Mizzou's Blake Craig, Erik Link assess special teams changes ahead of 2025 season
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Blake Craig and Brett Le Blanc walked around the basketball courts of the MizzouRec their senior of high school as early enrollees.
The two high school All-Americans built a close friendship before even donning the black and gold for Missouri, making uncommon early strides for specialists. Now two years removed from their introduction to college, Craig and Le Blanc both have grown as individuals.
“We lived together for two years. Now we both have our own place. We think it’s for the better. Nah, I’m joking,” Craig laughed. “But it’s been good. We have some enjoyable golf rounds. We do a lot outside of football, too, so we have the good and the bad together.”
Craig stepped into the starting role during his redshirt freshman season, taking over for four-year starter Harrison Mevis. Recognizing his inconsistency in 2024 came with maturity. Craig, a Liberty (Mo.) Lutheran North product, went 1-for-7 on fields goals between 40-for-49 yards and 6-for-9 beyond 50.
“I definitely think my goals were to improve consistency,” Craig said. “Obviously, I’m sure that’s going to be pretty much a given. I think a lot of it’s like the mental side of it, like visualization, putting myself in different positions, short kicks, long kicks, different hashes, different weather.”
Le Blanc, a long snapper, split snaps with graduate student Trey Flint the past two years. While the only returning player at his position for this upcoming season, the junior will see the majority of snaps on special teams, with freshman Henry Crosby joining the roster in the 2025 class.
Drinkwitz calls for improvement
The special teams unit took more of a game-like approach this spring. After inconsistency and game-altering plays the past few seasons, head coach Eli Drinkwitz recognized a need for his linebackers to step up in 2025.
“It’s got to help our special teams,” Drinkwitz said during a press conference Monday. “We were not where we wanted to be last year in special teams, and that’s an area that we have to improve. And that means getting better players on the field. That means getting our most consistent players on the field.”
The Tigers’ deep linebacker unit features key returners Khalil Jacobs, Triston Newson and Nicholas Rodriguez as well as the addition of West Virginia transfer Josiah Trotter. Entering Fall Camp, Drinkwitz harped on these backers splitting reps and buying into special teams roles that dramatically affect winning and losing.
Tigers see changes in punting
Missouri will feature Stanford transfer Connor Weselman for the 2025 season. Weselman served as a backup for the Cardinal this past season after taking the majority of snaps at the position in 2023. Craig has offered a glimpse to Weselman of what to expect in the SEC.
“I think he’s a very intelligent guy, Stanford grad,” Craig said of Weselman, who is also a holders on field goals and extra points. “He understands it, and he understands football. And he’s played a lot of it, so I’m excited for him, really excited.”
Special teams coordinator Erik Link chose not to name every player in line to return punts this season, noting those most featured in spring practices will see opportunities this fall. Yet he still touched on freshman slot receiver Shaun Terry II being in the mix.
“You go back and you watch his high school film and his high school highlights, he was a dynamic returner, specifically as a punt returner,” Link said. “He’s definitely one of the young guys that that I’m referring to.”
Recruiting specialists moving forward
Due to new roster limits this season, Missouri dropped to six specialists — two kickers, two punters and two long snappers. Link, who has yet to land a commitment in the 2026 class, doesn’t see the changes making it harder to recruit, but he’s noted the process becoming more intensive.
“We certainly try to be super intentional,” said Link, who raved about Crosby’s dynamic athleticism playing a part in his potential. “And the reality is you got essentially six spots, so you can’t afford to miss.”
