Missouri football announced Wednesday in a news release that defensive end Darris Smith will miss the 2024 season due to a knee injury suffered during a recent team practice.

Smith, who transferred to the Tigers from Georgia this offseason, was involved in a collision with a teammate during 1-on-1 drills Tuesday. He had to be helped to his feat by the team’s athletic trainers and clearly was struggling to put weight on his injured leg as he was assisted off Faurot Field.

“We are devastated by the injury to Darris,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a news release. “He was having an outstanding camp and was poised to have a great year. We will support Darris in his recovery and look forward to him returning stronger than before.”

It’s an unfortunate preseason blow to Missouri’s depth at defensive end, where the Tigers are attempting to replace a first-round draft pick in Darius Robinson.

Team captain and star returner Johnny Walker Jr. and Smith seemed likely to man the newly implemented ‘Joker’ edge-rushing role on first-year MU defensive coordinator Corey Batoon’s defense. On the other side of the line, the Tigers are likely to start Michigan State transfer Zion Young.

Joe Moore III, who is in his second season with Mizzou after transferring from Arizona State, is a potential candidate to split reps with Walker on that side of the line. Williams Nwaneri has been running with the third-team unit in his first preseason camp but could be in line for an uptick in reps. Jakhai Lang, a redshirt freshman, also has been seen working with the second team at times during camp.

Smith was an exciting addition to the Tigers’ edge rushing unit. He likely will be eligible for a medical redshirt, meaning he can keep his remaining two seasons of eligibility.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football DE Darris Smith to miss 2024 season with injury