Past or present: Comparing Missouri's 2023 & 2024 safeties

Spring ball and the spring transfer portal are long behind us, which means Missouri's roster is taking more of a definitive shape. So now is as good a time as any, to compare the 2023 team to this year's team.

PowerMizzou will make a position-by-position comparison. Next up, are the safeties. We'll do the top six scholarship players on the depth chart for this group.

Safety is one of several deep position groups the Tigers have, and because they start three safeties they typically use at least six players.

The most experienced player of this group snaps-wise is Joseph Charleston, entering year three with Missouri after transferring from Clemson in the 2022 offseason. In 2023, he recorded a career-high 61 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, four pass deflections and a forced fumble and is one of two full-time starters returning to the position group.

Of the returning safeties, he's the one who moved around the most. He had 175 snaps in the box, 167 in the slot and 185 at free safety. The hard-hitting safety is a jack-of-all-trades and his veteran leadership will be valued in his final collegiate season for this position group that has plenty of young talent.

Replacing the Indianapolis Colts' fifth-round pick, Jaylon Carlies will be Marvin Burks. The latter was the team's highest-rated signee from the Class of 2023 and instantly found playing time in the two-deep as a freshman.

He appeared in all 13 games and recorded 22 tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.

It's hard to say Burks will be better than someone just selected in the recent draft but there's some nuance to it.

Carlies had a decent season in 2023 with 64 tackles, a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss, five pass deflections, two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. However, PFF College has credited him with allowing 30 receptions on 42 targets for 358 yards and five touchdowns.

Not the best line you want out of a free safety. So, mix that with Carlies' NFL Combine results and you can see why the Colts drafted him to be a linebacker.

Burks looks like more of a true free safety. He's young, though, and he has some experience but not as a starter. It won't be easy for him to surpass Carlies but he has the tools to do so.

Even when Daylan Carnell was coming off the bench in 2022, he stamped his place in the rotation when he led the team in takeaways with five. Last year, was his first year starting, and he did well producing 51 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles and an interception returned for a touchdown.

Carnell seems like a good candidate to be drafted for the 2025 NFL Draft if he chooses to declare and his draft stock will improve mightily as long as he continues to improve year over year like he's been doing.

Tre'Vez Johnson was the first safety off the bench and started two games a year ago. The former Florida Gator recorded 43 tackles and a tackle for loss.

He played 445 snaps. For reference, Charleston played 556. So, expect Johnson to continue to see the field plenty in 2024.

Sidney Williams had one of the best years of his career in his first season in Columbia. The former Florida State Seminole had 25 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He might get some more snaps this year but expect his role to be relatively the same.

Fifty percent of his snaps came from inside the box, so expect him to be Charleston's backup in the strong safety role.

Lastly, Phillip Roche was one of several freshmen who made an impact for Mizzou last year. He appeared in 11 games and had nine tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.

Primarily used in the box, expect him to get more snaps and be a player the team brings in when it wants to send some heat.

Other scholarship defensive ends: Austyn Dendy (Fr.), Jude James (Fr.), Jackson Hancock (Fr.)

Overall advantage: 2024

The only significant change about this group is losing Carlies, who always had solid hands as a former receiver and improved his tackling year over year. However, with the combination of talent, experience and youth coming back, there's room for this position group to continue growing and collectively fill-in Carlies' production.

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