By: Sean Cartell
Kamar Missouri never envisioned himself playing football.
But when Missouri – now 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds – was in middle school, he attended practice with his cousins, and the coaching staff was struck by his size.
“I was the biggest one out there,” Missouri said. “They talked me into playing. I started and I wanted to go back the next day. I’ve been playing ever since then. That was about sixth or seventh grade.”
Growing up in what Missouri describes as a “rough place” in Baltimore, he learned early in life the impact that every decision can make in charting the course of his life.
“I was always a kid that wanted to do the right things,” he said. “It’s Baltimore – you’ve got to pick your crowd wisely and choose your path wisely because it’s easy to go down the wrong one.”
He attended Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School, a highly regarded public school, where he played defensive end for the Mustangs, helping his team to an 11-1 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state semifinals as a senior in 2019. Missouri was a member of a defense that allowed just 6.1 points per game, posting 70 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He was a First-Team All-Metro selection by The Baltimore Sun following his senior year.
“My high school coaches took a chance on me,” Missouri said. “They just took a kid who they thought had talent and they shaped him to be the man I am today.”
Missouri, who was raised by his mother and his grandparents, credits his high school coaches for helping prepare him to receive an opportunity to play at Big Ten Conference member Rutgers. He competed three seasons for the Scarlet Knights before transferring to UTSA in advance of the 2024 campaign.
“It was big because there weren’t too many of us doing it,” Missouri said. “I graduated in 2020 and I was the only player from a public school in my class to go to a P5 school. It was unheard of. A lot of people were proud of what I was doing and asked how I did it. I told them that my coaches made a blueprint and I followed it. I followed the instructions and it got me here.”
Missouri played on both sides of the line in high school and started his career at Rutgers on the defensive line before switching to the offensive line as a sophomore. In his junior year of 2023, he saw action in 10 games with four starts at right tackle. While he initially wanted to play on the defensive side of the ball, Missouri has embraced the offensive line, where a great performance is solely reflected in the statistics of other players.
“I’m an unselfish person anyway, so I fit right in,” he said. “I get to protect somebody – a quarterback who’s back there who puts his trust in me to do my job so that everything can run smooth. My stats are zero sacks [by the opposition] – that’s a stat that I want to have and I’m working hard to make sure it’s that way.”
When Missouri was looking to make a change, UTSA and coaches Jeff and Kurt Traylor made no promises other than a commitment that Missouri would have an opportunity to compete for a spot. It was exactly the culture he was seeking in a program.
“I went on a visit, got to meet the staff and I just felt like Coach Traylor was real and Coach Kurt was real,” Missouri said. “They let me know everything I would get was mine to be earned. That’s what I wanted. I didn’t want to be given anything. That’s what I did – I went and earned it. They believe in me and I believe in them.”
He immediately earned a starting role at left tackle with the Roadrunners, a spot he played in all 13 games last season, including the Myrtle Beach Bowl victory. Missouri logged 971 total snaps in 2024, only allowing four sacks the entire season. He has started all five games for UTSA in 2025.
Missouri is devoted to making the most meaningful impact he can on the field for the Roadrunners in his final collegiate season, but he also understands the bigger picture of what his accomplishments mean to those he can impact in his hometown.
“I come from a place where people don’t have faith; they don’t believe they can make it,” Missouri said. “When I go home and little kids recognize me that I’ve never seen before, that brings joy to me and just lets me know that I’m doing something right. I know there are people back home who are depending on me, not in a financial way, but just to see who I was as a kid and then they see me now. It just motivates me to do right by my city.”
Missouri, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies, aspires to move back to Baltimore following graduation and work with young people in the community that raised him.
“I want to go back to Baltimore and support the youth,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of people doing that and I didn’t really have too many people doing that for me. My high school coaches made me want to do that. I just want to give back to the youth and let them know that there is a way out. It may not be football, it may not be sports, but there’s always an opportunity out there. You’ve just got to take advantage of it when it’s given.”