This Lee’s Summit North product is opening holes for the 21st-ranked Missouri Tigers

Javon Foster knows the Missouri Tigers’ offensive line has a secret.

The two-year starter at left tackle has locked down the left side of Mizzou’s offensive line for the last two seasons. It took him two years to earn that spot. He calls Armand Membou “special.”

The two years it took Foster to earn that job as a starter? Membou, now an MU sophomore after starring at Lee’s Summit North High School, earned his own starting job after a single standout freshman season.

“He’s crazy,” Foster said. “Y’all just don’t know. He’s crazy.”

No. 21-ranked Missouri needed the spark because the Tigers’ offensive line was one of the team’s weakest units last year. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and his staff recruited some help through the transfer portal and high school signings.

Foster has shored up the blind side for MU’s quarterbacks. The MU coaching staff was impressed by Connor Tollison’s improvement over the summer and in training camp. Xavier Delgado was seen as a consistent part of the line, and the right guard position had depth thanks to the staff’s recruiting efforts.

That left the right tackle position, where Membou has been a natural.

Membou wasn’t put at right tackle as a consolation prize or last-second decision, either. He fits there as an athlete and versatile football player.

“I just want to see us dominate,” he said.

That’s happening. The Tigers were unbeaten at 5-0 entering Saturday’s home showdown with No. 23 LSU (3-2). And Membou has the potential to be an anchor for MU’s offensive line for several years to come.

For now, the Lee’s Summit native is tasked with defending some of the best players in college football during a breakthrough season in year four of the Eli Drinkwitz era.

“If he ain’t a first-round pick, I don’t know who is,” Lee’s Summit North coach Jamar Mozee said. “He’s that good.”

‘A special, special kid’

Before Membou was special in the eyes of his Tigers teammates, he was a high school standout in the Kansas City area.

Lee’s Summit North has seen its share of them. The list includes five-star MU pledge Williams Nwaneri and former four-star prospect Cayden Green. From 2020-23, five Lee’s Summit North players made 247Sports’ top composite rankings for the state of Missouri. All five signed to play Division I college football.

Membou, a three-star prospect as a senior, eventually signed with Mizzou.

Mozee still speaks highly of the talent Membou displayed when he was at Lee’s Summit North. But Membou wasn’t attracted to the recruiting process like some other recruits.

“He’s one of the best high school football players I’ve ever seen,” Mozee said. “I thought Armand was very under-recruited, and that sounds crazy, but he wasn’t into the recruiting piece, either.”

Membou was rated the 10th-best prospect in the state of Missouri. He was one of seven in-state players to commit to MU from the class of 2022.

During his freshman season last fall, Membou played in 11 games and started the final five. With that opportunity, he showed Missouri he deserved more playing time and responsibility.

“One of the regrets I have from last year is not playing Armand sooner, in a full-time role,” Drinkwitz said this past offseason.

This year, there was little doubt that Membou would win a starting role on the Tigers’ offensive line. It wasn’t a matter of if, but where — as in, at which position.

“I’m telling you, he is a special, special kid,” Mozee said. “He’s physically strong. He’s smart. He’s really, really tough.”

The Armand-sized puzzle

After his promising freshman season of college football, the plan for Membou is to grow.

Not in the physical sense — at 6-foot-3 and 314 pounds, he has the proper size for an SEC-caliber lineman. The growth MU envisions will come in his mental approach and development of further skills.

“Let’s continue to grow,” former Missouri offensive line coach Marcus Jones said. “Let’s continue to understand the entirety of the defense. Let’s understand what’s going on at the third level with DBs and the body languages of linebackers.”

Initially, Jones said, the plan was for Membou to take over at right guard this fall. But then Jones left for a job at Purdue, Drinkwitz hired Brandon Jones as its next O-line coach and Cam’Ron Johnson transferred into the Missouri program.

When Connor Tollison earned the starting nod at center, Johnson was moved to right guard. In turn, Membou was penciled in at right tackle.

It was that easy for Missouri, mainly because Membou has the versatility to play multiple positions. That’s one part of what makes him special. Another aspect, the part Foster and the others see at MU, is Membou’s athleticism — especially for a 300-plus-pound lineman.

Membou even earned a spot on The Athletic’s College Football Freaks List 2023.

“Being the size of an offensive lineman, being able to move like a skill guy ...” Foster said at SEC Media Days in July. “... When you have that ability, you’re special.”

The future for Membou at Missouri

Foster is the unquestioned anchor of Missouri’s offensive line this season, a preseason All-SEC selection with past accolades underscoring his talent.

But the future belongs to Membou.

Membou’s rapid improvement during his freshman season attests to that, as does that aforementioned versatility. Once Foster, a senior, departs from Columbia, the starting gig at left tackle could belong to Membou.

He’s already grabbed the attention of first-year offensive coordinator Kirby Moore.

“It’s probably a combination of athletic ability and determination and drive,” Moore said of what makes Membou a special player. “There’s not one thing, right? There’s a number of things that make him who he is. And he just works really hard in the meeting room and on the practice field.”

Membou is ready to seize the moment. As the clock ticks forward during a breakthrough season for Mizzou, he’s blocking for an offense that’s seemingly found its footing.

After a year of growth and summer of preparation, he’s ready for the future and all that comes with it.

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.