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Five-star defensive tackle prospect Terry Beckner Jr. made it official on National Signing Day, announcing that he would be heading to Columbia to play for the Missouri Tigers this fall. The No. 1 rated defensive tackle in the 2015 recruiting class will add his considerable talents to the two-time defending SEC East Division champions and continue a tradition of elite defensive linemen to come through Missouri.
Beckner was a highly coveted prospect by some of the nation’s top programs. He took official visits to the Florida State Seminoles, Auburn Tigers, and Ohio State Buckeyes and was rated as the No. 2 overall player in the class by ESPN. But Gary Pinkel has made Beckner’s prep school, East St. Louis High School, into a pipeline of talent for the Tigers and sold the defensive stud on staying “home” to play his college football.
At 6-foot-4 and 298 pounds, Beckner is a big-bodied interior player with the size to find the field early and the quickness to make plays once he’s out there. He will join a Missouri defense that ranked No. 4 in the SEC against the run but led the conference in sacks, recording an average of 3.0 per game as they racked up 42 sacks on the season. But they will be looking to reload their defensive front in 2015 after losing big-bodied Lucas Vincent (42 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks) and defensive end Markus Golden (78 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks) to graduation and Shane Ray (65 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 13.0 sacks) to the NFL Draft.
For Missouri to once again defend their SEC East title, they need players to step up on the defensive line and make an impact. By signing Terry Beckner, Pinkel and his staff have secured a player in the 2015 recruiting class that has the ability to step in and make a difference for this team immediately.
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