Mizzou camp preview: Safety

It’s been an offseason like no other for the Missouri football program. The Tigers fired four-year head coach Barry Odom following a 6-6 2019 campaign, replacing him with Eliah Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz cleaned house on the offensive side of the ball, then just after the team began holding spring practices, the COVID-19 pandemic hit college sports. Missouri had to cancel 12 of its 15 originally scheduled practices, as well as the Black and Gold game, in the spring. While the team was able to return for voluntary strength and conditioning workouts this summer, which have since transitioned to mandatory practices, the Tigers have still only once taken the field in pads under Drinkwitz’s watch.

Fitting with the theme of the year, the calendar for the 2020 season continues to change. Last week, the SEC announced that each team would play a 10-game, conference-only schedule beginning Sept. 26. Tuesday, the league pushed back the start of fall camp as well. Missouri was originally scheduled to begin camp Friday, but instead will hold the first of 25 camp practices on Aug. 17.

Despite the constantly-shifting schedule, PowerMizzou is continuing to preview Missouri's 2020 season one position group at a time. Today, we conclude our examination of the defense by breaking down the safety position.

Missouri brings back a pair of accomplished starters at its high safety spots in Tyree Gillespie and Joshuah Bledsoe. Gillespie ranked second on Missouri’s team with 50 tackles last season, while Bledsoe came in just behind him with 49. The duo combined for eight tackles for loss and 17 passes broken up. We expect both players to start again in 2020, and with a good season both could be dark horse all-conference candidates.

The Tigers adapted their base defense a bit last season to add a third safety to the field, and after the graduation of Khalil Oliver and Ronnell Perkins, that spot should be up for grabs this offseason. The favorite to start at the “boundary” position, which functions as a hybrid between an outside linebacker and a traditional safety, appears to be sophomore Stacy Brown. The coaching staff spoke highly of Brown during his first season on campus, as evidenced by the fact that he appeared in 11 of the team’s 12 games. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, Brown already has the size for the position, now it will be a matter of consistently producing during camp.

There are several other members of Brown’s recruiting class who could push him for the boundary starting spot. Tops on that list might be Aidan Harrison. Despite being limited by a leg injury early in the year, the Michigan native played in eight games, thus using a year of eligibility, in his first season on campus. The coaching staff recruited Harrison, who played almost every position on the field during high school, specifically with this hybrid position in mind.

Then there are Martez Manuel and Jalani Williams, who might profile more as traditional safeties but could spend some time at the boundary spot this season to try to get on the field. Manuel showed a lot of promise during his first season on campus. The Columbia native was the only true freshman to appear in all 12 games, and when Gillespie had to miss the first half of the Kentucky game due to a suspension from a targeting penalty, Manuel got the start. Williams had his development slowed by an ankle injury that required surgery during last offseason and thus redshirted, but the former four-star recruit out of St. Louis has plenty of athleticism. True freshman Tyler Jones will provide depth at the safety spot. The newcomer could be a candidate for a special teams role.

How will the coaching staff utilize the talented crop of second-year players? Will the staff let all four of Brown, Harrison, Manuel and Williams compete at the boundary position, or will the latter two be pegged as exclusively high safeties? The staff has said before that they consider all three safety spots interchangeable, so it’s not out of the question. Alternatively, let’s say Manuel and Williams wind up as backups to Bledsoe and Gillespie but perform well during camp. Might the staff try to give them a few series a game to groom them and keep them happy, the way they did when Bledsoe and Gillespie were sophomores? Or is the senior duo too valuable to take off the field? It will be interesting to see not only how the two-deep shakes out, but how the reps are divided among those players.

As much as the staff may like Manuel, we believe Bledsoe and Gillespie will play almost every snap at the two high safety spots, as long as they’re healthy. Meanwhile, Brown and Harrison will rotate reps at the hybrid position, much like Oliver and Perkins did last season, unless one really separates himself. Manuel and Williams will likely be heavily involved on special teams.

Previous position previews:

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Offensive line

Defensive tackle

Defensive end

Linebacker

Cornerback