Terry Beckner Jr. was even stronger and faster than we thought in 2015

Terry Beckner Jr.

6’4, 300, So.

East St. Louis, IL

2015: 20.0 tackles, 8 TFLs, 3 sacks, 1 PBU

Oscar Gamble: I said Terry Beckner would play as a freshman, and he ended up with a freshman All-American season. He went down with a torn ACL and MCL in the BYU game last year but appears to have recovered fully and is wowing coaches during fall camp.

He had three sacks and eight TFLs last year, and playing defensive tackle isn’t exactly conducive to eye-popping stats. If he’s destined to have a breakout 2016 season as some have predicted, I’m eager to see what it will look like. Is double-digit sacks too much to ask?

Barring another setback, Beckner seems destined to only spend three years in Columbia, which means his NFL draft campaign will be the 2017 season. Consider me excited.

davidcmorrison: Beckner is the reason why having Josh Augusta as a complementary piece on the interior isn’t such a bad thing. Beckner can shed blocks and make plays by himself, so imagine that capability magnified by the fact that he’s got a 370-pound bulldozer standing next to him to draw attention as well.

Beckner was a revelation last season. Everyone expected him to play as a freshman (real novel idea there, Oscar...points for going out on a limb...), but nobody expected him to be as good as he was as early as he was.

He’s a very potent mix of power, athleticism and innate talent, and he just should get better and better. The knee decimation was a bit troubling, yes, but he’s apparently all the way back.

So watch out.

Pboggs: From his emotional signing day to his All-American freshman season, Beckner is one of my favorite blue-chip recruits Mizzou has ever signed. He is a nightmare for offenses for several reasons, one of which is his capability of chasing quarterbacks. He has the strength of a large inside defensive tackle with the quickness of a defensive end. If he stays healthy, expect Beckner to out shine his first season. I have high hopes for Beckner this season and he presumably will only get better.

Bill C.: Even while watching Beckner in the present tense last year, you couldn’t help but think into the future. (Part of that had to do with the struggling offense and the fact that 2015 didn’t seem to be going anywhere, but you know what I mean.) About once per quarter, he would do something particularly strong or athletic that just made you say “Damn!” even if it didn’t result in him making a play. And he hadn’t been around long enough to have his talent polished to any serious degree.

On Wednesday we talked about how important Marcell Frazier is to Charles Harris’ success. But if Augusta and Beckner are imploding interior lines like we think they might, Frazier won’t have too high a bar to clear. Harris is going to have a chance to make plays regardless.