Missouri football is gearing up for spring practice, which for many signals the beginning of the football calendar. And while there’s plenty of excitement around the Tigers thanks to a year-end No. 8 ranking in the AP poll and a Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State, there are still five key questions Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz must answer in spring practice.

What kind of defense will Missouri football run in 2024?

Missouri ran a 4-2-5 defensive scheme in 2023, but defensive coordinator Blake Baker left for the same position at LSU. His replacement is former South Alabama DC Corey Batoon. His Jaguars defense was stout, finishing 26th in scoring defense allowing just 21 points per game. But at South Alabama, Batoon ran a sort of mixture of 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 defenses.

In Columbia, will he want to implement that or will he want to stick with a 4-2-5, which his new players are familiar with? Perhaps another important question is whether that decision is even Batoon’s at all or if it’s Drinkwitz’s? No matter who makes the decision, the choice is likely the most crucial question Missouri football has to answer in spring practice.

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What position is Cayden Green going to play?

Missouri’s literal and figurative biggest addition in the transfer portal was former Oklahoma offensive lineman Cayden Green. He was ranked the No. 2 offensive tackle and No. 10 overall player in the transfer portal by 247Sports and probably is the lone guaranteed starter among Missouri’s transfer portal class. The only question is what position will he play?

Both as a recruit in high school out of Lee’s Summit North and in the transfer portal, Green was listed as a tackle. However, in his lone season in Oklahoma, Green played left guard, making five starts and earning freshman All-America honors from multiple outlets.

In 2024, Missouri will have to replace its starting left tackle, Javon Foster, and left guard, Xavier Delgado — Green could fill either of these roles. Perhaps Drinkwitz will elect to find the best player to pair with Green at either LT or LG, or maybe he will have Green play where he believes he fits best and just figure out the other spot after.

Workhorse back or running back by committee?

Cody Schrader didn’t need much help in Missouri’s backfield in 2023. He ran for 1,627 yards, was a Doak Walker finalist and finished eighth in Heisman voting. But his departure leaves a significant hole in Missouri’s offense.

The Tigers added two portal backs, Marcus Carroll of Georgia State and Appalachian State’s Nate Noel. Both will compete for the starting role in spring practice, but could Missouri turn to a running-back-by-committee approach if neither solidifies himself as the lead back?

In three of Drinkwitz’s four seasons as Missouri coach, he relied heavily on one running back. In 2020, it was Larry Rountree, in 2021 it was Tyler Badie and in 2023 it was Schrader. The lone exception was 2022, when Schrader and Nathaniel Peat split carries. Spring football could give the first indications of which direction Drinkwitz may be leaning for his backfield in 2024.

Will the Tigers need to add D-Line depth after spring football?

The position group hit hardest by Missouri’s offseason was the defensive line. The Tigers lost All-SEC defensive end Darius Robinson and regular contributors DE Nyles Gaddy, DT Jayden Jernigan, DT Realus George Jr. and DT Josh Landry.

Drinkwitz added potential replacements in the portal in defensive tackles Chris McClellan and Sterling Webb and edge rushers Zion Young and Darris Smith. But replacing Robinson’s production and three members of Missouri’s four-man rotation at tackle could require even more reinforcements if spring practice doesn’t yield the results Drinkwitz is hoping for.

Is Brady Cook's backup on campus yet?

For the third consecutive spring, Missouri enters spring practice with a question mark at the quarterback position. The only difference this year is that Missouri’s issue isn’t with its starter; it’s with its backup.

Reports surfaced this week from PowerMizzou.com that backup QB Sam Horn tore his UCL and is undergoing Tommy John surgery. Horn, who also pitches for Missouri baseball, all but confirmed the report by reposting PowerMizzou.com’s report on X.

The transfer portal departures of Jake Garia and Gabarri Johnson mean that the only other healthy scholarship QB on campus for spring practice is freshman early-enrollee Aidan Glover. If Glover doesn’t show significant signs of readiness for the college level, it’s likely Drinkwitz could dip back into the portal for Brady Cook’s backup

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Missouri football must answer 5 key questions in spring practice