COLUMBIA, Mo. – Nine Mizzou football student-athletes were selected to the Phil Steele 2025 preseason All-SEC team, the organization announced.
Offensive guard Cayden Green was tabbed to the first team, while running back Ahmad Hardy, wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. and safety Jalen Catalon were named to the second team. Linebackers Triston Newson and Josiah Trotter as well as safety Daylan Carnell garnered third-team accolades, while center Connor Tollison and defensive tackle Chris McClellan rounded out the Tigers honored with fourth team recognition.
Green, a Lee’s Summit, Missouri, native returns for his second season as Mizzou’s starting left guard and in 24 career games (18 starts) between his time with the Tigers and Oklahoma, has amassed 1,504 snaps. During 2024, Green helped the Mizzou offense accumulate 2,138 rushing and 2,926 passing yards as well as 26 rushing touchdowns. He anchored an offensive line that led the SEC and ranked seventh nationally in time of possession (32:54) as well as fourth and seventh in the conference in tackles for loss allowed (4.62) and sacks allowed (2.00) per game, respectively.
Hardy joined the Tigers in the spring after transferring from Louisiana Monroe. The 2024 Freshman All-America selection and Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year compiled 237 rushes for 1,351 yards (5.88) and 13 touchdowns and eight receptions for 72 yards (9.00) in 12 career games (nine starts). The Oma, Mississippi, product logged 10-plus rushing attempts in all 12 contests and 20-plus receptions six times, including a career-high 30 carries against Arkansas State (2024). He compiled 50-plus rushing yards in 11 games and 100-plus rushing yards on eight occasions. Additionally, Hardy eclipsed the 200-yard mark twice in 2024 against Marshall (206 yards) and Arkansas State (204 yards), and rushed for a career-high 80-yard touchdown scamper against Marshall.
Coleman Jr. returns to his home state after spending the last year at Mississippi State. The 2024 All-SEC Third Team selection and 2022 SWAC Freshman of the Year has carded 132 receptions for 1,769 yards (13.40) with 11 touchdowns and 11 rushes for 35 yards (3.18) in 39 career games (31 starts). He’s added 48 career punt returns for 322 yards (6.71), and 20 kickoff returns for 461 yards (23.05). The St. Louis native has tallied two-plus receptions in 29 contests and five-plus receptions on 13 occasions, including a career-best eight versus Georgia (2024), Texas A&M (2024) and Arkansas (2024). Coleman Jr. has logged 50-plus receiving yards 15 times and secured 100-plus receiving yards on five occasions against N.C. Central (137 yards in 2022), Arizona State (103 yards in 2024), Georgia (103 yards in 2024), Arkansas (100 yards in 2024) and Ole Miss (118 yards in 2024). He enters 2025 riding a 29-game reception streak, dating back to Nov. 19, 2022.
Catalon, a two-time All-America selection, a Second Team All-SEC (2020) and First Team All-Mountain West (2024) recipient, returns to the SEC after spending the last year at UNLV. The two-time semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in 2020 and 2024 has compiled 272 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, 10 interceptions, 13 pass breakups, five caused fumbles, one fumble recovery and three quarterback pressures in 43 career games (34 starts). The Mansfield, Texas, native has carded five-plus tackles on 25 occasions and eight-plus tackles 17 times. He has also registered double-digit tackles on 11 occasions, including a career-high 17 stops against Syracuse in 2024. Catalon has played 2,488 career snaps throughout his career at Arkansas, Texas and UNLV.
Newson is back for his second consecutive season as Mizzou’s starting linebacker and in 48 career games (23 starts), has registered 286 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, three interceptions, six pass breakups, eight caused fumbles, five fumble recoveries and six quarterback pressures. The Independence, Mississippi, product has posted 34 games with three-plus tackles and 14 contests with 10-plus tackles, including a career-best 15 against East Mississippi CC (2022) and Arkansas (2023). He has carded 2.0 tackles for loss in seven contests, including a career-high 2.5 versus Mississippi Delta CC (2022), Northwest Mississippi CC (2022) and Oklahoma (2024).
Trotter joined Mizzou in the spring after a rookie campaign that saw him earn Freshman All-America honors while at West Virginia. The 2024 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-Big 12 recipient has compiled 92 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, one interception, two pass breakups and five quarterback pressures in 12 career games (11 starts). He’s carded two-plus tackles in all 12 games and eight-plus tackles seven times, including a career-high 12 stops against Iowa State (2024) and Cincinnati (2024). The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native has notched 1.0-plus tackles for loss on three occasions, including a career-best 1.5 versus Cincinnati in 2024.
Carnell enters his third season as the Tigers’ starting safety and in 43 career games (26 starts), has registered 133 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, four interceptions, 20 pass breakups, four caused fumbles, three fumble recoveries and nine quarterback pressures. He’s posted 33 games with two-plus tackles and nine contests with five-plus tackles, including a career-high eight against Middle Tennessee in 2023. The Indianapolis, Indiana, product has logged one interception in contests with Florida (2022), New Mexico State (2022), Arkansas (2022) and Tennessee (2023) and returned two for a touchdown in contests with New Mexico State and Tennessee. Carnell has carded one pass breakup on 16 occasions, including a career-best two against Vanderbilt (2022), Wake Forest (2022), Boston College (2024) and Oklahoma (2024) and enters 2025 tied for 16th in career pass breakups and tied for 19th in passes defended.
Tollison returns to the field after sustaining a season-ending injury nine games into the 2024 season. The Tigers’ four-year starting center has compiled 2,356 career snaps in 37 games (35 starts). The Jackson, Missouri, native blocked for an offense that finished 10th nationally and second in the league in red zone offense, converting 46-of-50 opportunities (.920). Additionally. He helped Mizzou rank fifth in the country and second in the league in passes had intercepted with only five on the year.
McClellan is back for his second consecutive season as Mizzou’s starting defensive tackle and in 38 career games (10 starts), has registered 85 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one caused fumble, one fumble recovery and five quarterback pressures. He has posted 31 games with one-plus tackle and 17 contests with three-plus tackles, including a career-best seven against Vanderbilt in 2024. The North Tulsa, Oklahoma, product has carded 1.0 tackles for loss in four contests, including a career-high 2.5 against the Commodores in 2024. Additionally, he’s earned one caused fumble versus Murray State (2024) and one fumble recovery against Eastern Washington (2022).
Mizzou welcomes Central Arkansas on Thursday, August 28 at 6:30 p.m. CT for “Kickoff in CoMO” to begin the 2025 season at Memorial Stadium.
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