Mizzou Football Spring Position Battles: Interior Defensive Line
With spring practice in full swing, the Tigers have several important positions up for grabs on both sides of the ball. During the spring practice period, I’m taking a closer look at some of those position battles and who on the roster might have the best chance to leave the spring game with a starting spot secured. I’ve already taken a look at how the offensive line, secondary, and EDGE position battles may shape up, so up next: the interior defensive line.
Exodus of Experience
Coach Al Davis and the interior Mizzou defensive line enjoyed a wealth of experience in 2023, with four players entering their fourth or fifth (or sixth) year of eligibility. That experience translated into a tight four-man rotation for the two interior spots. However with the turn of the calendar, three of those players, Realus George, Jayden Jernigan and Josh Landry, have exhausted their eligibility and will move on to other ventures. With their departures, the Mizzou defense loses 136 games’ worth of defensive line experience, including 75 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 2023. So who will win the job this spring to try and fill that gap? Let’s take a look:
The Returners
Kristian Williams is far and away the most experienced and productive returner on the defensive line for Mizzou. The sixth-year senior and former Oregon transfer begins his third season in Columbia after spending three more on the west coast. He has played in all 26 games for the Tigers since he transferred and was a key member of the four-man DL rotation last year, starting 11 of the 13 games. Barring injury, he will anchor the interior of the defensive line in 2024 for coach Al Davis.
The one downside to having such an experienced and productive four-man rotation last year is that very little experience exists on the returning roster outside of Williams. The former four-star St. Louisan Marquis Gracial found his way on the field in garbage time during two SEC blow outs last year, as did Jalen Marshall for one game. Both players have the size and talent to be key players in the spring position battle and are the best bets outside of Williams for any returning players to see the field in the trenches in 2024. The question Gracial and Marshall will have to answer for Coach Davis is whether or not that can compete consistently enough earn time over the talented transfer class Eli Drinkwitz brought in this winter.
The Transfers
Chris McClellan was widely considered one of the jewels of Eli Drinkwitz’s winter transfer class. The incoming junior played in all 25 games for Florida in his first two seasons, including one start last year. In 12 games in 2023, McClellan racked up 23 tackles, one tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks. McClellan clearly wants an opportunity to start on an SEC defensive line (and probably wanted to jump ship on a sinking Florida program) and he has the size (6’3”, 320 lbs) to fill a big hole in the interior. If he can impress the coaches this spring, McClellan will be a top contender for a starting spot alongside Williams.
Sterling Webb was a sneaky-good transfer grab for the Tigers this winter as well. Less heralded than McClellan, the native St. Louisan moves closer to home after an impressive sophomore season at New Mexico State. A little undersized at 295 lbs, Webb did put up good numbers for the Aggies last year with 30 tackles, six tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. At times last season Webb was quite disruptive against lesser competition. He reminded me in some highlights as a smaller Sheldon Richardson in the way he could blow through gaps and just f*** s*** up. The big question mark for him will be if he can put on enough size to withstand the much bigger and stronger SEC offensive linemen, at least on early downs when he isn’t focused on rushing the passer.
The Freshmen
The Tigers bring in two freshmen interior defensive linemen onto their 2024 roster. Four-star Jaylen Brown from Alabama was more highly recruited of the two. He’s tall and slight for the position at 6’5”, 260 lbs, so he’ll need to spend a year in the strength and conditioning program to fill out his frame. Justin Bodford from Florida is the other incoming freshman. He’s much bigger at 295 lbs, but is probably more of a project, talent-wise. Neither player is on campus this spring, so they aren’t taking part in the current position battles and will have to impress the coaches over the summer if they want to see the field at all in 2024.
Spring Speculation
As mentioned earlier, it would be a shock (or an injury) if returning starter Kristian Williams didn’t anchor down a starting spot this spring on the defensive line. Because incoming defensive coordinator Corey Batoon plans on running 4-2-5 base defense, that leaves one more opening spot to fill. However, defensive line is a constantly rotating position, meaning it’s vital to have at least four, if not five quality players to rotate in and out based on down, distance and energy level.
I expect Chris McClellan will win the starting spot this spring next to Williams, but Sterling Webb and Marquis Gracial will impress enough to see ample field time in the spring game and in the fall. The biggest question will be if Al Davis can stretch a four-man rotation into five if Jalen Marshall earns a spot on the field. Hopefully Marshall will do so, making it much easier to swap guys in and out based on what Batoon wants to do on a down-by-down basis.
