Review and Preview: Defensive line
The 2018 football season is officially in the books. In this series, PowerMizzou will go position-by-position to look back at the Tigers' 8-5 2018 campaign while also previewing the depth chart for the 2019 season. Today, we switch our focus to the defensive side of the ball by breaking down the defensive tackles.
2018 recap
Once Terry Beckner Jr. announced that he would return to Missouri for his senior season, the expectations for the interior of the Tiger defensive line rose drastically. But Missouri’s rotating cast of defensive tackles may have actually eclipsed those expectations, thanks in large part to contributions from players other than Beckner. Walter Palmore shed a bunch of weight last offseason and earned the starting spot next to Beckner. Texas transfer Jordan Elliott dominated at times, such as when he recorded three sacks and four tackles for loss against Arkansas. Sophomore Kobie Whiteside rounded out the rotation when healthy and contributed two tackles for loss and a sack. Missouri’s defensive tackle group was a big reason why the Tigers defended the run well — they finished the year No. 22 against the run, allowing just over 126 yards per game — and dominated in short-yardage situations. Missouri allowed opponents to convert just 28 percent of fourth downs on the year, which ranked second in the country.
2019 preview
Departing: Terry Beckner Jr., Walter Palmore, Rashad Brandon
Missouri will lose a lot of production from its starting pair of defensive tackles. Beckner recorded 34 total tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and three-and-a-half sacks, this season. Palmore had 31 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack.
Returning: Jordan Elliott, Kobie Whiteside, Markell Utsey, Antar Thompson
Elliott will likely be asked to take on a much larger role in 2019. The junior-to-be flashed dominant potential at times this season, but he also struggled a bit with consistency, so the coaching staff will look for him to improve on that during the offseason. Whiteside will likely also see his role expand. Utsey and Thompson are both fairly unknown commodities. Utsey saw the field as both a true freshman and a sophomore in 2016-2017, but he appeared in just three games this season, so he will likely still have two years of eligibility remaining. Thompson, a freshman in 2018 despite being in his mid-20s, recorded just one tackle on the year.
Incoming: Chris Daniels
Like Elliott, Daniels signed with Texas in 2016 and spent his first college season playing there under current Missouri defensive line coach Brick Haley. After two years of junior college, he will now rejoin both Elliott and Haley, and Missouri will look for him to make an instant impact. Daniels will enroll in January and start practicing with the team during the spring, but it’s not yet clear whether he will be able to participate fully, as he missed most of this past season due to injury. Two other newcomers on the defensive line, Isaiah McGuire and Darius Robinson, could also wind up playing defensive tackle, but they may not be as likely to see the field right away.
Projected 2019 starters: Jordan Elliott and Kobie Whiteside
It would make sense for the two returning members of Missouri’s four-man rotation in 2018 earn starting spots next year.
Offseason storylines to watch
Can the Tigers find reliable depth behind Elliott and Whiteside? They will have several potential options, but most of them are thus far unproven. Utsey has recorded just 12 tackles in his college career. Daniels is making the leap from junior college and coming off an injury. Thompson has long been a mysterious commodity. It’s possible Akial Byers could transition from defensive end to tackle — he played on the interior at times this season and it would appear to be his more natural position — but he was Missouri’s best player at a position of major need this year, so it seems more likely the Tigers will count on Utsey, Thompson, Daniels or another newcomer to contribute regularly.