Missouri's Top Three Principles of Defense

I would like to discuss and illustrate the ‘Top Three Principles of Missouri Defense.’ 1. SPEED TO THE BALL. 2. VISION & BREAK (Break 1/3 The Distance The Ball Is In The Air). 3. TAKEAWAYS. I. SPEED TO THE BALL At Mizzou we take pride in running to the football. We evaluate our players’ effort on every single rep in practice and games. It is very important that Missouri players understand this is our #1 principle. Our success starts with relentless pursuit to the ball. The Pursuit Drill starts with the defensive line starters. All four defensive linemen will be standing on the goal line facing a coach. On the first coach’s command, the defensive linemen will chop their feet. On the second coach’s command, the players will do three up-downs and on the third command the coach will point right or left and the players will begin their pursuit to the sideline. On the sideline are