On Sunday, March 3, Missouri will begin its march toward the 2019 football season with its first spring practice. Each day until then, we will preview the 2019 roster, one position at a time. Today, we finish our position previews by taking a look at the Tiger safeties.
The starters: Missouri head coach Barry Odom has revealed a new wrinkle to the defense this season: a third safety spot called the “boundary” position. As a result, there’s a bit of intrigue as to how each individual’s role will change in the defensive backfield. However, it appears likely that juniors Tyree Gillespie and Joshuah Bledsoe will both have starting roles in some capacity. During the course of last season, Gillespie and Bledsoe gradually earned larger and larger roles, until Gillespie earned a starting spot and Bledsoe played as much or more than Cam Hilton. Despite not playing much early in the season, Gillespie finished third on the defense with 48 total tackles last season. Bledsoe had 27, plus a fumble recovery for a touchdown against Tennessee. On the first depth chart of the spring, Bledsoe is listed as the starting free safety, while Gillespie is listed as the starter at “boundary.” Senior Ronnell Perkins is listed as the starting strong safety, and as covered in the linebackers preview, we expect him to spend a significant amount of time playing the hybrid safety/outside linebacker position in the Tigers’ scheme.
The backups: After transferring to Missouri from Oregon, Khalil Oliver earned a starting role for much of last season until Gillespie took his spot. While Oliver likely won’t be a starter this season, we expect the senior to have a regular role. Odom said Oliver has gained some weight during the offseason and could be used at outside linebacker, much like Perkins. That would seemingly fit Oliver well, since most of his struggles last season seemed to come in coverage situations. After starting the season-opener of his true freshman season and then hardly ever seeing the field since, Jordan Ulmer remains one of the more mysterious figures on the defense; perhaps this spring he can finally carve out a consistent role. Even more intriguing than Ulmer is true freshman Jalani Williams. The only four-star recruit in Missouri’s 2019 signing class, Williams is already on campus and could push for immediate playing time with a strong spring.
Potential storylines: We will certainly monitor whether the addition of the “boundary” position significantly impacts Missouri’s defensive scheme. Assuming it does not, Williams will be the player to watch in the secondary during spring practices. The St. Louis native isn’t short on talent — he chose Missouri over Alabama and LSU — but he will likely need to add some weight to his wiry frame if he is to contribute as a true freshman. Plus, there’s always the challenge of adjusting from high school football to the college ranks, which every player handles differently. If Williams can work his way into a meaningful role this season, he would bring needed athleticism to the Tiger secondary.
Help on the way: In addition to Williams, Missouri signed two more safeties in its 2019 class, both of whom will arrive on campus over the summer. Texas product Stacy Brown enjoyed a breakout senior season, and the Tiger staff could give him a chance to play both safety or the hybrid strongside linebacker spot. Columbia native Martez Manuel may need to add a bit of size, but the coaching staff is excited about his athleticism.
Spring prediction: Regardless of how the positions shake out, Gillespie, Bledsoe and Perkins will all play significant roles next season. We expect Oliver to be in position to contribute as well. Williams will do enough during the spring to play more than four games this season, but the majority of that action might come on special teams.
