Missouri’s defensive line took a hit to its depth this spring when defensive lineman Travion Ford suffered an injury.

Ford was an early enrollee out of St. Louis (Lutheran North), and coach Eli Drinkwitz announced the injury to reporters following Saturday’s open practice. Drinkwitz said he would return in the summer following a full recovery.

Ford is a notable recruit during the young Drinkwitz era. When he committed about a year ago, he was the highest-ranked recruit of the Drinkwitz era, rated as the No. 8 weakside defensive end in the country, Missouri’s No. 3 overall prospect and a top 150 recruit nationally in the 2021 recruiting cycle by 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Ford committed to Mizzou not long after he led his high school team to a state championship.

“He’s so explosive, and twitchy, he probably has the best first-step explosion of any kid I coached,” Lutheran North head coach Carl Reed told 247Sports. “I expect him to have an immediate impact at Mizzou. He wanted to stay close to home and this was a big-time get for the Tigers.

247Sports National Analyst Allen Trieu compared Ford’s game to that of Yannick Ngakoue who was a third round pick out of Maryland and has gone on to shine for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

H/T Dave Matter.