'Fear nothing': Through 4 games, Mizzou has found a fearsome identity on defense
Once upon a time, the Seattle Seahawks had arguably the most indelible identity in the NFL.
In the early 2010s, the birds were led by the “Legion of Boom,” a hard-hitting, ballhawking group of defensive backs that turned Seattle into a no-fly zone. The Seahawks were the NFL’s top scoring defense for four straight seasons, and their efforts peaked in a dominant Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos in 2014.
Over time, the Seahawks bandwagon grew, as folks from all over became attracted to their style of play. Heck, they even gained a large following in Germany, which showed up when the Seahawks played three years ago in Munich.
More than 2,000 miles away from Seattle and well after the Legion of Boom’s peak, one football player became captivated by that era of Seahawks football.
When Mizzou defensive back Jalen Catalon was at Arkansas, he saw a mirror of his play style in the Legion of Boom. Sam Carter, then the Razorbacks safeties coach, would show his players highlights of Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and others soaring for interceptions and delivering huge hits.
“He wanted to create an identity,” Catalon said in July. “We wanted to have that same swagger.”
For Catalon, swagger came from hard-hitting success, just like the Legion of Boom. At Arkansas, Texas and UNLV, he was a pad-rattler at safety whose ferocity turned into a heap of tackles and interceptions.
At UNLV, Catalon even paid homage to Chancellor, nicknamed “Bam Bam Kam,” during a game. After returning an interception for a touchdown against Houston, Catalon did Chancellor’s signature celebration, which involved punching his left hand a few times.
“It’s my Bam Bam gavel,” Chancellor told reporters in 2015. “The chaplain here, Carl, calls me the commissioner, so this is what you hit when court is in session. You hit it with the gavel.”
Catalon acknowledged the size difference between him and Chancellor, as he’s about 5 inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter. But they’re alike in another way.
“I keep that same mentality,” Catalon said. “Fear nothing.”
Carter is now at Louisiana Tech, while it has been three seasons since Catalon last played at Arkansas. But that “Fear nothing” mantra seems to have caught on with his new team.
“He hit it on the spot,” linebacker Nick Rodriguez said of Catalon’s statement from April. “We’re not going to fear anything. We’re just going to go out there and do what we’ve been doing.”
Through four games, Mizzou’s defense has been one of the best in college football. The Tigers are top 12 nationally in yards per game allowed, rushing yards per game allowed and opponent third-down percentage.
But while Seattle’s Legion of Boom was mostly driven by its secondary, Mizzou’s defense has been paced by its front seven, which has seen defensive linemen rent luxury condos in opposing backfields and linebackers flying all over the field to make tackles. The group has been spoken highly of since July.
“I feel like we’re surrounded by so many guys with so much potential,” defensive tackle Chris McClellan said in July when asked which defensive players stood out during the offseason. “It doesn’t matter who I name. I feel like I can’t miss.”
Check that. They’ve been hyped since well before then.
“That is a group that has an incredible amount of depth and talent,” Drinkwitz said of the edge rushers in April. “They’ve got the ability to stop the run, rush the passer. (They can) really affect and influence the game at a really, really important level. I don’t think that’s the right adjective, but it’s very exciting.”
Preseason is the greatest supplier of rose-colored glasses in sports. Hope is at its peak because nothing has actually happened, but those glasses often get shattered early. Clemson and Kansas State, for example, entered the season hoping for a conference title appearance. Those dreams might already be dashed, as both teams are 1-3.
But even as Mizzou’s tinted glasses have come off, its world is still a little rosy, thanks in part to the defensive line. Zion Young and Damon Wilson II have been elite on the edge, combining for 5½ sacks, nine tackles for loss and 13 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. McClellan’s eight pressures are almost half of his total in 2024.
At linebacker, Josiah Trotter leads the team in tackles for loss with six, as he’s been a frequent saboteur of opposing running backs.
“I feel like Trotter takes up the whole box,” defensive back Daylan Carnell said. “If it’s a run inside the tackles, he’s going to make it.”
