Exotic package helping Tigers get stops on third down
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Six minutes into Missouri’s game against Tennessee, the Volunteers faced their first third-down attempt. The Tigers’ sideline churned as waves of black jerseys entered and exited the fray.
“Every third down, they say key down, we get out there and they bring in our package,” Terez Hall said. “I tell them, ‘We gotta’” end the drive and ”‘get off the field right now.’ Third down package, it’s tough.”
As Tennessee contemplated third-and-7, Cale Garrett, the Tigers’ starting middle linebacker, ran off the field. Senior defensive line stalwarts Jordan Harold and A.J. Logan went off, too.
In their place entered three freshmen: linebacker Joshuah Bledsoe, defensive end Chris Turner and redshirt freshman defensive end Tre Williams.
Vols quarterback Will McBride snapped the ball with five Tigers on the line of scrimmage: from left to right, the line went Turner, Marcell Frazier, Hall, Terry Beckner and Williams. Bledsoe prowled 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage behind Williams’ right shoulder.
Turner immediately beat highly touted Tennessee right tackle Trey Smith around the edge and flushed McBride to his left, chasing him across the field. Williams spun out of his block and joined the pursuit.
Bledsoe was deployed as a spy on the play to keep McBride from scrambling. As soon as McBride moved to his left, Bledsoe pounced.
“He’s fast as crap,” Hall said of Bledsoe. “He’s the fastest in our position group.”
McBride didn’t have a chance. Bledsoe wrapped him up 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage for his first career sack.
Turner, credited with only a QB hurry on the play, helped finish the job. Williams arrived moments later. On the sideline, coach Barry Odom and defensive line coach Brick Haley gave massive, simultaneous fist pumps.
The freshman trio is a fixture in Missouri’s exotic third-down package, which was responsible for three sacks and a turnover against the Vols. Tennessee converted just 4 of 14 third downs and was 0 for 5 after halftime.
“It’s our job to get the best 11 on the field,” Odom said Monday. “It felt like at that point, with where we were at, they gave us the best chance.”
The Tigers installed the third-down package after a woeful performance against Georgia. The problems began well before that, however. Through the first six weeks, the Tigers allowed their opponents to convert on 53.1 percent of third downs.
Odom touted the third-down changes shortly after the Bulldogs converted 13 of 18 in a 53-28 victory. Three weeks later, Odom said the Tigers still hadn’t gotten to all the variations they’d come up with to remedy the third-down problem.
“There’s still some things three weeks ago, two weeks ago and even last week we didn’t get to on third downs,” Odom said after his Tigers crushed Florida. “That’s good. We’ll keep that in the back pocket.”
Missouri used a combination of fronts on third down to stymie the Vols. On all three plays that resulted in sacks, Hall stepped up to the line of scrimmage and the Tigers brought five rushers.
“If I get an opportunity to come off the edge, you best believe I’m trying to get that sack,” Hall said. “I’m watching D-line videos on Youtube, and I’m working moves and stuff like that.”
In the second quarter, Garrett stayed on the field for third down and charged through the line on a delayed blitz that resulted in a sack for Frazier.
In the third quarter, Frazier, who lined up one step off the line in a linebacker stance, ran a stunt behind Hall and forced McBride out of the pocket. Williams, lined up on the edge, shed his block and recorded a sack.
Anthony Sherrils also had an interception on a third down in the fourth quarter, when a four-man rush forced a rushed throw.
“We’re just focused on getting off the field,” Turner said. “We weren’t doing that too well at one point, but we started focusing on that, and we’ve done that a lot better.”
Saturday wasn’t an anomaly. Over the last four games, Missouri has allowed its opponents to convert on third downs just 35.9 percent of the time.
“D-line is getting a better pass rush, more hits on the quarterback,” freshman defensive tackle Kobie Whiteside said. “The DBs ... they’re staying inside of whatever DBs do. That’s out of my range.”
The Tigers’ youth movement has had a marked impact beyond just third down. Whiteside and fellow tackle Walter Palmore have also contributed heavily in the defensive rotation on first and second downs, and Adam Sparks has started at cornerback for the last five games.
Those three plus Williams, Turner and Bledsoe wreaked havoc against Tennessee. They recorded 11 tackles, five quarterback hurries, four tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Williams was a force on his own. He had three tackles and two sacks — one of them a strip sack that Whiteside recovered in the fourth quarter.
“Tre was one of the first guys older than I am to take me under his wing and talk to me and work with me a lot,” Turner said. “We talked about it since we got here: We’re gonna go do some big things on the field together.”
They — and their freshman classmates — have turned one of Missouri’s defensive weaknesses into a strength.
“They came around just like we saw it in camp. We were just waiting on them to step up,” Hall said. “A lot of times, guys don’t have the confidence they can make plays until they make one play that sparks their whole career. ... All those guys, they got some confidence. They got some swagger about their game.”
djones@columbiatribune.com