Missouri football picks up 3 transfers with Big Ten WR, 2 FCS players
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Mizzou got ‘deadline day’ started with three transfer commitments.
Missouri football added three players out of the transfer portal on Friday morning, with a Big Ten wide receiver and two FCS players now headed to Columbia. Minnesota wide receiver Kenric Lanier II, Charleston Southern offensive lineman Colin Sorensen and Montana running back Va’aimalae Fonoti III each will now play for Mizzou next season.
Lanier and Sorensen confirmed their respective decisions via social media. Fonoti’s commitment was first reported by PowerMizzou with 247Sports.
Friday also marks the final day for college football players to enter the transfer portal this year. The portal has been open since Jan. 2 and will close at the end of day Friday.
That is not the deadline for players to commit to a new school, but players must be in the portal database before Saturday if they intend to transfer.
Here’s what you need to know about each of Mizzou’s Friday trio of commitments:
What does Minnesota WR Kenric Lanier II bring to Mizzou?
Ready to be a difference maker! #NewBeginningspic.twitter.com/74Gir77cu8
— Kenric Lanier (@KenricLanier) January 7, 2026
Lanier is the fourth transfer wide receiver Missouri has added in this window, which makes sense. The Tigers needed numbers with Kevin Coleman Jr. and Xavier Loyd graduating, while Marquis Johnson and Joshua Manning transferred to Mississippi State and Kansas State, respectively.
Lanier, listed at 6 foot 1 and 195 pounds, has two years of remaining eligibility and has been a reserve with the Gophers for his first three years at the collegiate level.
He caught three passes for 79 yards last season, with 52 of those yards coming on one reception against Northwestern State in nonconference play.
The Decatur, Georgia, native may end up being more of a project with four-career catches. Missouri needed numbers and depth at the position, and it will get that with this signing.
Colin Sorensen adds OL depth
Thank you to every coach who reached out this portal window, I have signed with @MizzouFootball Go Tigers!!!! pic.twitter.com/CI1K8Wu4Mr
— Colin Sorensen (@ColinSorensen70) January 16, 2026
Sorensen — a 6-4, 280-pound offensive lineman — has 20 starts over the past two seasons at the FCS level with Charleston Southern. He started in his true freshman season in 2024 after signing as an unranked recruit out of Niceville, Florida.
He’s Mizzou’s fourth pickup along the O-line in this window and was a third-team All-Big South selection by Phil Steele at left tackle last season. He’s likely to backup either Cayden Green or Josh Atkins, whoever ends up playing LT in 2026, on the outside.
According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed 23 pressures and six sacks in 2025 on 378 pass-blocking snaps.
Malae Fonoti is final piece in 2026 RB room
This should wrap up Mizzou’s business at running back for this year. The Tigers are already returning Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts to head the room, and they signed Houston Christian tailback Xai’Shaun Edwards earlier this offseason to back them up.
Now, you can add Fonoti, who is a 5-11, 207-pound tailback from Laie, Hawai’i. He has three remaining years of eligibility after rushing for 418 yards and five touchdowns on 84 total carries over the past two years at the FCS level.
The top two in Mizzou’s RB room are unlikely to be replaced. Hardy narrowly missed out on unanimous All-American selection last season, and Roberts was as good of a No. 2 option as you’ll find anywhere in the country.
But the Tigers lost all of their depth in the room to the transfer portal. Mizzou needed emergency options, and Fonoti will be part of those plans.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football adds 3 transfers with Big Ten WR, FCS O-lineman and RB
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos