Since the 2019 football season ended, a lot has changed for the Missouri football program. The Tigers fired head coach Barry Odom on Nov. 30 and 10 days later announce the hire of Eliah Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz had just eight days to salvage a class for the early signing period, all while slowly piecing together his staff of assistants. Drinkwitz appears to have the defensive side of the ball set, but will hire two more offensive assistants.
Now that the dust has finally begun to settle, it's time to take a look back at the 6-6 season. In this series, we will go position-by-position to evaluate the performance in 2019 and the pieces In place for 2020. Today, we switch over to the defensive side of the ball and take a look at the defensive tackles.
2019 recap
Missouri lost both of its starters from the 2018 season along the interior of its defensive line, yet the position might have gotten better. That was thanks in large part to the emergence of Jordan Elliott. Elliott, a Texas transfer, shed a bunch of weight during the offseason and transformed himself from a role player to a game wrecker. He finished the season with 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, but his numbers don't do his impact justice. Elliott earned an overall grade of 92.4 from Pro Football Focus, the highest of any defensive tackle in the country, and was voted first-team all-SEC and second-team all-American by the AP. Elliott has already declared for the NFL Draft, but his running mate at the position, Kobie Whiteside, will be back next season. Whiteside also had a breakout junior campaign, In which he led Missouri with 7.5 sacks and also recorded 7.5 tackles for loss. Rising seniors Markell Utsey and Akial Byers provided the primary depth at the position last season.
Looking ahead
Departing: Jordan Elliott
Returning: Kobie Whiteside, Akial Byers, Markell Utsey, Darius Robinson, Chris Daniels, Antar Thompson, Isaiah McGuire
Replacing Elliott will be a challenge, and will likely be impossible for one individual. However, Missouri has plenty of bodies at defensive tackle. The question is who can step up to become a consistent playmaker alongside Whiteside. Byers has been a solid depth piece for the past two seasons, but he hasn't played a ton of snaps at tackle — in 2018, his best college season, Byers spent most of his time at defensive end. Utsey made a few nice plays this season but also committed two costly personal foul penalties. The rest of the players are virtual unknowns. Both Robinson and McGuire showed enough promise to burn their redshirts last season, but playing consistent, meaningful snaps would be a big step (we're projecting a move from defensive end to tackle for McGuire). Like Elliott, Daniels started his college career at Texas and his talent has not been questioned, but he spent all of the 2019 season trying to get in shape after he showed up overweight. Thompson, the oldest player among the group, hasn't seen the field much the past two seasons, but he could be asked to play a larger role as a senior.
Incoming: None
With five of the eight players listed above entering their final season of eligibility, Missouri desperately needs to sign a few defensive tackles in the 2020 class, more for future depth than this season. The Tigers had a couple candidates committed in the 2020 class, but each decommitted after Odom was fired. Look for defensive line coach Brick Haley to pursue several prospects before the February signing date, with Montra Edwards being the top priority.
Projected 2020 starters: Kobie Whiteside, Akial Byers
After his strong 2019 campaign, Whiteside seems to be a near lock to start again this season, though it bears monitoring to see how effective he can be without Elliott drawing consistent double-teams next to him. The other starting spot should be totally up for grabs. We will give the nod to Byers for now since he has produced the most up to this point, but keep an eye on Robinson. If he can make a jump in his first full offseason with the program, he could vie for a major role.
Offseason storylines to monitor:
Who, if any, of the inexperienced players listed above can step into a regular role? Missouri's defense has been anchored by the interior of its defensive line for the past two seasons, so if the position takes a noticeable step back without Elliott, it's fair to wonder how the unit as a whole will react. Also, as mentioned earlier, it likely won't impact this season, but the coaching staff has to find a few defensive tackles to add to the roster before February or the group could get dangerously thin after this season.
