Review and Preview: Linebacker
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 continue to focus on the defensive by breaking down the linebackers.
2018 review
Missouri brought three linebackers with starting experience back in 2018, and the group lived up to the expectations, especially in the run game. Middle linebacker Cale Garrett emerged as the best player on the defense this season. Garrett led the SEC in solo tackles and tied for fifth in the league in total tackles, and he was voted to the all-SEC second team by the coaches. Weakside linebacker Terez Hall, the emotional leader of the defense, was similarly effective in the run game as well as when the Tigers used him to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Hall led the team with five sacks on the season. Senior Brandon Lee started the majority of the games at outside linebacker, but he battled an elbow injury all season and Ronnell Perkins slowly began seizing his playing time as the year progressed. Perkins started and played the majority of the snaps during the Liberty Bowl.
The two areas of concern for Missouri’s linebacking corps this season were pass coverage and depth. The group struggled at times to cover slot receivers and tight ends, resulting in some big plays over the middle. Plus, aside from Perkins, the backups hardly ever saw the field aside from during blowouts. That could have been in part because Hall and Garrett were so effective, but it also raises some concern about how the position group might hold up in the event of an injury next season.
2019 preview
Departing: Terez Hall, Brandon Lee
Missouri will lose two of its three starters at linebacker, although as stated above, Lee basically got passed by Perkins by the end of the season. Hall, however, might be the most difficult departing defender to replace, both due to his ability on the field and his leadership off of it.
Returning: Cale Garrett, Nick Bolton, Ronnell Perkins, Jamal Brooks, Aubrey Miller, Cameron Wilkins, Chad Bailey
The Tigers will have Garrett back to anchor the defense in 2019. Perkins, a converted safety who played well in the hybrid strongside linebacker position this year, seems like a safe bet alongside him. Aside from those two, the Tigers bring back a group that is talented but inexperienced. The coaching staff raved about Bolton prior to last season, and he saw action in a few important spots but for the most part played on special teams in 2018. Miller and Brooks both played as true freshmen in 2017, and Miller in particular has flashed impressive physical tools at times, but neither saw the field often this season. Bailey, a former four-star recruit, underwent thumb surgery during fall camp last year and thus redshirted, but he did earn a bit of playing time on special teams toward the end of the season. Wilkins burned his redshirt this season by contributing often on special teams and even playing a few snaps as an H-back on offense.
Incoming: Aidan Harrison, Devin Nicholson, Jamie Pettway
Harrison, a jack-of-all-trades in high school, seems like a natural fit for the strongside linebacker position in Missouri’s scheme. Nicholson and Pettway were both late additions to the signing class with impressive athletic upside. Don’t be surprised if all three players at least earn some special teams reps as true freshmen.
Projected 2019 starters: Ronnell Perkins (SAM), Cale Garrett (MIKE), Nick Bolton (WILL)
The coaching staff always says that players have to re-earn their starting spots during each offseason, but Garrett seems as sure a thing to start at middle linebacker as anyone on the defense. Bolton and, to a lesser extent, Perkins are less locked in to those spots, but they figure to get first crack at starting.
Offseason storylines to watch:
Which young linebackers develop, and which fall by the wayside? Missouri has brought in seven linebackers in the last two recruiting classes, several of whom were highly-touted prospects. But there’s clearly not enough playing time to go around for all of those players to carve out a role. It will be interesting to see the impression that is made by the newcomers — Harrison, Nicholson and Pettway — as well as which second-year guys take the next step. This will be an important season for the likes of Bailey, Wilkins and Gerald Nathan Jr.
Previous position groups: