Mookie Cooper? Mekhi Miller? If you’re looking for Mizzou’s next breakout WR, start here
Eli Drinkwitz has one of those good problems. On Sunday, the Mizzou football coach said the Tigers have 10 wide receivers chomping at the bit for touches.
One issue that arises: Only one ball is snapped per play.
One that doesn’t: the depth to distribute touches.
Mizzou’s leading receiver from last season, Dominic Lovett, may be off to Georgia, but the Tigers won’t lose too much sleep over that as Luther Burden III is back, taking over for Lovett in the slot and looking to double down on his fruitful true-freshman campaign.
“I think we have done a really good job of recruiting and retaining the talent in that room. It is deep and there’s a lot of different players that have a lot of different strengths,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s always going to be about competition. Who provides the most value? Who’s the most consistent?”
Here are five wideouts — Burden excluded for no-duh reasons — who might answer those questions and feature frequently in new offensive coordinator Kirby Moore’s playbook.
Mookie Cooper
The coaches are singing Mookie Cooper’s tune.
“He understands what it takes to be prepared for the opportunity, the moment,” Drinkwitz said. “He trains with a purpose, an edge to him that is very consistent, and he’s a guy that can really be counted on.”
Now in his third season at Missouri after transferring from Ohio State, the St. Louis native is returning on the back of his first injury-free season in college ball. He had a career-best 25 receptions for 283 yards last season.
Those numbers could increase again for the junior.
“We were having a booster function here Friday night,” Drinkwitz said, “and (Cooper) was out getting (an) extra workout and making sure he was prepared for this practice.”
Mekhi Miller
Mekhi Miller reminds Drinkwitz a lot of Cooper.
“I think, obviously, he’s similar … as far as Mr. Consistent, shows up, works really hard, doesn’t say much, always has a smile on his face,” Drinkwitz said. “You know, doesn’t get caught up in the hype of all the other players, just knows that he’s going to show up every day and do the work and is going to be where he needs to be to make the catch when he needs to make the catch.”
Missouri wide receivers coach Jacob Peeler was impressed with how he cut his teeth early and managed to “play his best ball down the stretch in 2022,” specifically blocking a punt and sealing a win against Arkansas with a crucial fourth-down conversion.
Miller, an Overland Park native, featured in all 13 games as a freshman, mostly on special teams. So expect his eight receptions for 125 yards to take a leap in Year Two.
Dannis Jackson
Blink and you’ll Ole Miss him.
The Mississippi transfer has shown some lightning bursts of pace in camp’s opening three days. He’s listed at 5-foot-11, 171 pounds, which is the lightest among all of MU’s receivers, but his tape from Oxford, Mississippi, and his first few days in camp suggest he can hold his own physically.
Jackson was recruited by Peeler to Ole Miss in 2019 and saw his most action in 2021, when he recorded 12 receptions for 244 yards and a touchdown. That comes out to a little more than 20 yards per reception.
Not a bad sign for a team looking to take its vertical threat up a notch.
Theo Wease Jr.
Theo Wease Jr. was a five-star recruit when Oklahoma picked him up. Now a senior and in Columbia, he looks ready to slot right into the Tigers’ rotation.
He has appeared in sync with the group of quarterbacks over the first three open practices, high-pointing a pass from Brady Cook to the back-left corner of the end zone during a drill Tuesday. He is MU’s tied-tallest receiver at 6-2, after all.
That also gives the Tigers another option in an area that Drinkwitz was critical of last season.
“We were poor blockers on the perimeter (in 2022),” Drinkwitz said. “So we’ve got to be able to run the ball, blocking the perimeter, block for each other.”
Peanut Houston
DeMariyon “Peanut” Houston took his chance when it came his way.
After being little more than a special teams player last season, Houston played in Missouri’s bowl game and walked away with six receptions for 39 yards and the team’s lone receiving touchdown.
His upside is pretty clear.
The eye test says he’s one of the fastest players in his unit, if not the entire team. He also was among the group practicing catching punts Wednesday, which may be another area to look for him.
Including the Gasparilla Bowl, Houston made four appearances for Mizzou in 2022. That number should increase in 2023.
The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.
