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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Connor Tollison might not be 100% healthy yet, but Missouri’s starting center is on track to participate relatively fully in fall camp and start the Tigers’ season opener.

Tollison, a fifth-year player, tore his ACL during a game against Oklahoma last November, ending his 2024 season. Even with the serious injury, he likely could’ve gone to the NFL earlier this spring.

Instead, Tollison stayed with Mizzou, where he’ll be one of the program’s most important players in 2025.

“I’m like 85%,” Tollison said last week at Southeastern Conference media days in Atlanta. “Still need some strength back in my leg, but running and jumping has been good.”

Coach Eli Drinkwitz said that even though the lineman is “not quite full speed,” he doesn’t anticipate any issues during camp. MU players will report for fall camp Sunday and begin practicing Monday.

Tollison will be Missouri’s most experienced offensive player this season, with 35 starts and 2,356 snaps under his belt. He’s also one of the best returning centers in college football: Pro Football Focus’ grading algorithm pinned Tollison as the fifth-best run-blocking center among power conference teams last season. He’s one of the top three in that table returning for 2025.

Tollison will be the Tigers’ first four-year starter along the offensive line since Evan Boehm did so between 2012 and 2015 and the first four-year starter at center since Adam Spieker’s 2004-07 tenure.

With three new starters on the offensive line and a new quarterback, Tollison’s stability in the middle will be beneficial for Mizzou.

Even while he was on the shelf for the tail end of the 2024 season and held out of significant work during spring practices, Tollison was a stable presence. As he retold the story of his injury, he was matter-of-fact with a dry humor toward the tear.

The injury came while he was out blocking in space against the Sooners, a game MU wound up winning 30-23 on Nov. 9. Tollison felt the dreaded sensation in his knee and went down.

“I knew right away I was done for,” he said.

Back in the locker room, a trainer told Tollison he probably had torn his ACL.

“Yeah, I feel that,” he said.

Drake Heisemeyer, who’s since graduated, filled in at center for the rest of the 2024 season. During spring ball, Michigan transfer Dominick Giudice — who’s now penciled in to start at right guard — and Tristan Wilson played center in Tollison’s absence.

Tollison didn’t seem to find the prospect of focusing on rehab too daunting or depressing.

“Man, it’s honestly not been too bad,” he said. “We were going to go into the offseason regardless. Mine didn’t have as much football — just more rehab. I just looked at it as an opportunity to get better and focus on myself a little bit.”

He spent the spring leaning into his understanding of the game even more than usual. Tollison already knew more about the design and tactical underpinnings of Mizzou’s offense than most of his teammates and developed a likable reputation among the coaching staff for bringing them hand-drawn plays he thought might work.

It seems that hobby leveled up during his rehab.

“Connor has told me in the past that he wants to be an offensive coordinator,” Drinkwitz said. “So I’ve actually been extremely proud of him for the amount of time he’s put in, studying tape, watching plays, criticizing Coach (Kirby) Moore’s playcalling in the spring. (He) sits back there like, ‘Pfft, bad call, man.’”

Maybe it’s a sign Tollison is ready to get back on the field. He doesn’t expect the transition back to full speed and full contact to be too difficult.

“It’s really not that hard,” Tollison said. “I feel like as a football player, I’ve often done a lot of things not at 100%, so it’s nothing new.”