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Kamar Missouri living out dream as a Big Ten starting OT
Posted on: December 10, 2023 at 13:05:12 CT
Gary P. MU
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Sept 28th
This season introduced Rutgers fourth-year junior Kamar Missouri to the starting lineup for the first time. He earned his first start in game No.3 against Virginia Tech and continued to hold that role last weekend against Michigan. Last season, Missouri worked in as a backup left tackle, but made the switch to right tackle this year.
“At the beginning, I was so focused on left tackle. But to be the best I can here, I had to learn to move around,” Missouri told Scarlet Nation following Tuesday’s practice. “It took a while but I finally embraced it and focused on it so I could get better. At first, it was a little tricky because I never played it at all. I was always on the left side and I was always told I was athletic so it wouldn’t be a problem. So I trusted myself, I believed in myself.”
That was not the only adjustment Missouri made since his arrival at Rutgers. He came in as a defensive tackle as part of the 2020 recruiting class.
“I played both [offense and defense] in high school and when I first came here, I could pick offense or defense,” Missouri said. “I wanted to go to defense but I actually asked to come to offense in the long run. It was a natural fit for me.
Those adjustments were minor as it was a long road for Missouri to even make it to Rutgers. He did not commit until the spring of his senior year at Mergenthaler Vo-Tech in Baltimore, Md. He did not have a wealth of options when it came to college but Rutgers was able to make him a late addition to its 2020 recruiting class. Thus far, that journey has been all Missouri hoped it would be.
“It is a dream come true,” he said. “I came from a rough place where a lot of people don’t make it here. I just look at it like every time I am on the field, it’s like ‘look where I am. And look at where I came from.' There were a lot of people that didn’t believe in me. The only people I had were my friends and my family and my high school coaches. It is a blessing and I am grateful to be out here every day and healthy.”
Missouri was not Rutgers’ opening-day starter at right tackle this season after appearing in eight games last year. He did rotate in during the first game against Northwestern with Tyler Needham. But Needham went down with an injury during the second game against Temple and that allowed Missouri to assume the full-time starting role. Missouri went on to mention what keeps him going when the odds seem stacked against him.
“I am from Baltimore and my motivation is to get my family out of there and never take us back. That is kind of the chip on my shoulder. I have a tattoo [on my lower arm] that says ‘bet on me.’ I always had to bet on myself and I beat all the odds. That has always been my motivation. If I am going through something, I just look down at my arm and say ‘bet on me’ and I am ready to go. It takes me back to that place, kind of like nostalgia in a sense.”
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Missouri was a former high school basketball player and also competed in track and field. He even spent a brief time testing out another sport.
“I tried tennis,” Missouri said. “My head football coach was the athletic director and he needed a tennis team so he got a bunch of us to play. But we didn’t get to play because Covid hit.”
And how was Missouri as a tennis player?
“It was bad,” he lightheartedly remarked. “It is harder than it looks.”
Through it all, football remained the main focus and now that Missuori is a Big Ten starting offensive lineman, he is not taking anything for granted.
“This is what you dream about when you are a little kid and you first decide to play football. You want to play at the highest level and be the best at what you do. I just have to keep learning and keep progressing.”
This season introduced Rutgers fourth-year junior Kamar Missouri to the starting lineup for the first time. He earned his first start in game No.3 against Virginia Tech and continued to hold that role last weekend against Michigan. Last season, Missouri worked in as a backup left tackle, but made the switch to right tackle this year.
“At the beginning, I was so focused on left tackle. But to be the best I can here, I had to learn to move around,” Missouri told Scarlet Nation following Tuesday’s practice. “It took a while but I finally embraced it and focused on it so I could get better. At first, it was a little tricky because I never played it at all. I was always on the left side and I was always told I was athletic so it wouldn’t be a problem. So I trusted myself, I believed in myself.”
That was not the only adjustment Missouri made since his arrival at Rutgers. He came in as a defensive tackle as part of the 2020 recruiting class.
“I played both [offense and defense] in high school and when I first came here, I could pick offense or defense,” Missouri said. “I wanted to go to defense but I actually asked to come to offense in the long run. It was a natural fit for me.
Those adjustments were minor as it was a long road for Missouri to even make it to Rutgers. He did not commit until the spring of his senior year at Mergenthaler Vo-Tech in Baltimore, Md. He did not have a wealth of options when it came to college but Rutgers was able to make him a late addition to its 2020 recruiting class. Thus far, that journey has been all Missouri hoped it would be.
“It is a dream come true,” he said. “I came from a rough place where a lot of people don’t make it here. I just look at it like every time I am on the field, it’s like ‘look where I am. And look at where I came from.' There were a lot of people that didn’t believe in me. The only people I had were my friends and my family and my high school coaches. It is a blessing and I am grateful to be out here every day and healthy.”
Missouri was not Rutgers’ opening-day starter at right tackle this season after appearing in eight games last year. He did rotate in during the first game against Northwestern with Tyler Needham. But Needham went down with an injury during the second game against Temple and that allowed Missouri to assume the full-time starting role. Missouri went on to mention what keeps him going when the odds seem stacked against him.
“I am from Baltimore and my motivation is to get my family out of there and never take us back. That is kind of the chip on my shoulder. I have a tattoo [on my lower arm] that says ‘bet on me.’ I always had to bet on myself and I beat all the odds. That has always been my motivation. If I am going through something, I just look down at my arm and say ‘bet on me’ and I am ready to go. It takes me back to that place, kind of like nostalgia in a sense.”
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Missouri was a former high school basketball player and also competed in track and field. He even spent a brief time testing out another sport.
“I tried tennis,” Missouri said. “My head football coach was the athletic director and he needed a tennis team so he got a bunch of us to play. But we didn’t get to play because Covid hit.”
And how was Missouri as a tennis player?
“It was bad,” he lightheartedly remarked. “It is harder than it looks.”
Through it all, football remained the main focus and now that Missuori is a Big Ten starting offensive lineman, he is not taking anything for granted.
“This is what you dream about when you are a little kid and you first decide to play football. You want to play at the highest level and be the best at what you do. I just have to keep learning and keep progressing.”
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Kamar Missouri living out dream as a Big Ten starting OT - Gary P. MU - 12/10 13:05:12