Missouri safety Isaac Thompson will miss entire season after undergoing surgery

Missouri safety Isaac Thompson will miss the entire 2023 college football season after undergoing surgery, head coach Eli Drinkwitz confirmed on Saturday evening. The news was relayed on Saturday evening by Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

It was reported earlier in fall camp that Thompson suffered a lower body injury. He was seen at practice on Saturday night on crutches with a brace on his right leg.

Thompson redshirted last season in his first season with Missouri, appearing in games versus Florida and New Mexico State but recording no stats.

He’s a hometown kid rated a four-star prospect out of St. Louis University high school in Missouri, ranked the No. 6 overall player in the state, and the No. 24 safety in the country according to On3’s Industry Ranking.

Missouri still returns a load defensive backfield despite Thompson’s injury. They only lost backup safety Jalani Williams this offseason, returning all four starters in the secondary from a season ago which includes the standout cornerback duo of Ennis Rakestraw and Kris Abrams-Draine.

The Tigers just recently named their team captains for the 2023 season. Brady Cook was named a captain, but on Saturday night, Eli Drinkwitz said that both Cook and Sam Horn will play in the first game. Then, he’ll decide from there who the starting quarterback is.

Another player who was named a captain was their running back, Cody Schrader. Schrader is a former walk-on who played in all 13 games last year. In his first season with the Tigers, he was impressive, leading the team in rushing yards (746), and racking up nine touchdowns on the ground.

As a receiver, he hauled in 19 catches for 137 receiving yards. Before Missouri, Schrader spent the 2018-2021 seasons at Truman State, where he enjoyed a prolific career on the Division II level. He led Division II in rushing yards, racking up 2,074 yards and 24 touchdowns on 300 carries. Schrader was also named the 2021 GLVC co-Offensive Player of the Year.

Missouri opens up their 2023 season against the South Dakota Coyotes. That one will kick off at 8:00 PM EST on August 31st. They also face off against the Kansas State Wildcats on Sept. 16th, before diving into their SEC slate two weeks later. And life is never easy in the SEC. Their final seven games in the SEC appears to be a brutal stretch–LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Arkansas.

On3’s Kaiden Smith also contributed to this article.