MU safety Anthony Sherrils has unlimited ambition for 2016

Missouri’s Anthony Sherrils always has been an incredible athlete, but now he also wants to become an equally incredible football player.

Sherrils, a junior strong safety who finished third on the Tigers roster last season with 64 tackles, put together a very good season last fall in his first year as a starter. Only linebackers Kentrell Brothers, who led the nation with 152 tackles, and Michael Scherer made more stops.

Sherrils, a Hogan Prep graduate from Kansas City, also had four tackles for a loss, an interception, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Those are rock-solid numbers, but much of his production came from pure athleticism. He runs a 4.31 40-yard dash and is a sure tackler. He has a nose for the football and doesn’t shy away from contact.

Sherrils also has just scratched the surface of his talent.

“Anthony is starting to home in on the details” of the safety position, said Tigers co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ryan Walters. “He still has a long way to go in that aspect, but he’s so athletic. He makes up for a lot of mistakes early on. I’m just trying to get him to maximize his athletic nature, so he’s making more plays. He’s making plays, but he could be making a lot more. I’ve just got to get him consistent.”

Sherrils talks a lot about the details, too — staying low in his backpedal, making crisp breaks, mastering his keys and smothering his assignments. He wants to emerge as one of the nation’s top safeties next fall and work his way into the discussion as a top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

“This year will make or break my career here at Mizzou,” said Sherrils, who is growing out his hair again after cutting his dreadlocks in November 2014. “It could be ‘Anthony was a great player’ or ‘He was an average player.’ This year will hopefully make me a great player.”

Sherrils is set to graduate in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, so “really that’s almost the end of the road anyway. I graduate, so why not finish my college career off with a bang — have a great season, graduate and pursue the league?”

Assuming all goes according to plan, Sherrils vowed not to leave school early to train for the draft without his degree.

“That degree is that important to me,” Sherrils said. “I have to be a college graduate.”

First things first. Sherrils must win Missouri’s starting safety job again. The Tigers have returned to playing free and strong safety after going left and right safety last season.

Sherrils is the front-runner at strong safety. He relishes sticking his nose in the box on run support or covering slot receivers, tight ends and running backs on passing downs, but he’s not taking anything for granted.

“I wouldn’t like to think I have a job locked up, because every day is a day to work,” Sherrils said. “You want to go into the work day thinking that nothing is solidified. It keeps you on your toes, but I’m my biggest challenge every day — just trying to learn the scheme and not using my athleticism as a crutch.”

If he succeeds, Sherrils hopes to dramatically improve his interception numbers after dropping a couple fluttering passes from opposing quarterbacks last season.

“It’s my eyes, just watching the ball in with my eyes. It’s not about being able to catch,” he says with a laugh. “It’s really just seeing the ball in all the way. You can’t make a step before you catch the ball.”

Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 9:36 PM with the headline "MU safety Anthony Sherrils has unlimited ambition for 2016."