2013 Mizzou Walkthrough: Harold Brantley is the line between decent tackle depth and none at all

Harold Brantley

#90 | 6'3, 290, RSFr. | Hershey, PA

Bill C.: It's pretty easy to get excited about Mizzou's tackle depth for the years to come. Harold Brantley has been drawing praise for about 12 months now, and Gary Pinkel has gone out of his way to talk about how impressive the true freshmen are this year. That could mean great things for, say, 2015. But for 2013, it appears Brantley is going to be the most direct line between solid depth and no depth at all.

By most accounts, Brantley could be Mizzou's quickest tackle, someone more adept at piercing the backfield instead of standing up to double-teams. That's certainly a plus; but the problem for Brantley is simply youth. He and Evan Winston are by default the fourth-most experienced linemen on the team, and they haven't played a down. If Brantley can hold his own -- and we certainly shouldn't rule that out -- then Mizzou might be able to hold on at tackle without Sheldon Richardson. If Brantley isn't ready, though, you're relying on Lucas Vincent to stay healthy, and on at least one true freshman to pass muster in the rotation. Are those things possible? Absolutely. But Brantley is the unit's margin for error.

The Beef: Brantley is second behind Vincent. I don't believe Vincent is going to get passed by Brantley (and if he is, I don't know how good of a thing that is), but I think Brantley is someone who is going to be pretty important. If the SEC has taught us anything, it is that depth is really important. Brantley represents that.

countrycal: Big strong body, lots of motor, young and coachable. Great opportunity to groom a leader of tomorrow.