The Missouri Tigers may have taken a tough Gasparilla Bowl loss at the hands of Wake Forest to end the year, but the Tigers have at least a little bit of good news to smile about as one of their key players will be returning to the roster in 2023.
Junior safety Jaylon Carlies has announced that he intends to return to Missouri for the 2023 season and help push this team closer to the top of the SEC pile. This is a big win for head coach Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers, as many players with Carlies' ability may have opted to enter the NFL Draft or the now infamous transfer portal.
Columbia, Mo. has been good to Carlies, though, and he intends to return the favor.
The Orlando, Fla. native was one of the hardest hitters in the conference this year and impacted the game at every level, totaling 81 tackles, 3 interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble. He's got seven interceptions in these past two seasons, and NFL scouts are surely keeping their eye on the 6-foot-3 playmaker.
Before his senior season begins, there's a lot of time for Carlies and his teammates to gel as they prepare for 2023. The Tigers' loss to the Demon Deacons last week means that they have still yet to win a bowl game since 2015.
Carlies will be one of this team's, most seasoned veterans next year, and he's eager to come up victorious in at least one bowl before he departs Mizzou. Missouri showed potential before finishing this season 6-7, but things are looking up already for next fall. 2023 might just be the year that Drinkwitz, Carlies, and the Tigers put everything together.
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