Missouri’s Nate Howard pleas not guilty to felony drug charges, will appear in court on August 9

Mizzou fall camp begins on August 1. It’s does not appear that defensive end Nate Howard will be a part of the team at that point — he was unlisted on the depth chart passed around to media at SEC Media Days thanks to his June drug arrest, and he remains suspended “indefinitely” from the team. The primary reason: the word “felony.” From the Columbia Tribune:

Missouri junior defensive end Nate Howard’s court case is scheduled for an Aug. 9 review following his not guilty plea last week on the Class D felony charge of possession of psilocybin mushrooms. [...]

University policy states that any athlete facing felony charges will remain suspended until a judgment is reached in the case. If the athlete pleads guilty to the felony charge or is convicted of the felony, the athlete is permanently barred from competing in athletics for any school in the University of Missouri system.

In theory, if he ends up either found not guilty or tied to a misdemeanor, he could be brought back to the team. But until then, the rules are pretty clear, I guess.

Howard was the first-string end opposite Marcell Frazier when spring football ended. He played only four games last year due to a knee injury and was credited with just 0.5 tackles for loss, but he has on multiple occasions flashed major pass-rushing potential.

He recorded 1.5 TFLs in his career debut against SE Missouri State in 2015, and he was constantly in the backfield in last year’s Vanderbilt game. Without Howard, Jordan Harold was listed as a starter in the Mizzou media guide (which, as far as I can tell, is still not online).

More Links:

• A lot can change in one year.

• The folks at SI’s MMQB attempted an NFL All-Time Draft, and I’m counting three Mizzou products on the list. 1970s tight end Kellen Winslow went to Team Dan Fouts in the second round (Fouts picked a punter in Round 1 and a kicker in Round 4, so Winslow’s team isn’t actually very good), 1960s cornerback Roger Wehrli went in the 11th round to Team Horrigan, and 1960s tackle Russ Washington went in the 25th round to Team Fouts. A fun, obsessive project.
• Mizzou Baseball head coach Steve Bieser’s staff now has an opening. Pitching coach Pat Hallmark just took the head coaching job at Incarnate Word. His replacement? Hard to guess.

• Former Mizzou star and first-round pick Tanner Houck made his professional debut yesterday. He got knocked around a bit, but whatever. It was one inning in short-season ball.
• A nice message from a Mizzou parent: