richardson, three guys from UConn—Punter Connor Stutz, LB Donovan Branch and TE Louis Hansen—and Tennessee Tech S Tim Countras, Washington kicker Grady Gross, Rice DL Blake Boenisch, LB Colby Taylor of West Florida, K-State S Gunner Maldonado, Liberty DB Brylan Green, three guys from Pitt: CB Rashad Battle, S Javon McIntyre, TE Justin Holmes; Eastern Kentucky DB Jaheim Ward. An offensive tackle from the International Player Pathway program, Felix Lepper, has been invited to the camp.
One other UDFA—in an intriguing move, the chiefs picked up E. J. Smith, who played for Stanford and for Texas A&M. His four-year college stats are nothing to write home about: 207 total carries, 969 yards, nine TDS. He also caught passes for 470 yards and another touchdown. Sometimes it’s the pedigree more than the statistics that makes someone worth a look. E. J. Smith is the son of Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing leader.
He has a tough row to hoe if he ever gets to see much playing time. The Chiefs, remember, signed Kenneth Walker, the star of this year’s Super Bowl. They drafted Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson and picked UDFA Jadyn Ott from Oklahoma.
For most of these guys, this is just a cup of coffee in an NFL locker room. A few might make the practice squad. Most will hope for a long shot chance with another team. Look for some of these names on the UFL rosters in the next season.
Speaking of the UFL:
(BATTLEHAWKS)—The St. Louis Battlehawks, who had split their first four games of the season, went on the road to play the undefeated Orlando Storm last weekend—and dominated the Storm in the first half, storming to a 25-0 lead. The defense held Orlando to just 29 yards of offense as Orlando went just 3 of 14 on third downs. Orlando got 14 points in the third quarter and a field goal in the fourth, but St. Louis emerged with a 25=17 win.
The Battlehawks played without former Mizzou kicker Tucker McCann, who aggravated a quadriceps injury during warmups. Punter Ryan Sanborn was the fill-in. He got a couple of field goals in the first half but missed a couple of PATs.
The Battlehawks are 3-2 now although they have been outscored 112-116. Orlando and DC lead the league at 4-1. St. Louis plays Louisville Thursday to wrap up a three-game road trip. Louisville is 2-3.
(MIZZPORT)—Missouri hasn’t seen the last of T. O. Barrett. They’ll have to deal with him at least twice in the next season when they play Vanderbilt. Ant Robinson II has signed with Florida State. Jacob Crews and Sebastian Mack are still waiting for calls and Jevon Porter hasn’t heard if he’ll get a redshirt.
The portal closed on the 21st with Missouri still having three slots to fill. As of now, six players from the last season will be back: Trent Pierce, Trent Burns, point guard Aaron Rowe, forward Annor Boateng (whose season ended early with an injury), forwards Luke Norwether and Nicholas Randall
The Baseball.
(CARDINALS)—The St. Louis Cardinals spent last week sinking back toward .500 and started this week 14-13 after wasting an outstanding pitching performance from Michael McGreevey. The offense got him two runs but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead.
The crusher came from Seattle’s Rob Refsnyder, who challenged a called third strike and got it overturned—-then ripped a JoJo Romero pitch 412 feet over the fence to give Seattle the 3-2 win.
The Cardinals have not been below .500 this season.
(ROYALS)—The Kansas City Royals scored six runs in the last two innings, with Lane Thomas’ walk-off three run homer in the ninth to snatch a win away from the Angels 11-9 Sunday. The win completed a sweep of the Angels and upped their record to 11-17.
Joe Caglianone had tied the game in the ninth with a two-run shot. The Angels got a run in the to of the tenth before Thomas ended it.
Starter Seth Lugo had a rugged outing. He went 6.1 innings but gave up seven earned runs on 14 hits.
The Royals started the week having climbed into a tie with the White Sox for last place in the division. They were only one game behind the Twins in their bid to escape the cellar in a competitive division in which the leading teams are only one game above break-even—Cleveland and Detroit are only 15-14.
Movin on to Moving On Sports—
(NASCAR)—-What to talk about after the first race of the year at Talladega? The “big one” that involved 26 of the forty cars in the field? The continued criticism of this generation of race cars? Carson Hocevar’s first Cup win? His victory celebration?
The wreck was not the biggest of the big. The record is 28 cars that got tangled up in October of 2024.
Carson Hocevar’s first Cup win is memorable not only because he survived racing at Talladega and the way he held competitors at bay for several closing laps, but especially for his unique way of celebrating. Hocevar, one of the tallest drivers in NASCAR at 6’4” tall, figured out how to work his clutch and throttle while sitting outside of his window, waving at fans. Some folks worried he was endangering himself but NASCAR apparently liked it.
Hocevar has a ton of charisma, is a 23-year old Michigander who was the rookie of the year in the Cup series in 2024. He’s been racing since he was twelve.
He got through the big wreck without damage to his car, drove into contention in the third phase of the race, dueled with Chris Buescher, for the last 37 laps.
Hocevar took the lead from Buescher on lap 151 of the 188 lap race. Buescher took it back on 156 but gave it up to Hocevar for laps 1570169 before surging back into the lead for 151=165. Hocevar held it for 166. Buescher was in front 167-172 before Hocevar led two and Buescher took the led for lap 175. Hovercar led two, Buescher one before Hocevar led two more. Buescher was in control for four laps before Hocevar pulled ahead for two laps. Buescher got his last lead on 187 but Hocevar got him at the end and won by .112 seconds.
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(MODRIVERS)—-Missouri drivers in NASCAR have been hard to find in the last few years, but two drivers we’ve followed are going to be putting on the helmets and strapping into cockpits this summer.
Joplin native Jamie McMurray and sometime Missourian Clint Brawner (who hails from Emporia, Kansas—just across the border from Missouri–has had a place at the Lake of the Ozarks, thus earning him consideration as an adoptive Missourian) will each drive a truck race for Kaulig Racing this summer
Kaulig is bringing Dodge back to the sport under the Ram pickup truck label. Bowyer will drive the truck at Dover on May 15. McMurray will be in the truck at the inaugural road race at the San Diego naval base June 19.
Both Bowyer and McMurray at part of the FOX sports broadcast crew that covers Cup races. Bowyer won ten Cup races in his career and likes the short tracks. Dover, he says, is “a beast—concrete, tight and unforgiving.” McMurray has seven Cup victories including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same year, 2010. He has road racing experience, co-driving the winning car in the 2025 Daytona 24-hours.
(INDYCAR)—The Indianapolis 500 is guaranteed to have the traditional 33 starters this year with an entry from A.J. Foyt’s team to be driven by Katheirne Legge who will make her fifth start in the race.
Legge brings back her sponsorship by a cosmetics company and has new support from General Motors, one of the two engine suppliers for the series. Legge’s best start in the 500 is from 29th. Her best finish is 22nd.She’s the tenth woman to compete in the race and holds the one-and-four lap qualifying records for a woman driver, more than 231 mph.
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IndyCar runs on the Indianapolis Speedway road course next weekend then begins the buildup for the 500.