The first Missouri football season of the Eli Drinkwitz era showed both plenty of reasons for optimism as well as room for improvement. The Tigers finished a 10-game, all-SEC schedule with a record of 5-5, including an upset of defending national champion LSU and at one point cracking the College Football Playoff rankings at No. 25. However, the team also dropped its final two games of the season and saw an average margin of defeat of 24 points in its five losses.
In this series, we will go position by position to break down Missouri's performance in 2020 and look ahead to spring football practices, which should start later this month, and kick off preparation for the 2021 season. Last week, we analyzed the defensive end situation. Today, we take a look at Missouri's linebackers, which face the tall task of replacing Nick Bolton.
2020 Recap
After a breakout sophomore campaign, Bolton entered last season with lofty expectations as the leaders of the linebacker corps. For the most part, he met them. Bolton, who lined up at the weakside linebacker spot in Missouri's defensive scheme, finished the season seventh in the SEC with 95 tackles on the year. He had double-digit tackles in four games, despite playing through an injury for the final few contests. Bolton also had eight tackles for loss, including two sacks, and while he didn't have an interception, his pass break-up during Missouri's goal-line stand against LSU helped preserve the win. Bolton was voted a second-team all-American by the AP and to the all-SEC first team for his work. After the season, he declared for the NFL Draft, leaving behind massive shoes to fill.
Starting every game next to Bolton was sophomore Devin Nicholson. Nicholson made a few big plays, most notably a late interception that helped seal the win over South Carolina and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter against Kentucky, but he also struggled at times with consistency. Nicholson earned the second-lowest grade among any Missouri defensive player who played at least 100 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Yet he also finished second on the team in tackles with 69.
Bolton and Nicholson ate up the vast majority of reps at linebacker, but senior Jamal Brooks and sophomore Chad Bailey saw a bit of playing time, as well. Brooks made a few nice plays but also had a series of miscues that almost cost Missouri the game late against Arkansas. Bailey, a former top 250 recruit, looked a bit out of position in his first meaningful college playing time.
2021 Outlook
Departing: Nick Bolton
Returning: Devin Nicholson, Chad Bailey, Jamal Brooks, Gerald Nathan Jr., Jamie Pettway, Cameron Wilkins, Will Norris
Missouri may well have found its replacement at Bolton's spot via the transfer portal (more on that momentarily), but replacing his production will take a group effort. The most likely candidates for an increase in playing time would seem to be Bailey, Brooks and Wilkins. Bailey battled injuries for most of his first two years on campus before finally earning a spot on the two-deep last season. While he generally struggled when he saw game action, it's reasonable to expect he will benefit from the playing experience. Brooks has seemingly spent each of his four years as the second man on the depth chart without ever breaking through into a starting role. He opted to take advantage of the NCAA's decision to not count last season against players' eligibility by returning for a fifth year and will likely have an eye on a starting spot. Wilkins made two starts in 2019 and was listed as a co-starter early last season, albeit at middle linebacker. He missed the majority of last season with an injury, the specifics of which were never disclosed, but the coaching staff seemed to like him, so as long as he's healthy, it wouldn't come as a shock to see him push for playing time at either middle or weakside linebacker.
Incoming: Blaze Alldredge, Zachary Lovett, Dameon Wilson
The Missouri staff was able to mine the transfer portal for a player whose production nearly matches Bolton's, at least on paper. Alldredge announced his intention to transfer from Rice to Missouri on Jan. 19. Playing the WILL position like Bolton, Alldredge led Conference USA with 102 tackles and tied for second in the nation with 21.5 tackles for loss in 2019. Last season, he recorded 47 tackles in five games. A graduate transfer, Alldredge will be available to play right away, and the expectation will likely be for him to take over a starting spot.
The Tigers also added a pair of high school prospects at linebacker. Lovett and Wilson could theoretically vie for defensive playing time when they arrive on campus this summer, but considering the number of players Missouri is returning at the position, it seems more likely they would contribute on special teams, if at all, in 2021.
Projected Starters: Devin Nicholson, Blaze Alldredge
The staff will likely stage an open competition for playing time, but it's hard to envision a player who has started Missouri's last 15 games (Nicholson) and one who has averaged 8.8 tackles per game across the past two seasons (Alldredge) getting beat out. As of today, we would project Wilkins to serve as the top backup for Nicholson and Bailey to back up Alldredge once the season kicks off.
Spring Practice storyline to watch: How does Alldredge fit into the defense? The goal in adding him during the offseason was clearly to serve as a starter, but as a newcomer, he will have to work his way up the depth chart. It's unlikely that he will step right into Bolton's roll as both the vocal and tackling leader of Missouri's defense, but the Tigers will almost certainly count on him to be productive despite the step up in competition from Conference USA to the SEC.
Previous Position Breakdowns:
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