Despite a 5-7 team record in 2015, Missouri football boasted one of the top defenses in the country. The Tigers ranked sixth in all of college football in fewest points allowed per game and were second in the Southeastern Conference.
As the team’s opening game looms, defensive players spoke to the media about the upcoming season.
**Penton sets a high bar**
Aarion Penton isn’t afraid to set lofty goals. The senior cornerback said he wants to earn All-America honors and intercept at least four passes in 2016.
“I don’t want to set goals that I can’t achieve,” he said, “but I just feel like this season, since I’m not in the run game … just pass only, I want to get an interception every time a ball is thrown my way.”
Penton has been a contributor on the Tigers’ defense since his freshman season; he racked up 59 tackles in 2015.
The St. Louis native said the defense will force more turnovers this season. He also feels his unit is capable of “not only takeaways, but touchdowns on defense.”
Missouri has not fared well in SEC-wide predictions. ESPN ranked the Tigers 13th in its SEC power rankings, behind both Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Penton said he is looking forward to figuratively “punching everyone in the mouth,” and, literally, he hopes to catch them “off-guard.”
“We don’t get the respect we deserve,” he said. “Since I’ve been here it’s been like that, it’s just fuel to our fire. That’s what makes us grind harder and work harder and outcompete everyone we face.”
**Scherer finally injury free**
When asked if it felt good to finally be healthy, senior linebacker Michael Scherer grinned.
“You have no idea,” he said.
Scherer went on to detail the injury struggles he went through last season. He said he cracked his hand and hurt his groin before the first game of the season, and then he jammed his wrist against Arkansas State. In the Tigers’ first game of SEC play, Scherer popped his elbow.
“It just kind of kept going and going,” he said.
The St. Louis native said that he had never gone through continual health problems before last season. He felt that the injuries took a mental toll as the year went on.
“I wasn’t able to train during the season the way I wanted to,” he said. “I wasn’t able to practice the way I wanted to. Sometimes I was spending eight hours a day in the training room just so I could play Saturday.”
Now, Scherer says he is finally healthy. He worked to improve his durability this summer, and he hope that his efforts will pay off.
“No matter what’s happened the past couple years, I’ve got to go out and produce,” he said.
**Is a Beckner breakout on the horizon?**
At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Terry Beckner Jr. is hard to block. After earning Freshman All-America honors last season, the East St. Louis native could be ready to explode.
“Terry’s a freak,” Scherer said. “If he can stay healthy, if he can continue to mature off the field, if he can continue to mature learning the plays on the field, he’s a monster. I don’t know who is going to get in the way of him.”
Beckner was a highly touted recruit out of high school. ESPN ranked him the No. 2 player in his high school class, and he chose Missouri over schools like Ohio State and Southern California.
Teammates have raved about his potential, and Beckner said training camp has gone well.
“The only thing I want to do is just play hard,” he said.
**O-line improvement**
Defensive end Charles Harris has played against the offensive line throughout camp. He said their improvement has been a pleasant surprise.
“They gained a lot of weight this year, so it’s been a lot more physical … they’re really physical in terms of the run game, and they can run with it,” he said. “They can go back to back plays. The offense is pretty fast, so they’re able to keep up with it, too, which is pretty amazing.”
_Edited by Theo DeRosa | tderosa@themaneater.com_
