Missouri Tigers Make Major Changes to Defensive Depth Chart

With the new preseason depth chart that the Missouri Tigers released in conjunction with the start of SEC media days, there were several rather significant surprises. While things were pretty much as predicted on the offensive side of the ball, other than the somewhat surprising listing of wide receiver Levi Copelin as a third-stringer, there were some pretty significant shakeups on defense.

The most significant of those changes was the drop of redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Harold Brantley to fourth on the depth chart. The 6-foot-3 lineman was very highly touted last year and ended up becoming a part-time starter, registering 30 total tackles with five for loss on the season. However, Brantley reportedly lost a significant amount of weight over the offseason, and he’s just now getting back to about 285 pounds, five pounds lighter than the weight he was listed at last season. There’s also the possibility of there being discipline issues involved in the equation, as head coach Gary Pinkel mentioned Brantley along with receiver Levi Copelin as players who had been dropped down the depth chart due to “a couple things going internally”.

Another significant move at the defensive tackle position was the ascension of true sophomore Josh Augusta to the starting nose tackle position. Augusta was pretty impressive in his first year as a Tiger, picking up three tackles for loss and two sacks as a member of a five-man defensive tackle rotation. It’s still a bit surprising, however, that he was (at least for the moment) able to leap senior Lucas Vincent, who was pretty productive a year ago in making 34 total tackles with five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Another change included redshirt sophomore Donavin Newsom being elevated to the starting position at strongside linebacker, a change that had been initiated during spring practice before Newsom suffered an injury. More unexpected, though, was the demotion of the previous starter at that position, senior Darvin Ruise, to third string on the depth chart. Ruise, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, has struggled with his weight and conditioning during his career at Mizzou, and that may be the reason that he’s fallen. He probably doesn’t have a very good shot of making his way past Newsom again to reclaim a starting spot, but if he proves himself in fall practices he should be expected to move ahead of undersized former safety Joey Burkett.

With the players that have been knocked down the depth chart because of disciplinary issues, it was kind of surprising to see sophomore cornerback Aarion Penton retain his starting spot heading into the fall. After a strong performance as a true freshman, Penton was arrested this spring on marijuana possession charges. It should be interesting to see if Penton has to serve a suspension to begin the season, as is common practice with players who are arrested during the offseason.