Missouri Will Miss Defensive Leader Harold Brantley in 2015

The Missouri Tigers have quietly become a dominant force in the SEC East in recent years thanks in large part to the dominant play of their defensive line. That formula may need to be tweaked, however, following confirmation on Wednesday by head coach Gary Pinkel that defensive tackle Harold Brantley would be out for the 2015 season.

That news isn’t particularly surprising when you remember that Brantley was involved a serious car accident on June 21 that left him with a broken left tibia, left knee ligament damage, and multiple rib fractures. Missouri women’s basketball player Maddie Stock was also in the car at the time of the accident, though she sustained only minor injuries as the passenger in the car.

Losing Brantley is especially damaging to a Tigers defense that was already looking to replace some big-time talent on the defensive line. Both defensive ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray were selected in the early rounds of the 2015 NFL Draft and Pinkel was counting on Brantley to pick up some of the slack in the pass rush from his interior position. His athleticism and strength make him a matchup problem for offensive lines and he used that to post 54 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, five sacks, and seven quarterback pressures last season. Pinkel believed that he would blossom into one of the best defensive linemen in the SEC this season and would compete for an All-American selection.

In his absence, the team will turn to a rotation of defensive tackles to pick up the slack. Matt Hoch and Josh Augusta are the most experienced options available after combining for 57 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and four sacks a season ago. But the name to watch may be Terry Beckner Jr. who was the top-rated recruit in Missouri’s 2015 recruiting class as a four-star prospect and the top-rated player to come out of the state of Illinois. The team was hoping to bring him along slowly to allow him time to pick up on the defense and hone his technique, but they may push him into action early and rely on his immense potential to make plays.

In the large scheme of things, Harold Brantley is fortunate to be alive and have the opportunity to recover and play football again down the line. But for the immediate future, his absence is a major blow to Missouri as they try and defend their back-to-back SEC East division titles in 2015.

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