Top 25 most important players for Mizzou football in 2025: No. 15
Fall camp is one day closer. So we’re one day closer to the top of my rankings for the most important Mizzou football players in 2025.
We’ve already looked at a few, which you can find here. No. 25, No. 24, No. 23, No. 22, No. 21, No. 20, No. 19, No. 18, No. 17, No. 16.
Now we look at No. 15.
No. 15: Triston Newson
With a major, and unexpected, return, Triston Newson slots into an incredibly important role leading the linebacker room.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound graduate began his career at Northeast Mississippi Community College and expected to run out of eligibility after the 2024 season.
But the NCAA wanted to avoid a lawsuit with Diego Pavia. And to do that, the league decided it was easiest to just give an extra year of eligibility to every former JUCO player set to run out of eligibility at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
So after the transfer portal closed, Newson decided to return to the Tigers for a third season in Columbia.
“It’s kind of cool, you know?” Missouri defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said during spring practice. “I mean, … he was done at the bowl game. We hugged, said our goodbyes and we were getting ready. Then boom, it happens. So it’s been really cool and he’s looking at it as a blessing. He’s coming in with big smiles, basically, like he always does.”
That opportunity to return gives the Tigers back their second-leading tackler from last season with 71.0 (behind only Corey Flagg). He also had 6.5 tackles for loss (second on the team) and one sack. Not to mention one very memorable forced fumble against Oklahoma.
Newson returns to maintain his starting spot in the linebacker room and will continue to be a leader in the group that got much younger.
“We got the fortunate news to return Triston Newsom,” Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said in his spring ball recap press conference. “(He) has been an outstanding player for us for really, since the mid-season two years ago when he took over after (Ty’Ron) Hopper’s injury.”
In his 15 games for the Tigers, Newsom has amassed 123 total tackles with 13.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Now he’ll get an extra season to help the Tigers transition to a room controlled by younger options like redshirt sophomore Josiah Trotter and true sophomore Nicholas Rodriguez.
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