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When they visit Arkansas to end the regular season, it will be a homecoming of sorts for a pair of Missouri players.
Wide receiver Barrett Banister and defensive tackle Akial Byers graduated from Fayetteville High before continuing their careers with the Tigers. That means the 2021 edition of the Battle Line Rivalry will feature them returning to their hometown on Black Friday.
Both of them are expected to play key roles at Missouri this season, with head coach Eliah Drinkwitz - an Arkansas native himself - even selecting Byers as one of the team’s two representatives at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala.
“Akial Byers is a young man who's a leader on the defensive side of the ball,” Drinkwitz said. “He has a lot of experience. … He has the potential and has really invested himself into this season and into our football team. It's a true honor for him to be here today.”
A former Under Armour All-American who was committed to Alabama at one point, Byers has played more than 1,000 snaps during his career with an average Pro Football Focus grade of 65.7. He was technically a senior last season, when he registered 15 tackles and 2.5 TFLs in nine games, but took advantage of the NCAA’s eligibility relief to be a “super senior” in 2021.
Banister is a regular fifth-year senior for the Tigers because he redshirted his first year, as he began his career as a walk-on. However, the nephew of former Arkansas player and assistant Tim Horton eventually earned a scholarship and is now a significant contributor for the Tigers.
Over the last two seasons, he’s been a dependable possession receiver who’s caught 54 passes for 498 yards. He could be a starter this year, but is expected to be one of Missouri’s top pass catchers regardless.
“He is a guy that does all the little things right,” Drinkwitz said. “He's an extra gritty player (and) works extremely hard at his craft to perform above his abilities on a day-to-day basis. He's the type of player that Mizzou football has always been about. He's the type of player that our fan base can really embrace because he's a blue-collar mentality, works for everything that he's been given in life.”
