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Missouri has been full of surprises since joining the SEC.
Not many would have guessed the Tigers would make back-to-back conference championship game appearances or that Michael Sam and Shane Ray would have emerged as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Mizzou can be tough to forecast, but aspects of the 2015 Tigers should be reasonably easy to predict. Maty Mauk is back at quarterback and likely will lead in all passing categories. Russell Hansbrough is looking for another 1,000-yard rushing season to top the list there. If linebacker Kentrell Brothers has anything close to the kind of season he had last year, he’ll once again lead the Tigers in tackles.
But some things are harder to predict. Will Missouri’s strength on the defense line be in the middle or on the ends? Who will stand out amongst a talented defensive backfield? And who is going to put points on the board?
Here’s a few educated guesses about who might lead the Tigers in some of those categories:
Sack Master — DE Charles Harris
Some are predicting this to be a weak spot for the Tigers after losing Ray, Markus Golden and their 23.0 combined sacks from a year ago, but have you noticed that Gary Pinkel’s teams always seem to have a strong pass rush coming off the edge no matter who graduates or moves on to the pros?
Harris seems like a good candidate to pick up the slack. He played in 13 games as a freshman last season, but managed to make just 19 tackles. Yet in his limited opportunities he showed some flashes of excellence. Four of his tackles were for a loss, two of them sacks. He also defended two passes and forced a fumble.
At 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, he’s quite a bit bigger than when he arrived in Columbia and brings a nice mix of size and speed. Early in the season, opposing offensive coordinators will spend a lot of time planning ways to block linebacker Brothers, who had 122 tackles last year.
But as Harris approaches double-digit sacks, the talented Kansas City product is going to attract plenty of attention.
Crossing the goal line — RB Russell Hansbrough
Predicting big numbers from Missouri’s super running back is hardly going out on a limb. Hansbrough rushed for 1,084 yards last year and is only not talked about more because he happens to be overshadowed in his own division by Georgia’s Nick Chubb.
But we’ll reach a bit and pick Hansbrough to get within 10 touchdowns of quarterback Maty Mauk for the Tigers’ lead in total touchdowns. Last year Hansbrough rushed for 10 scores, while Mauk threw for 25 and rushed for two. But this season Mauk is working with one of the most inexperienced wide receiver units in the country and lost Bud Sasser, who caught 12 of those touchdown passes last year.
With that in mind, Pinkel might lean more on the running game than he has in the past and also might incorporate Hansbrough more as a receiver. Look for Mauk’s touchdown total to go down while Hansbrough’s goes way up.
Snatching Picks — CB Kenya Dennis
Mizzou has both its starting cornerbacks returning and Aarion Penton is coming off a season in which he intercepted three passes to lead the team. So when predicting a leader in picks for the 2015 season, Penton’s probably the first name to come to mind.
But Dennis might be the best all-around defensive back on a team that allowed only 6.3 yards per pass attempt in 2014. Dennis only had one pick to Penton’s three, but the two were almost even in passes defended. Penton broke up 10 and Dennis nine.
A former junior college All-American, Dennis now has a full season of Division I experience and his numbers should only get better as a senior.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
