Ferocious linebacker Nick Bolton tackles as if he's five Nick Boltons. A hive of Nick Boltons. His wrath and wrap must feel like he's got you from all angles, all at once. He's human swarm.
Last Saturday at Tennessee, Mizzou's Bolton made 17 tackles, the most by a Tiger in a Southeastern Conference game.
If there was one drive to sum up his day, it was Tennessee's first in the second half _ Bolton made five tackles. For the entire game, only two other Tigers and two other Volunteers made more than five tackles.
But if there was one drive to sum up Mizzou's day, it was, well, Tennessee's first in the second half _ Tennessee went 92 yards, converted all three third downs and, soon after, a touchdown.
Mizzou could use four more Nick Boltons.
"I see (on game film) that he's covering up a lot of slack that's happening," defensive teammate Tre Williams said. "So he's not only doing his job _ Nick Bolton is the workhorse of the defense _ but at the same time, he's covering up slack for other people that are not doing their job 100%. Nick Bolton's covering up for them, so he's doing 130%."
Mizzou hosts Louisiana State on Saturday. The best Tiger on either defense could very well be Bolton. But to compete with No. 17 LSU's offense, Mizzou's defense has so much stuff to clean up. Yes, yes, the Tigers' two previous opponents were No. 2 Alabama and No. 21 Tennessee (if you couldn't surmise, Mizzou is currently 0-2). But the Tigers were pushed around by Tennessee's offensive line, especially when they added an additional two blockers in certain formations. After the game, running back Eric Gray told reporters, "It feels great to be able to get those easy yards like that."
And in the game, which Tennessee won, 35-12, the Vols converted all four of their fourth downs. And broke open a nice passing game at times because of the run game.
Here's the thing. The Tigers defense is already in a hole, learning with some new, young players in there _ and without the confidence boost and reps taken in September nonconference games. Then throw in the mental mistakes.
"It starts with lining up properly _ we were late getting lined up," Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said.
That's not what you want to hear. But credit Tennessee for changing up the tempo at times, these creamsicle-colored maestros.
"So what we've got to do is eliminate the stuff that we can control (as problems)," Mizzou defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said, "and that's scheme, getting lined up, having our eyes in the spot and playing physical. I don't think our guys weren't playing physical. We just got to kind of get fine-tuned on the details. We've addressed some of the schematic issues that I felt like were a problem. ...
"After last week, we sort of scaled back some of the call sheet. Some of the times we were getting lined up late, guys were just thinking. And that's on me as much as it is on anybody. I've got to do a good job of giving everybody what they can handle. We've practiced tempo this week. Just emulating it against the scout team and emphasizing it in some of the individual periods, as well. Just the importance of being where you're supposed to be _ and having your eyes where they're supposed to be before the snap."
Credit the coordinator Walters, who excelled in his role in recent years, for identifying the issue there. Of course, there are other issues. But this is a gauntlet of an early schedule. One wonders how many wins the Chase Daniel Tigers could've notched against these three teams? Mercifully, the Vanderbilt game is the Tigers' fourth game. But to even beat those guys, the defense will need to player crisper football and find ways to stop third (and fourth) down conversions. And is it too much to ask for an interception? Mizzou's next one will be its first one.
Asked to describe the goal for his defense, Walters shared: "I want people to say, 'Man, those guys really run _ and they hit when they get there.' I don't know if I've ever watched a good defense and those not be the two main things. That's what we try to preach on every day."
They've definitely developed one young man who plays like that. Nick Bolton is a pleasure to watch play football. Some draft experts already have him tabbed as a first-rounder.
To put his dominance in perspective, consider it this way. On Oct. 12, 2019, Mizzou's tackle-gobbling linebacker Cale Garrett suffered a season-ending injury. Since that day, Bolton has tallied 96 tackles in nine games. That's an average of 10.7 tackles per game. The last Tiger to average 10.7 over a nine-game span was Kentrell Brothers in 2015, the year he led the nation with 152 tackles.
"Nick's a warrior," Drinkwitz said. "He makes plays all over the field. We need some other guys to step up and not put the onus on him to just erase mistakes. But he's a leader and he's a really good player, and I'm sure glad he's on our football team."
