Why Marquis Johnson is 'Starting to Speak Up' in Mizzou's WR Room

The Missouri Tigers had a lot of roster turnover from 2024 to 2025, leaving lingering questions surrounding the team's starters. One position group that took a big hit was the wide receivers.

One of the most exciting athletes in program history, Luther Burden III, unsurprisingly declared for the NFL draft early. Fellow wideouts Theo Wease Jr. and Mookie Cooper also departed from Missouri. In their absence, a new leader in the position group has emerged — Marquis Johnson.

"Marquis Johnson has been very consistent," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said after Week 1 of fall camp. "That's been a healthy side for us."

Johnson is a familiar face in a sea of new players, being one of the two longest-tenured receivers under scholarship. He's been a deep-threat in each of his first two years, but is set to become a full-time starter in 2025.

Now, with both Burden and Wease gone, Johnson is also in prime position to become a leader. Drinkwitz pinpointed the positive attributes Johnson possesses.

“Flash. Just consistency," Drinkwitz said. "I think he's been emotionally really consistent. If the ball is not coming to him, he just finds ways to play forward. I've been pleased.“

Aside from showcasing talent on the field, Johnson has demonstrated it in the locker room. As practices have continued, he has found his voice and grown in confidence.

"I'm starting to speak up a little more," Johnson said in a press conference Tuesday. "I was a little quieter in the beginning, but I'm starting to speak a little more, starting to get used to being the guy who has to say something."

Joining Johnson in the receiving room are senior Kevin Coleman Jr., junior Joshua Manning, and junior Daniel Blood, among others. With the two leading receivers of each of the last seasons now gone, there's bound to be a different setting for the group.


 "There's definitely a different vibe in the room, but it gives room for the next man to step up," Manning said in a press conference Aug. 1.

Like Manning, Johnson knows it's a different team without Burden and Wease. Even though they are no longer with the Tigers, the lessons they instilled remain with Johnson, who especially looked up to Wease.

"He always did everything right," Johnson said of Wease. "He's always doing what he's supposed to do, even the little things, things that take no talent. He took me under his wing, and I just learned from him."

Johnson will take those lessons into this season to try to help Missouri succeed. It will be more difficult without the talented players the Tigers had last year, but Johnson is confident that his position group will be just fine.

"We lost two key players, but (we're) deep," Johnson said. "Everybody (is) always just working together. It's still a great receiving room."