Mizzou HC Eli Drinkwitz discusses transfers Kamauryn Morgan, Mark Hensley
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — As Eli Drinkwitz and his staff completed much of its 2026 roster in January, Missouri still added two transfers in March. The Tigers signed Baylor edge rusher Kamauryn Morgan, a holdover from the winter window, and Northern Illinois defensive tackle Mark Hensley.
Morgan committed to Virginia Tech in January, forgoing a visit to Missouri at the time. The rising sophomore later backed off that pledge due to an academic hurdle, which left him in portal limbo until March. Morgan committed to the Tigers on March 24 before the program announced his signing three days later.
“Our front office did a great job of figuring out where he had fallen through the cracks and how we were able to figure out how to get him into school through an eight-week session and really get him up to speed,” Drinkwitz said Wednesday at the “ZOU to YOU” caravan tour.
“I think the way our schedule sets and the way we’re allowed to utilize walkthroughs have been really good to get his skills and knowledge of our scheme back to where it needs to be.”
Missouri will know more about the 6-foot-3.5, 230-pound edge rusher when the staff gets him in pads in fall camp. Though, the early reports from edges coach Brian Early and executive director of athletic performance Ryan Russell have been positive.
Mizzou bolsters DT depth
Hensley committed to Missouri three days before Morgan, with his official signing also announced three days after his pledge. The Washington (Mo.) product entered the portal following the departure of Huskies head coach Thomas Hammock for the NFL.
Drinkwitz gave credit to new president of player personnel and recruiting Jake Breske and his front office staff. The head coach praised Breske for knowing how to navigate the rules of a late transfer signing. Hensley, who officially visited Missouri on April 18, will enroll in May or June.
“Obviously, with the injury that we had that occurred to Elias (Williams), that’s just a position of need,” Drinkwitz said. “This is a young man who’s played a lot of football at Northern Illinois, who’s from the state, has an opportunity to come back home. We’ve done particularly well in the transfer portal with guys coming back home. … It was an easy sell for us to bring him back.”
Drinkwitz gives outlook on portal
Even though the NCAA eliminated the spring transfer window, Missouri reaped the rewards of late additions. With all of the alterations made to the college football calendar, Drinkwitz saw this change as the best.
“It’s really tough right there in the month of January,” Drinkwitz said. “But to know who your team is and how secure it is, to allow these guys to have offseason training as well as spring football and to know where they’re going to be for next fall, I think has been a real positive for everybody.
“It’s allowed us to know who’s going to be in the foxhole with you, allow our coaches to know what the roles are going to be, but also challenge these guys to grow and develop and establish roles for themselves.”