Missouri concluded its spring football practices with the Black and Gold game on April 13. Before settling in for the summer and shifting our focus forward to fall camp, we will take a look back at what we learned during the spring for each position group, as well as where the depth chart currently stands. Today, we finish our look at the defense with a breakdown of the safeties.
Previous positions:
DEPTH CHART
Strong safety:
1. Ronnell Perkins, Sr.
2. Khalil Oliver, Sr.
Free Safety:
1. Joshuah Bledsoe, Jr.
2. Jordan Ulmer, Jr.
Boundary:
1. Tyree Gillespie, Jr.
2. Jalani Williams, Fr.
THE SKINNY
It might look different on the team’s depth chart, but Missouri’s safety positions should operate similarly to last season, both in scheme and personnel. Senior Ronnell Perkins will man the strong safety position, which is a hybrid between a safety and an outside linebacker. Though it was called linebacker last year, Perkins played a similar position, seizing more and more playing time from nominal starter Brandon Lee as the season progressed. He will be coached by defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ryan Walters instead of a linebackers coach this season. Perkins contributed 18 tackles and one sack last season, and his blend of coverage ability and willingness to play the run makes him an ideal fit for the spot. Fellow senior Khalil Oliver, who transferred to Missouri from Oregon prior to last season and played frequently, should also see playing time at the position.
The tandem of Joshuah Bledsoe and Tyree Gillespie should man the other two safety spots, as they did down the stretch last season (it’s worth pointing out that head coach Barry Odom said he considers all three safety spots interchangeable from a personnel standpoint). Gillespie earned positive reviews thanks to his athleticism prior to last season, then ended up starting the final eight games of the year. He racked up 48 tackles, the most of any non-linebacker, on the season. Bledsoe, too, saw his playing time increase as the season went on. He finished the season with 27 tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
The biggest concern surrounding the safety position is depth behind the three starters. Oliver started several games last season, but he struggled at times, especially in coverage. Aside from him, only Jordan Ulmer has college game experience. Ulmer started the very first game of his freshman year, in 2017, and has yet to play a meaningful defensive snap since. The Tigers have a handful of promising freshmen coming to campus in Aidan Harrison, Stacy Brown and Martez Manuel, plus Jalani Williams who has already arrived, but the coaching staff has to be concerned about who would fill in if one of Perkins, Bledsoe or Gillespie gets hurt.
SPRING TAKEAWAY
While the Tiger coaches stressed that not much would change due to the creation of the new “boundary” position, the main reason for the reshuffling was to help the Tiger linebackers and safeties better cover opposing slot receivers, tight ends and running backs. Missouri was gashed over the middle of the field by those players on several occasions a season ago. The hope is that, as the SEC continues to trend more to spread-style offenses, playing Perkins and Oliver, defensive backs by training, instead of a third linebacker will create more favorable coverage matchups for the defense.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Can Williams bounce back from injury quickly enough to contribute this season? The St. Louis native was the star of this year’s recruiting haul, and when he announced that he would enroll in college early and participate in spring practices, he became a likely candidate to see the field as a true freshman. However, a foot injury early in the spring forced Williams to undergo surgery and watch the rest of the spring from the sidelines. As detailed above, Missouri would benefit from Williams and the rest of the incoming freshmen being able to contribute this season, but it remains to be seen whether Williams can recover from his injury quickly enough to do so.
QUOTABLE
Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters on the new boundary position:
“It just gives you a little bit more flexibility form a coverage standpoint. This is an 11 personnel league, a lot of times you have 10 personnel pictures out of that position group, so just having the ability and flexibility to do more from a coverage standpoint. That will be our base personnel.”
Ronnell Perkins on the new defensive alignment:
“For a base defense, we can show different things. We can blitz on some downs, and I can step out and cover and somebody else blitzes. So basically they just don’t know where we’re coming from. We could come from anywhere, and I could go drop back at safety and somebody could drop down. It’s real nice, I like it.”
