Marcus Bryant towers over most of his teammates. He’s listed at 6-foot-8 and 318 pounds, and you won’t find many people who would dispute a single inch or ounce of that.

So, when a pair of Missouri football's walk-on edge rushers are tasked with testing the left tackle’s get up and go from the snap Monday during a dripping wet practice on Faurot Field?

Yeah, not a fair fight.

Then again, who is going to win that one-on-one battle?

“Not a lot (can),” Bryant said last Friday. “You know, like, I had a hard time just like sitting down on (the bullrush), but just running straight through me, I don’t think it's gonna work.”

Bryant arrives at Missouri with a very clear mission, which is to fill the gap — the final “puzzle piece,” as he put it — at left tackle. Mizzou lost third-team AP All-American Javon Foster as a fifth-round NFL Draft pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in April, and with him a vital cog in the Tigers’ run to an 11-2 year and Cotton Bowl victory.

Prior to Bryant’s arrival, Mizzou did some offseason reshuffling as Cam’Ron Johnson moved from right to left guard in spring. They also did some efficient winter transfer portal work, luring versatile freshman Cayden Green to come, at least for a moment, play left tackle.

But when Bryant, the first-team All-AAC selection with Southern Methodist last year, put his name in the portal in the spring, opportunity arose.

One the Tigers weren’t planning on missing.

“I wanted to be in a program — it was kind of like a puzzle piece,” Bryant said. “You know, somewhere that really needed me; not really in a rebuild type of deal. So, that's when Mizzou hit me up, and I came down here and we visited, and they (were) emphasizing on how I'm the (final) puzzle piece to the puzzle.”

More: Here is where Missouri football is ranked in preseason Top 25 poll

Bryant, a summer arrival after committing April 24, started his first camp in Columbia in a competition with Hutchinson CC transfer Jayven Richardson at left tackle. For all intents and purposes, that looked competitive for the first batch of preseason practices.

But shortly after that after the Tigers’ second scrimmage of camp last Saturday, there was a clear frontrunner in the eyes of Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

More: Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz updates key fall camp battles after closed scrimmage

“Since (Aug. 3), I think Marcus has taken all the reps with the (first team) at the left tackle position, and that position is really starting to gel,” Drinkwitz said. “You know, that doesn't mean the competition is over by any means — we'd like to see some game reps with different guys — but that five right now is building some continuity and some chemistry.”

Here is the remainder of said starting five:

Armand Membou will be Missouri’s starting right tackle. Cam’Ron Johnson is back at right guard, where he was a consistent presence in his first year as a Tiger in 2023. Connor Tollison, who recently was named to the Dave Rimington Trophy preseason watch list for the top center in college football, is snapping to quarterback Brady Cook. Green is working at left guard.

Now, Mizzou is getting its big new addition acclimated.

Foster was a reliable big man blocking Cook’s blindside. He developed into an outside-zone aficionado, helping Cody Schrader rack up the Tigers’ single-season rushing record in their respective final seasons in Columbia.

That becomes Bryant’s task.

On Monday, as the skies opened up on Mizzou’s 12th practice of fall camp, the new tackle worked alongside Green and Tollison on a drill that was little more than fundamentals. React to the snap; get the hands up on the oncoming walk-on playing edge rusher; make sure left tackle, guard and center are in sync. The bread and butter of preseason camp.

There has been plenty about life in camp getting Bryant accustomed to his new home in the SEC — defenders giving Bryant a run for his money.

One is Darris Smith, the Georgia transfer defensive end who Bryant said comes out and immediately tries to “lay you out.” Another is Johnny Walker Jr., the returning Cotton Bowl defensive MVP, who Bryant said tries to bullrush a lot, as well.

Everything was faster. Each day required a new adjustment, he said.

After not playing for much of spring and getting used to the new level of competition and the speed of his new steps, he said he’s been able “tune in to my detail,” the ones that landed him a Power-conference transfer in the first place.

More: Why linebacker Corey Flagg stuck with Missouri football commitment through DC change

More: Here's why cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. chose to ‘come home' to play for Missouri football

If the starting left tackle role sticks, Bryant has a big job ahead of him.

But remember … he’s a big dude.

“I just want to be the best left tackle in the country,” Bryant said. “That's what I wanted to do, and really display it on a bigger level, so that's why I felt like this was the right (place) for me.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Meet Marcus Bryant, the likely next left tackle for Missouri football