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By: Chris Mitchell
Football season’s right around the corner, and we here at KTGR HQ want to get you up to speed with an easy, breezy guide to everything you need to know about Mizzou football heading into the 2021 season. Next up is the defense:
The Defensive Line
It’s been a while since #DLineZou was a force to be reckoned with on the football field. Everyone knows correlation isn’t causation but it’s hard to deny that Mizzou’s best years in the SEC have come when that defensive front was just about as vicious as their blue blood contemporaries. So, how do you try to replicate those golden years of d-line play? Well, having a 1st team SEC defensive end in Trajan Jeffcoat definitely helps. Jeffcoat was your sack machine last year, racking up 6 in total, right behind him on that defensive line was Isaiah McGuire who had three of his own. In the middle are Kobie Whiteside and Akial Byers, both of whom oughta be seeing more playing time in this new 4-2-5 defensive system brought in by new Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks. Furthermore, I wouldn’t be too shocked if you saw guys in the second string like Darius Robinson or Mekhi Wingo see some decent playing time as well. This defensive line last year was pretty good, allowing just 3.7 yards per carry and 123 rushing yards per game before attrition set in and those numbers dipped for the last three games of the season. Still, barring injuries or COVID-19 related setbacks, it’s hard not to look at this unit and think they’ve got the depth and the talent to be a nuisance to unsuspecting opponents.
The Linebackers
This is the level of the defense that’s going to be hit the hardest this season, but that’s mainly because it’s going to be hard to replace the production that Nick Bolton had last season. Fortunately, the Tigers are keeping their second best tackler from last season in Devin Nicholson and add on a nifty grad transfer in Blaze Alldredge, who received a couple first team Conference USA nods in his time at Rice. You might have seen Blaze a couple years ago in Rice’s game against future SEC neighbor, the Texas Longhorns, in which he recorded 4.5 tackles for loss. It’s tough not having two starters also being returning talent, but you may have the next best thing in this seasoned transfer. Meanwhile in the second string you got guys like Chad Bailey and Jamie Pettaway who had a couple tackles for loss last year and laid some lumber in the special teams department, respectively.
The Safeties
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone more deserving of being a captain of this football team than Martez Manuel. The junior made a splash against Alabama, of all teams, in the season opener where he racked up 3.5 tackles for loss, and kept that train going recording five PBUs and 2.5 sacks throughout the rest of the season. He was also one of the key players back in the summer last year who spearheaded the #Mizzou4Change movement, in case you needed any confirmation that his off-the-field credentials as a leader cut the mustard, too.
Manuel’s tenure as the defense’s leader begins with a whole new look for this group, as the previously mentioned Steve Wilks didn’t just bring a 4-2-5 defensive system with him, he’s also bringing a type of defense that puts a stronger emphasis on zone defense. Zone defense is basically where the defender is tasked with covering the guy who just so happens to be in their specific zone of the field, as opposed to sticking in man-to-man assignment coverage. Manuel will have some help with Jalani Williams slotted in at the free safety spot, who had a few PBUs recorded last season, at least for one half of the Central Michigan game while Jaylon Carlies continues his punishment for his targeting penalty in last year’s Mississippi State game. Rounding out the safeties room is Shawn Robinson, who played quarterback most of his career but looked pretty nice in practices as a converted defensive back.
The Cornerbacks
The pass defense last year for Mizzou was…lackluster. Opposing passing offenses completed 58.5% of their passes and averaged 6.1 yards per play. Even in the early part of the season where they didn’t have to face Georgia or Mississippi State, LSU had 430 yards through the air. For now, you got Ish Burdine and Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. holding it down on the corners with Kris Abrams-Draine in at nickel. This is gonna be a room that could see the most rotations out of the rest of the group, as you’ll have Tulsa transfers Akayleb Evans and Allie Green IV vying for starting spots as well. If the competition is as fierce as we’d like to hope, we could see some elevated corner play from Rakestraw and Burdine. This could very well be a sneaky good unit this year, now we just wait and see how that defensive install is coming along this Saturday.
Special Teams
Did anyone else notice how efficient Harrison Mevis was last year in the kicking game? Where as a true freshman he set the school record for most field goals in a single game (5) against Arkansas, finished 17/20 on kicks, and booted a 52 yarder? Here’s to at least a couple more years of Mr. Mevis.
Elijah Young is getting first dibs at returning kicks while Mookie Cooper and Jay Maclin are out with injuries. Last year the Tigers weren’t the most dynamic punt or kick returning team, so letting the young guns with something to prove take the reins when it comes to the return game might just be the shot in the arm they need to get some more mileage out of their chances.
