Who are Mizzou's running back options to replace Tyler Badie for the 2022 season?

Tyler Badie is gone. Now Missouri has to figure out what to do next.

Of all the losses after the 2021 season, the SEC’s leading rusher graduating and heading to the Baltimore Ravens might have hurt the most for the Tigers. Badie was the centerpiece of MU’s offensive attack, and replacing him will be no easy feat.

With fall camp and the season coming up fast, here’s a look at the Missouri running backs group as it currently stands.

Nathaniel Peat

One of the leading contenders for Badie’s spot is Peat, a Rock Bridge product who transferred to Missouri from Stanford during the offseason. Peat played in the Tigers’ spring game, rushing for 30 yards and a touchdown.

Last season with the Cardinal, he led the team in rushing yards with 404, also scoring three touchdowns on the ground. He also led the Pac-12 with 663 yards on kickoff returns.

Peat left Rock Bridge as the program’s leading rusher, with 4,448 total yards.

Cody Schrader

Another transfer into the program, Schrader joined the Tigers as a walk on after starring at Truman State. He won the 2021 co-GLVC offensive player of the year award last year, while leading Division II in rushing yards with 2,074, plus 24 touchdowns.

Schrader had five games with over 200 yards on the ground last season.

Elijah Young

The junior from Knoxville, Tennessee backed up Badie in 2021. He finished the season with 87 rushing yards, bumping his career total to 165 after also playing in 2020.

Young scored two touchdowns last season, one on the ground and one on a pass reception. He completed the 2021 season with six catches for 32 yards.

Michael Cox

Cox saw action in seven games during his redshirt freshman year with the Tigers. He finished the year with 150 yards on 18 carries for an average of 8.3 yards per attempt.

The Atlanta native scored two touchdowns last season as well, one against SEMO and one at Boston College. He joined the Tigers as a walk-on in 2020, but did see the field. He earned a scholarship during the 2021 season.

BJ Harris

The sophomore played in eight games last season, running the ball eight times. He finished the year with 73 yards on the ground, 39 of them coming against North Texas.

Harris chose Missouri over offers from Kentucky, Tennessee and LSU among others.

Taj Butts

A redshirt freshman for 2022, after not appearing in a game last season. Butts chose the Tigers over a litany of offers, including Illinois, Kansas and Kentucky.

Butts played his high school football at De Smet in St. Louis, finishing his senior year with 419 yards on 56 attempts. He was ranked as a three-star recruit.

Bryce Jackson

Jackson did not play in a game during 2021 and will be a redshirt freshman this season. He is a Columbia native, having played at Rock Bridge.

Christopher Kreh

Kresh played in the last two games of 2021 on special teams, keeping his redshirt. He played high school football in Chesterfield at Marquette.

Anthony Favrow

Favrow will be a true freshman in 2022. He comes to Missouri from Olathe West, in Kansas.

Tavorus Jones

Jones comes to Missouri as a four-star recruit from Bruges in Texas. He finished his high school years with 3,589 yards and 45 touchdowns on the ground, plus 1,298 yards and 14 scores on 72 catches.

Matt Stahl is the Missouri athletics beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Nathaniel Peat leads Mizzou backs vying to replace Tyler Badie