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New Mizzou Tigers football player transformed from soccer star in Idaho to SEC lineman

Some of Connor Wood’s first sports memories in high school came on the soccer pitches of Idaho, where he hails from. He shifted between being a goal-scoring forward and a shot-stopping goalkeeper in high school, playing a game that was one of his first loves.

Sure, the usual background for a 6-foot-4, 315-pound offensive lineman competing for a starting spot at Missouri, which plays in a Southeastern Conference featuring some of the most ferocious defensive lines in college football. A soccer star from Idaho.

But it’s one of the many unique aspects about the redshirt junior transfer from Montana State, who enters his first fall camp in the balmy, flat Midwest after a lifetime in serene big sky country.

“So I played forward (in soccer) until my last two years, which they put me to goalie,” Wood said. “I love the forward. I like scoring goals.

“It’s a lot more humid here, I would say, but I like it. It’s different, which is awesome. I think people grow in uncomfortable situations and in different situations, as well. So I’m excited to be out here and start playing.”

Balancing soccer and basketball careers, Wood didn’t play much football until after his freshman year in high school, when between that and sophomore year he had a massive 6-inch, 50-pound growth spurt. Seeing how his newfound size could benefit him on a football field, he switched from Boise’s Centennial High School to Rocky Mountain High School in suburban Meridian, one of the state’s prep football powers.

Ineligible to play for Rocky Mountain as a sophomore due to transfer rules and then having broken his ankle and missing most of his junior season, Wood had one full season of high school football under his belt and was sparsely recruited, eventually picking Montana State. The Bobcats were one of just six schools to offer him, all of which played in the FCS-level Big Sky Conference.

Wood was a starter on Montana State’s offensive line for two seasons, though hasn’t played college football since 2019 (the Bobcats’ 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19). Now as he adjusts to Missouri, he has immediately noticed a change in expectations from the FCS to FBS level.

“If starters don’t compete, they’ll get (the spot) taken next week,” Wood said. “I feel like that’s the difference from the FCS level to here, whereas if you don’t have a good game (there), you’re still going to start. Here, it’s like if you don’t have a good play, really you’re going to get it taken.”

Wood and Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz had met once prior to their moves to Columbia. The lineman earned an invite to Boise State’s junior day as a sophomore in 2015, when Drinkwitz was then the Broncos’ offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. Because of Wood’s lack of film at the time, the connection didn’t materialize until Wood got some experience at Montana State and gained Power 5 interest after entering the transfer portal this summer.

He is roommates with another non-Power 5 transfer to the Tigers, former Rice linebacker Blaze Alldredge, who said the bond they share in that regard has helped them both adjust to the move a little easier.

“We’re a couple peas in the pod when it comes to old heads who’ve done it before and are just focused on ball,” said Alldredge, a grad student. “And I think that’s a really big thing that Connor and I that we’ve bonded over a lot, is we’re trying to stay focused on being the best players we can be and coming in and making an impact … and not get caught up in the glitz and glam that is the SEC.”

From a reliable starter at the small-school level, Wood is now in the thick of a position battle for the offensive tackle spots with Larry Borom, a fifth-round NFL Draft pick, gone from the program. Five players on Missouri’s roster have started games at tackle at the college level: Wood, Hyrin White, Javon Foster, Bobby Lawrence and Zeke Powell.

Tigers offensive line coach Marcus Johnson cross-trains his linemen, meaning that drills and practice are focused on helping the players learn multiple roles in the trenches. So while Wood is most experienced at tackle, an occasional stop at guard is a realistic possibility.

Between that and his late position switch in his soccer career, it’s just like old times.

“I like them both. Really anything that Coach Johnson wants me to play,” Wood said on if he prefers left or right tackle. “I’m just here to help the team out, but I will say I have a lot of experience at right tackle (and) both tackles, really. And it’d be a good chance to play some guard, wherever I’m most comfortable and how it’ll help the team the most. That’s what I’m looking for.”