Mizzou had a solid offense in 2020 under first-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz. QB Connor Bazelak looked strong once he took over for Shawn Robinson. The wide receiver group had a few guys who could make plays.

And RB Larry Rountree III was a 1-man wrecking crew when it came to scoring touchdowns. He finished the 2020 campaign with 14 of them.

But now Rountree is gone, as is right tackle Larry Borom. Can the Tigers find replacements for those talented players? Will the other guys returning to the team improve?

Here are 5 things that will define Mizzou offensively in 2021:

1. Can Connor Bazelak take the next step?

As a redshirt freshman in 2020, Bazelak took over the starting role early in the season from Shawn Robinson and never looked back. His numbers the rest of the season were pretty pedestrian — 2,366 passing yards (7.3 yards per attempt), 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

But he showed flashes of brilliance. He threw for 406 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in an upset win over LSU. One of those touchdowns (the first TD pass of his college career) came on this flea-flicker:

Bazelak completed 67.3% of his passes and was great when he was given time by his offensive line:

We’ll discuss the offensive line more in a bit, but Bazelak is a nice piece to build around. Having spring practices this year certainly helped. And, with a second year in Drinkwitz’s offense, expectations should be high for the Mizzou QB. If he can limit the interceptions and find the end zone through the air a bit more in 2021, the Tigers’ offense could finish in the top half of the SEC.

2. What will Mookie Cooper provide?

Mizzou returns a few impact receivers, including Tauskie Dove, Jalen Knox and Keke Chism. But many eyes will be on Mookie Cooper, the 4-star Ohio State transfer when he takes the field. He drew rave reviews all spring:

He can use his shiftiness and speed to get open anywhere on the field, and he could be a factor in the running game, too:

If he can develop into a Kadarius Toney type of weapon for Mizzou’s offense, he could become a star in 2021. He seems like a perfect player for Drinkwitz’s offense, so it makes sense the Mizzou coach went after him in the transfer portal. Now, we’ll see if it pays off this fall.

3. Is Tyler Badie ready to be a star?

Badie took a bit of a step back last year, but that was mostly just because Drinkwitz relied so heavily on Larry Rountree III to carry the offense in the red zone. Rountree was absolutely the feature back, but he’s off to the NFL Draft now.

Badie only got 48 carries last year, putting up 242 yards and 4 touchdowns. He made more of an impact as a receiver, posting 28 catches for 333 yards and 2 scores.

But it felt like he wasn’t used to his full potential. Again, that comes back to Rountree being a beast.

This year, Badie will be the top dog in the backfield. That likely means fewer power-run sets for Drinkwitz’s offense and more passes to Badie out of the backfield. If Badie can show some Alvin Kamara-like potential, he could become one of the SEC’s best backs in 2021.

4. Who will step up on the offensive line?

The Tigers need to replace RT Larry Borom. As of right now, it seems Javon Foster could get a crack at the job. Elsewhere, LT Zeke Powell, LG Xavier Delgado, C Michael Maietti and RG Case Cook all figure to return to the starting lineup.

Thus, the right tackle position is the one spot that needs to be addressed. If Foster can hold his own there, the Tigers will have plenty of consistency elsewhere to keep the offense humming along.

But if that position remains unsettled, it will be tough for the Tigers to take the next step toward becoming one of the SEC’s best offensive units.

5. Does Eli Drinkwitz’s offense evolve in Year 2 in the SEC?

Hopefully, Drinkwitz has learned that you can’t go side-to-side against speedy SEC defenses. His pre-snap motion offense didn’t work against Alabama in Week 1 last year. The Tide are more disciplined than Sun Belt defenses and ACC defenses (from his time as Appalachian State’s head coach and NC State’s OC, respectively).

I have confidence that Drinkwitz has meticulously tweaked his offense this offseason. Plus, having a full spring session will only help him. He didn’t get that heading into the 2020 campaign, and yet the Tigers still surprised many SEC squads.

I think Drinkwitz is one of the brightest offensive minds in college football. With his quarterback returning and plenty of returning receivers alongside Badie in the backfield, optimism about Mizzou’s offense should be high heading into 2021.

The defense is a different story, but we’ll dive into that in my next article.