Terry Beckner Jr. & Mizzou’s defensive line surge following the return of one player

Missouri has built a national reputation for producing NFL-caliber defensive linemen in recent years.

After a tough start to the season in which the Tigers’ pass rush failed to disrupt opposing offenses, Missouri has looked like the “D-Line Zou” of years past with strong performances against Idaho and Connecticut.

After Saturday’s win over the Huskies, in which Missouri had five sacks and 9  1/2 tackles for loss, senior defensive end Marcell Frazier attributed the recent play to the return of nose tackle A.J. Logan, who missed the first six games because of a suspension.

Defensive line coach Brick Haley said Logan is fresher than most players this late in the season, which has been an advantage.

“(Logan) just gives us confidence because we know he’s going to do his job,” Frazier said. “He might not make all the plays but he’s going to take up double-teams a lot.”

One of the players Logan helps is Terry Beckner Jr., who has three sacks in his last two games and nearly had a pass deflection turn into a potential pick-six on Saturday.

Mizzou coach Barry Odom said on Saturday that Beckner, who leads the team with five sacks, is playing the best he’s seen. Beckner said Tuesday that he’s had more single-block matchups since Logan’s return, which has allowed him to be more disruptive.

“I think we’re starting to see that five-star, No. 1-recruit-in-the-nation Terry come out,” Logan said. “It’s been a while. He had two unfortunate knee injuries. He’s just getting back to being the real Terry.”

Beckner’s first two seasons at Missouri have both ended with ACL tears, one in each knee. He said it wasn’t until Mizzou’s recent loss at Georgia that he really started to feel like himself, the player who was the top recruit in the state coming out of high school in East St. Louis, Ill.

“My body is just adjusting back to football,” Beckner said. “Even though I did come back and play it wasn’t me being me.”

After Missouri lost defensive end Charles Harris to the NFL last season and a number of players to transfers and graduation, no position had more newcomers to it than the defensive line.

The Tigers brought in junior-college transfers Rashad Brandon, Walter Palmore and Nate Anderson while also playing true freshmen Chris Turner, Kobie Whiteside and Akial Byers. Redshirt freshman Tre Williams has also worked his way into the rotation.

Haley said his unit has been better lately at diagnosing plays and have been more fundamentally sound.

Senior defensive end Jordan Harold said the true freshmen who are playing are now considered sophomores in his eyes now that they understand the playbook and what the team expects. Harold added they will need to step up if Missouri wants to make a late run at a bowl game.

Odom said after Saturday’s game that while the defensive line has performed better, the unit doesn’t always have to rack up sacks to be a factor in games.

“Just because you don’t get a sack doesn’t mean that you didn’t do your job,” he said. “If we can get the quarterback to move his feet a little bit and feel the pressure that’s going to help us.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Terry Beckner Jr. & Mizzou’s defensive line surge following the return of one player."