Trotter, of course, has family connections. His father, Jeremiah, was a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL, and his older brother, Jeremiah Jr., plays for the Philadelphia Eagles after starring at Clemson.
“You can definitely tell it’s in his genes,” Carnell said in July. “It comes naturally to him.”
Elsewhere, Khalil Jacobs and Rodriguez have three tackles for loss apiece. While Triston Newson hasn’t played as large a role as he did last season, Jacobs and Rodriguez have taken advantage of increased playing time.
Together, both position groups have helped Mizzou become one of the best run defenses in the country. The Tigers have allowed 73.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 12 in the FBS.
But if the 84-yard touchdown from Louisiana running back Zylan Perry is taken out, that average goes all the way down to 52.3, which would rank No. 4 in the FBS. The Kansas and South Carolina running backs combined for just 25 rushing yards against Mizzou.
“After the (Kansas) game, we were all pretty hyped in the locker room,” McClellan said. “That was a big deal for us.”
Another point of emphasis has been defending mobile quarterbacks, as the likes of Jayden Daniels and Diego Pavia have gashed the Tigers with their legs in recent seasons. Against KU’s Jalon Daniels and USC’s LaNorris Sellers, Mizzou stepped up. Daniels tallied just 25 rushing yards on 10 carries, while Sellers’ longest run was just 7 yards.
The “Fear nothing” mentality was exemplified against South Carolina. In that game, linebackers were zipping from sideline to sideline for 60 minutes. Rodriguez, who is roughly 3 inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than Sellers, tracked down the preseason All-SEC quarterback for a sack in the first quarter. Jacobs also decked Sellers for a sack at the end of the first half.
“Saturday was our best job of creating pressure without having to bring a lot of extra guys,” Drinkwitz said. “We had enough speed to spy and create an issue for him (Sellers) to get out of the pocket.”
Mizzou has also excelled on third-down attempts, as Young and Wilson have as many combined tackles for loss as Mizzou’s opponents have third-down conversions (nine).
A major part of that is MU often getting its opponents into third-and-long by succeeding on early downs. Tigers opponents have averaged 8.68 yards to go per third-down attempt - Louisiana averaged 9.2, while South Carolina averaged 12.5.
Mizzou’s ability to get off the field quickly has been a major benefit to the unit. Its opponents have averaged just 49.3 plays per game - only Minnesota and Indiana have given up fewer through four games. That number will likely even out, as no FBS team has gone a full season allowing fewer than 50 plays per game since 1997.
But coupled with Mizzou’s offense taking up tons of time (No. 1 in the FBS in average time of possession per game) and its elite depth on defense, the Tigers have been able to avoid wear and tear early in the season, and Young “most definitely” feels fresher because of it.
“Fresh horses run fast races,” Drinkwitz said. “I think we’ve done a good job of keeping guys fresh. Hopefully, that continues to show.”
The only major weak spot on either side of the ball has been the secondary, which has given up numerous big plays through the air, an issue Drinkwitz said “has got to be corrected.”
But in terms of physical enforcement, Catalon has been a fierce tackler while Burks laid a couple of big hits against South Carolina. Those two and Santana Banner have 12 tackles apiece. Carnell also sealed the win over Kansas with a sprawling interception, and while he hasn’t delivered any crushing hits yet this season, his past few seasons of tape suggest he has it in him.
“We’ve got a bunch of spark plugs,” McClellan said. “It’s hard to tell who’s going to make a play, because everybody’s so capable of doing so.”
Looking ahead, greater tests await Mizzou’s defense. Many of its future opponents have lit up the scoreboard so far this season, and elite passing offenses like Alabama’s and Arkansas’ could dice up the Tigers if they don’t fix their holes in the secondary.
But up front, Mizzou has been fresh and fearless. Will this identity be indelible, just as it was for the Seahawks?
Only time will tell.
“You see the hallmarks, or DNA, of what we want our defensive football team to be: Stop the run and have some fun,” Drinkwitz said. “I think we’ve been able to do that at a really high level.”
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 6:00 AM.