COLUMBIA, Mo. — On a recent drive to Sedalia, Missouri, Curtis Luper passed most of his highway time on the phone with an NFL team’s running backs coach.
The Missouri tailbacks coach, for his part, was doing some lobbying. Two running backs who spent a pair of seasons working with Luper are eligible for the 2024 NFL draft, so like any good positional coach, he’s trying to do his part to make the case for them.
And sometimes, that means taking calls on the road to an offseason caravan fan event.
NFL teams will pick several Tigers during the upcoming draft, which begins Thursday evening in Detroit and continues through the weekend. More will sign with teams afterward as undrafted free agents.
The MU program record for most players drafted in a year — seven — could fall. There’s a small but nonzero chance that two Missouri products go in the first round. Even with preparations for the 2024 season in full swing, that kind of developmental achievement isn’t lost on the Mizzou staff.
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“We’re excited for the draft,†Luper said. “We’re excited for them.â€
Luper has been pushing for teams to acquire the services of Cody Schrader and Nathaniel Peat, both of whom participated at the Tigers’ March pro day, where every NFL team was represented.
Scouts have been particularly interested in Schrader, who was a remarkable story last year as he led the Southeastern Conference in rushing and became a consensus All-American. His age and mileage — he spent four seasons at Truman State and two at Missouri — combined with the sinking draft value of running backs likely make him a later-round pick.
But what the scouts are asking about plays directly to Schrader’s favor.
“Most of those questions are about intangibles, some things that maybe you can’t measure,†Luper said. “ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ want to know work ethic and how well they learn, how dependable they are, those type of questions.â€
The work ethic that boosted Schrader from the bottom of the MU depth chart to the top of the SEC is well-documented. And it’s part of his own pitch to the NFL teams he’s met with.
“I help build cultures,†Schrader said he tells scouts and front office representatives. “I’m a great locker room, teammate guy, so I’m not just a football player. I can help build an organization and help be a part of something special.â€
Luper isn’t the only Mizzou assistant who’s turned into a draft lobbyist. Cornerbacks coach Al Pogue has also advocated for a draft-eligible tandem of his own: Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine.
Both have established highlight reels as two of the more productive cornerbacks in college football over the course of their careers.
Rakestraw, a potential first-rounder, battled a double sports hernia last season, limiting his playing time and requiring an offseason surgery that also restricted his ability to participate in pre-draft workouts.
So he points teams to game tape.
“Film speaks for itself,†Rakestraw said. “I’ve been here four years; I got a lot of film to show them I’m fast, show them I’m quick, twitchy. They’re going off that. Obviously, they know my situation.â€
Pogue has been assuring teams about Rakestraw’s abilities and emphasizing the production he and Abrams-Draine managed whenever questions come up about their physical tests.
As Pogue sees it, the game film and stats tell one story. It’s up to him to fill in NFL teams on a supplemental story.
“They just want to know the basics,†he said. “What kind of kid is he? How does he learn? Those type of things. You turn on the tape, you can see both of those guys can play. ... They just want to know about the other things.â€