Jernigan looking to anchor improved Mizzou defense

Is it a motivational tool or a horse that has been beaten far beyond the end of its life? By now, everyone knows Missouri had one of the nation's worst defenses--and its very worst against the run--for a good portion of the 2021 football season.

"We've got to stop the run," senior linebacker Chad Bailey said of the priorities for the 2022 edition of the Tiger defense.

Last year is still there, certainly, in the back of the minds--maybe not so far back--of those who watched it and played a part in it.

"You can tell they’ve got a chip on their shoulder," defensive coordinator Blake Baker said.

But Baker doesn't belabor the point. In fact, his first day on the job, he made sure to do the exact opposite. It no longer matters that Missouri was 106th in total defense, 116th in yards per carry allowed and 124th against the run in 2021.

"What happened in the past has no bearing moving forward," Baker said. "We don’t talk about last year. That’s something, I came in on the first day, last year’s dead. What you did on tape doesn’t matter to me."

That's made easier not just because Baker is in his first year on the job, but so are so many of his players. Linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper and safety Joseph Charleston transferred from Florida and Clemson, respectively, and both are in position to be game one starters when the Tigers kick off against Louisiana Tech in just 24 days.

But no place has seen a makeover quite like the Tigers' defensive line, particularly its interior. Darius Robinson played 294 snaps for the Tigers a year ago. The defensive tackle with the next most experience in a Tiger uniform is Realus George, who played 132 snaps over eight games last season. After that? Daniel Robledo with a grand total of 18 snaps in two games.

Gone are Kobie Whiteside, Akial Byers and Mekhi Wingo, who played a combined 1,344 snaps for Missouri's beleaguered defense in 2021. It's a whole new look inside, which has helped a lot of those new guys make the transition a little bit easier.

"It's a pretty intriguing process," Oregon transfer Kristian Williams said. "Getting to know people from different cultures, different backgrounds, just different regions across the country."

In addition to Williams, there's Baylor transfer Josh Landry and Oklahoma State transfer Jayden Jernigan. All three were reserves last season on Power Five teams looking for bigger roles at Mizzou. But they're hardly inexperienced. Williams saw 385 snaps, about 30% of the defensive total, for the Ducks a year ago. Landry played 92 snaps for the Bears, who beat Jernigan and the Cowboys in the Big XII Championship Game.

"We've seen a lot of each other, really, last year and the year before that," Jernigan said of Landry. "We've all been helping each other. We've been hanging out more, trying to get to know one another because it's a type of team like that."

Jernigan probably comes to Columbia with the most outside expectation. He had 22 tackles, 11 quarterback hurries and two sacks last year for an OSU defense that finished fourth in the country overall and fifth against the run. Having played on one that was elite, Jernigan doesn't see any big secret in a defense being good against the run.

"It's just a mentality thing really," he said. "I never felt like the run was something where you got to scheme to beat it. It's just lining up in front of your guy, at least in the trenches, line up in front of your guy, whip that guy's butt."

That's something Jernigan feels will be a little more important for his new team than it was his old one. Every team wants to stop the run, but in the SEC, Jernigan sees it as being a little more prevalent.

"Big 12, it's almost a passing down every time," he said.

Because of that Big 12 experience, Jernigan thinks he can bring some pass rushing expertise to the Tigers' defensive front. He also brings some versatility. At 6-foot-0, 277 pounds, Jernigan goes about it a little differently than a lot of traditional defensive tackles. He's used to the questions about his size by now.

"The thing about it is if you use your hands and you have feet, you're good," Jernigan said. "So I'm gonna use my hands and then my quickness. I'm able to use that to go against the defenders that are 330, 340."

He may usually be smaller than the guy across from him, but that may offer him some advantages as well.

"I already have leverage. I have God-given leverage," he said. "So I feel like that helps me a lot. I'm able to stay low, stay under somebody and I know somebody has to come and strike me. They got to get low and be at my height."

Or, as Baker says, "He’s a feisty little dude in there.

"I think he plays to his strengths. I think he’s quick twitch. Even though he is 280, 285, very strong, very physically strong at the point of attack. He’s played a lot of ball. He understands how to use his leverage."

Now the key is making sure the new-look defense turns into a new result on the field.

"The first day I got here, D-Rob (Robinson) and Tree (Trajan Jeffcoat) came to my house," Jernigan said. "We talked about how the season was gonna go."

The plan: Much differently than last season.

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