Missorui State football takeaways from 2023 media day

May 30, 2023

College football is getting closer as Missouri State held its annual football media day on Saturday morning at Great Southern Bank Arena.

Ryan Beard sat in the head coach's chair for the first time as he expressed excitement in his team less than a month before it will take the field at FBS Kansas. The coach expressed optimism in different units on the team that have been looked at as weak spots in recent years. Any improvement could help the Bears overachieve when they've been picked to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference heading into the year.

Here were our five biggest takeaways from the morning along with what we think the depth chart looks like right now.

A complete overhaul of the Bears' offensive line appears to be in the works heading into the season. Missouri State appears to be on track to replace the entirety of the unit from a year ago — which not a lot of people will complain about when it's been the team's weakest unit under this coaching staff.

From the sound of it, Missouri State's coaching staff hasn't been this high on an offensive line since it's been here. There is a jump in size with coaches often mentioning their bump in physicality. Offensive coordinator Nick Petrino said the Bears are going to have cleaner pockets and this might be a unit that can push opposing defensive lines off the ball.

"We should be able to move people," Petrino said. "We're going to be a lot more athletic and they will be a lot tougher up front. We should be able to get guys on the edge and be able to pull our guards and tackles. They can run really well and they're athletic to where we can get the ball out on the edge and use our speed at running back."

Petrino said the biggest difference will be the size of the guards when the Bears had leaned toward smaller players at the position in years past. The interior line will likely see Mark Hutchinson start at one of the guard spots as a 6-foot-2, 298-pound sophomore. After entering the transfer portal and announcing he'd return, starting center Ryan Suliafu decided to depart the team. His position will likely be filled by Tulane transfer Hutson Lillibridge, a 6-foot-3, 318-pound sophomore.

The other guard position is currently unfilled with Petrino saying a tackle might make the move inside because of the depth on the outside. A likely candidate appears to be SMU transfer Danielson Ike who stands at 6-foot-6, 325 pounds and saw some action on the inside when he was with the Mustangs.

Petrino said redshirt-freshman Cristian Loaiza has established himself as "the top guy" on the group and that he's trending toward a starting tackle spot at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds. Ole Miss transfer Erick Cade is a 6-foot-7, 345-pounder who is expected to start on the other side.

"We've had smaller guys at guard for the last two years and they were able to get pushed back into the pocket," Petrino said. "We should have a lot more time to throw the ball. For the last few years, what's been tough is that we've been scared to call play-action because those plays take longer to develop. With this o-line, we should be able to take advantage of the entire playbook."

Missouri State went from school-record pass rush numbers in 2021 with 30 sacks in the fall season to just 18 a year ago. A number of factors played into the dip including Eric Johnson being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and the early-season injury to Anthony Payne.

The Bears went into this offseason determined to not let one injury derail their defensive push again.

Missouri State has the majority of its defensive line back and it's added a few more who are expected to make an immediate impact. Defensive coordinator L.D. Scott noted a point of emphasis this offseason was to use a few more scholarships on the defensive line to be sure it has enough depth for the year ahead.

Charlotte transfer Darion Smith has been the headliner of the group as a 6-foot-4, 260-pound edge rusher. He's added to the likes of Devin Goree and Jalen Williams who were banged up a bit last season. Coaches have also said that former Reeds Spring star Caden Wiest is someone who is climbing the ranks and could get some looks in the rotation this season.

Adding depth to the interior might have been what the Bears attacked the most. Armon Wallace and Allen Love return and the Bears expect a bump in Sterling Smithson's production. Freshman Tim Brantley Jr. out of Allen High in Texas is someone the Bears think is a steal along with Trinity High (Louisville) prospect Mitchell Toney.

"Winning football is pressuring the quarterback — that's my belief," Beard said. "It's either pressure or the illusion of pressure. Those guys have been fighting all offseason for the right to get on the field versus Kansas. We've done a good job on both of our fronts in recruiting and they've shown us that they've tried to make us right."

