When Mizzou star linebacker Josiah Trotter unsurprisingly announced his intentions to enter the NFL draft on New Years Day, the Tigers were left with a giant hole in the middle of their excellent defense.
Trotter not only led Mizzou in tackles in 2025 with 84, but served as a leader along the spine of the top 10 unit. While the linebacker corps at Mizzou remains deep, with returners Nick Rodriguez, Jeremiah Beasley, Dante McClellan and Brian Huff, they lose significant experience with sixth-year senior Tristan Newson and senior Khalil Jacobs graduating, as well as the aforementioned loss of Trotter.
Enter Robert Woodyard, Jr.
The former Auburn linebacker won’t have to change his stripes as he moves from one Tiger Town to another. Woodyard, Jr. will enter the 2026 season as a redshirt junior with two years of eligibility. What Mizzou lost in Trotter they seem to have gained again in Woodyard, Jr., who started for an exceptional Auburn defense last year and tallied 67 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks in 2025.
Woodyard, Jr. must have seen what the Mizzou program has done for other recent P4 linebacker transfers Ty’Ron Hopper and Josiah Trotter: players who came to Mizzou, improved and excelled and are now, or soon will be, making lots of money on NFL rosters, and said “I want that.” Well, he’s now got it, so let’s see how he fits.
Where he fits
Woodyard, Jr. will slot in at middle linebacker; a perfect fit for the hole left by the newly departed Josiah Trotter. The havoc-y linebacker isn’t quite as tall as Trotter (Woodyard is listed as 6-0 to Trotter’s 6-2,) but he does have a few pounds on Trotter as he’s listed at 241 lbs. The stocky, yet powerful Woodyard should be a perfect replacement in the middle of the defense, where he can direct traffic, fill running gaps and blitz the quarterback when called to do so.
When he’ll play
Immediately. Woodyard, Jr. is coming to Mizzou to play early and play often. With the loss of three experienced (and really good!) linebackers, there will be more than enough playing time to go around for not only Woodyard, but Nick Rodriguez and the rest of the young linebackers on the roster. While Woodyard did start for Auburn, he did split time with several other linebackers so it’s safe to say he wants to be on the field for more snaps in 2026 and he will have those snaps available to him.
What it means
The Tigers had a massive hole to fill when Trotter left to presumably be a presumably top 60ish pick in the draft and like Drinkwitz has done many times in the past, he found the perfect guy to fill it. In a perfect world, Woodyard does exactly what Trotter did: come in for a year, dominate, and move on the to the draft. That will continue the Mizzou-to-NFL linebacker pipeline and make it even easier to bring in more talent to the position in 2027. While the rest of the Tiger defense will need some serious overhaul (I’m looking at you, secondary), the linebacker position is now pretty much settled, allowing the coaches to focus their efforts and resources elsewhere in the portal.
