A recent NCAA waiver for former junior college players will allow a Missouri football linebacker return in 2025.
Triston Newson, who started 12 games for the Tigers at outside linebacker in 2024, is expected to play for Mizzou next season, a source confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune on Tuesday.
The news was first reported by Jarod Hamilton of PowerMizzou and 247Sports.
Newson had run out of eligibility, but a lawsuit from an in-conference quarterback changed his situation.
In December, starting Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia sued the NCAA, claiming his time as a junior college player should not count toward his four years of NCAA eligibility. A Tennessee federal court granted Pavia an injunction, and the NCAA Division I Board of Curators has since agreed to a one-year waiver for any player who played junior college football during their career.
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That means Newson, who started his career at Northeast Mississippi Community College and transferred to the Tigers ahead of the 2023 season, is eligible to return.
Newson has played 25 games for Mizzou since arriving in 2023, entering the starting lineup late in that campaign after injuries hit the position. He started MU’s Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State and parlayed that into the full-time starting job in 2024.
In 2024, Newson recorded 71 total tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Over the course of his Mizzou career, he has forced two fumbles, including the late punchout that defensive end Zion Young scooped and scored to knock off Oklahoma in November.
Newson has recovered two other fumbles and has 123 total tackles as a Tiger.
What Triston Newson’s return means for Missouri football depth chart
This is a major roster boost for Mizzou, which was expected to lose three players from its four-player rotation at linebacker. The Tigers now have to replace only two players in that rotation — Corey Flagg Jr. and Chuck Hicks, who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility.
Missouri reportedly recently hired Miami linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Derek Nicholson as its linebackers coach, replacing D.J. Smith, who is now Appalachian State’s defensive play-caller.
The Tigers have added Nebraska transfer Mikai Gbayor and West Virginia transfer and freshman All-American Josiah Trotter out of the transfer portal, and they are expected to return Khalil Jacobs, who missed half of 2024 with an injury, to the roster next season.
Both Newson and Jacobs played outside linebacker, and likely will form the two-deep there next season. Mizzou might rep Trotter and Gbayor at middle linebacker in its base 4-2-5 formation.
In terms of depth, Missouri also can bring back freshman standout Nicholas Rodriguez, as well as highly ranked Class of 2024 rookies Jeremiah Beasley and Brian Huff. Mizzou added two linebackers in its Class of 2025, Dante McClellan and Jason King, and both players have enrolled early and are expected to participate in spring camp.
Before Missouri’s Music City Bowl win over Iowa, Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz said that the team would leave the decision up to Newson on whether or not he wanted to return. As of Tuesday, it looks like that decision is made.
