Are the Missouri Tigers Rebuilding? Or Are they Reloading?
Defense
As good as the offense was last year for Mizzou, analysts tended to forget about how good the defense was. The unit only gave up 23 points per game and was led by ends Kony Ealy and SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam. If the defense is to be as good this year, the front line is where it’ll have to start.
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Sam and Ealy, unfortunately, are both gone after combining for 33 tackles, 19.5 tackles for a loss, and 5 forced fumbles. That’s serious NFL productivity that just left, and analysts are already debating over who made whom look better in college. Ready for this? Neither was the catalyst. Both are good, but they were made to look better thanks to the talent in the middle. Senior tackle Matt Hoch and senior nose guard Lucas Vincent created so much disruption in the middle, combining for 57.5 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, and 5.5 sacks, that Ealy and Sam had free reign to wreak havoc on the outside. Guess what. Hoch and Vincent are back. Replacing Sam and Ealy at end are senior Markus Golden and junior Shane Ray. Golden had 13 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble last year while leading the front line with 45.5 tackles overall as a back-up! He’s now the starter, so imagine how good he could be. Ray was the fourth end in the rotation, and he still managed 33 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Name two back-up linemen anywhere in college football that put up numbers like that. In typical Pinkel fashion, he has still managed to put together some depth in the rotation as well from unheralded players, starting with back-up nose guard Harold Brantley, who managed 5 tackles for a loss as a freshman last year. Sophomore tackle Josh Augusta put up 2 sacks as a freshman last year as well. This shows that the middle is set. What about depth on the outside? Pinkel is so good at finding gems here, I’m already betting on redshirt freshmen Marcus Loud and Charles Harris. The line won’t have any drop-off this year, and despite the heavy losses, there’s a chance it gets better.
The Tigers surprisingly return a lot of contributors at linebacker, but two of the top three are gone. Middle linebacker Andrew Wilson will be missed after recording 86 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for a loss, and 3 passes broken up last year. Outside linebacker Donovan Bonner is the other major contributor gone after recording 47.5 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack. But surprisingly, the biggest game changer at this position is back. Weakside linebacker Kentrell Brothers had 55 tackles last year, 6.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, 3 passes broken up, and 3 interceptions. He was all over the field, and should be even better as a junior this year. Darvin Ruise will also step in at linebacker as a senior, and it’s important to note that as a back-up last year he had 36 tackles, a tackle for a loss, an interception, a pass broken up, and a forced fumble. He’ll have no trouble filling one of the starting roles. Sophomore linebacker Michael Scherer will fill the middle and saw some action as a freshman last year, but it was limited. Behind them, sophomore Donavin Newsom and junior Clarence Green have little experience but are skilled enough to provide depth. Pinkel also has some raw potential in redshirt freshmen Joey Burkett and Eric Beisel and true freshman Brandon Lee. Starting out the season, the linebacker corp. likely won’t be as good as it was last year, but as the season progresses, it should eventually reach last year’s talent level. The only thing holding the guys back is lack of experience.
Jan 3, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA;Missouri Tigers defensive lineman Lucas Vincent (96) and defensive lineman Markus Golden (33) and defensive lineman Kony Ealy (47) celebrate a play in the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at the 2014 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Missouri beat Oklahoma State 41-31. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The Tigers took their biggest hit in the secondary, but as one of the worst pass defenses in the country last year, losing three starters here won’t have much of an effect on this defense overall. Cornerback E.J. Gaines is the biggest loss after recording 5 interceptions last year, and cornerback Randy Ponder broke up 10 passes. But they combined for 113.5 tackles, meaning they let a lot of guys catch balls as well. At safety, losing Matt White means nothing because Ian Simon was more productive than him at the position last year as a back-up. Simon, a junior, is now the full-time starter after 3.5 tackles for a loss, an interception, and 4 passes broken up last year. Senior safety Braylon Webb is the only returning starter, and as the strong safety, he was very productive with 1.5 tackles for a loss, 3 interceptions, and 7 passes broken up. At cornerback, sophomores Aarion Penton and John Gibson are probably going to be the starters, and they saw significant action as freshmen last year with each recording an interception. Junior cornerback David Johnson will also be in the mix, as will junior college transfer Kenya Dennis. There’s plenty of talent and depth here, and with the way the unit struggled last year, inexperience among the cornerbacks means nothing. Safeties Duron Singleton and Cortland Browning will also see significant action this year after playing a lot last year. Pinkel also has two redshirt freshmen and three true freshmen to provide depth here. Overall, this unit will struggle first due to inexperience, but that will put it on par with last year. There’s no reason to believe it won’t be better by the end of the year.
With the losses at certain positions, the defense will be a little bit worse at the beginning of the season than it was last year. But there are some serious playmakers back that should make the front four even better and the secondary better by the end of the year. The linebackers will struggle a lot at first but should be fine by the end of the year as well, making it conceivable that the defense as a whole will be much better, despite the heavy losses.