COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri football is likely to lose two more players to the transfer portal when it opens next week, among a handful of expected losses for the program.
Cornerback Ja'Marion Wayne and linebacker Mikai Gbayor intend to enter the portal when it opens next week, a source familiar with their plans told the Post-Dispatch.
Gbayor's entry will be eye-catching because he transferred to Mizzou from Nebraska during the winter window and will leave one window later — without having played a snap for the Tigers.
But after Gbayor signed, the landscape of the linebacker room changed. MU learned that linebacker Triston Newson would be eligible to play the 2025 season. That, combined with developmental leaps taken by underclassmen, clogged up Gbayor's path to playing time, per a team source familiar with personnel plans. His portal U-turn is largely due to a change in circumstances at his position.
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Wayne, a Parkway West product, enrolled at Missouri as a wide receiver before switching to corner. He carved out a role on special teams but never cracked the cornerback rotation.
Wayne and Gbayor join defensive end Jahkai Lang as the Tigers' expected portal entries next week. Backup quarterback Drew Pyne already transferred to Bowling Green, moving outside of a traditional portal window because he is a graduate transfer.
MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said earlier this week that he expects to lose upwards of eight players to the portal this spring.