Beard is still playing it close to the chest with who his starting quarterback will be against Kansas while saying Jacob Clark, Jordan Pachot and Chase Brewster are all in the running. Petrino said Clark, who has been the expected starter for the entirety of the offseason, has been the one running mostly with the ones.

"Jacob Clark has done a really good job so far," Petrino said. "He's a really smart, bright kid. You tell him something, he gets it and understands it."

Clark is a 6-foot-5, 226-pound redshirt sophomore who transferred to Missouri State from Minnesota and backed up Jason Shelley last season. He's a pro-style quarterback who Petrino said is a willing runner and has good speed when running in a straight line.

Pachot saw some time in the Bears' win over Western Illinois last season in which he showed off good athleticism and a big arm. He's been in the mix after being the third-stringer following a transfer from Ventura College (juco) in California.

We haven't seen Brewster yet but he's an offseason addition as a redshirt freshman transfer from UMass. He redshirted and didn't play in a 1-11 season with the Minutemen. Former Glendale quarterback Cole Feuerbacher has been mentioned as one who has a bright future as he learns the Bears' offense this year in a much different system than the one he played for in Mike Mauk's system with the Falcons.

One thing Petrino said, no matter who the quarterback is, is that the offense will look similar to the one that has been run since this staff came to Springfield under Bobby Petrino. The biggest difference will be how Nick Petrino builds the offense around the strength of whoever the starting quarterback turns out to be.

Shelley, who started for the Bears over the last two seasons, was special in his ability to use his legs and avoid pressure. The quarterbacks the Bears are rolling with this year play more of a pro style as dropback passers.

"It'll be a little different," Petrino said. "There won't be as much quarterback-read stuff but that's why we have great running backs, tight ends and a great line. There might not be as much of the things we did with Jason but there will still be aspects of it in our offense."

It sounds like the Bears are headed toward establishing the ground game more than they have in recent years. They believe they have a premier running back in Jacardia Wright, a few new weapons to complement him and an offensive line that can help make it happen.

"We're gonna run to win," Beard said. "You have to run the football in this league. You go against great defenses, great schemes and big bodies. If we can establish a run game and really invest in our offensive line and knock people off the ball and create a sense of a 'tough man's mentality,' that's going to really open up the pass."

Wright is coming off his first season with the Bears after transferring from Kansas State. He's a 6-foot, 220-pounder who is a Preseason Missouri Valley Football Conference second-teamer after averaging 71.1 yards per game last season with six rushing touchdowns.

"He's a complete, all-around running back," Petrino said. "He can do it all. he's big, fast, physical and can catch the ball out of the backfield. I'm expecting him to have a great year."

Other backs in the mix are veteran Celdon Manning along with newcomers Jakairi Moses (Western Kentucky transfer) and Jayden Becks (Waxahachie High, Texas). The latter two are more speedy running backs who will see the field often.

Cole Feuerbacher, QB, Glendale — "I'm excited about his future. He's got a big arm and he's got some savvy to him and sometimes young guys come in and haven't found themselves yet as people. He stands tall, he doesn't shy away from getting in the huddle and getting the guys going a little bit and that's really good to see." — Beard

Cooper Roy, LB, Glendale — "His future is bright at outside linebacker. His role will be to affect the quarterback and we'll get him out there in a variety of different ways to rush the passer because that's what he's great at. He was our best pass rusher in the spring and we'll continue to grow off of that. He's a very young player and he's still got five years and he's still got his redshirt. We'll grow him slowly and we don't want to overload him. We want him to just go do what he's always done best and that's to affect the quarterback." — Scott

Caden Wiest, DL, Reeds Spring — "He really showed up in camp and has shown the ability to really have some juice." — Beard

Connor Lair, RB, West Plains — "He played linebacker when he first came here and then we moved him to running back in the spring. He's going to be a guy we can do multiple things with. We can use him at running back and do some things with him at fullback. He's an athletic kid." — Petrino

This unofficial depth chart was created by the News-Leader based on what coaches said and hinted at during the university's in-house media day, previous conversations and what the Bears brought in this offseason. This depth chart will likely change before opening night.

Offense

Defense

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at [email protected] or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.