Keeping Up With Kentrell: Reviewing the LBs Peformance

It was up in the air if Kentrell Brothers would play Saturday after going down with an ankle injury two weeks ago against Kentucky, but an injury wouldn't stop the Senior LB from taking the field against South Carolina. While he lost his claim to the nation's leading tackler, his solid all-around performance helped the Tigers to victory in the Battle of Columbia.

Kentrell Brothers: 7 tackles, 1.5 TFL, .5 Sacks

Play 1 -- 12:44 in 1Q

First play will be South Carolina's first possession, on 2nd and 10 from the Mizzou 49. The Tigers are lined up in the 4-3, with Kentrell playing at the Sam position.

A lot of credit goes to Charles Harris on this play, but Kentrell does a great job of cleaning it up for the Tackle for Loss. After the ball is snapped, the USC right tackle pulls toward the middle to double team Terry Beckner Jr. with the right guard, leaving Harris untouched through the offensive and nearly lays out Shon Carson with what would've been a big hit. The USC tight end looks to pick up Kentrell and seal off a hole for Carson to get through, but Kentrell avoids him and brings down Carson for a three yard loss.

Play 2 -- 2:00 in 2Q

Second play is later on in the half with Missouri holding a touchdown advantage. The Gamecocks had a bit of momentum with it only taking two passes to get into Missouri territory, and were in range of a long field goal for Elliot Fry.

The Tigers are lined up in the 4-3 with South Carolina in the Shotgun. Nuñez takes the snap and tries to take the ball himself on a read option, only to be met by six Missouri Tigers in pursuit. The Center and Guard pull, with the center lining up to Kentrell and the guard lining up to Newsom. Kentrell jumps out in front and takes down Nuñez for the loss. If he hadn't done it, Josh Augusta, Nate Howard, Clarence Green, or Micheal Scherer probably would've made a play.

The play would bring up a third and 16, and later Elliot Fry would miss a 44-yard field goal to keep Mizzou up 7.

Play 3 -- 1:35 in 3Q

Moving on to the second half, South Carolina faces a 2nd and 7 after crossing into Missouri territory. The Tigers are in the Nickel set with South Carolina lined up in the Shotgun with two wide receivers to the left.

The ball is snapped, with Kentrell reading the run and setting up himself up in the "A" gap with Michael Scherer, stopping Shon Carson for no gain to bring up third and long. The USC guard chips both Rickey Hatley and Brothers, but Kentrell easily sidesteps him to make the play. Scherer came through literally unblocked to jump in on the play too.

Play 4 -- 7:59 in 4Q

Last play we'll look at will be in the final quarter of Saturday's win. South Carolina is driving down the field looking to make something happen with a fourth quarter comeback in Columbia (((TRIGGERED))).

Missouri is back in the 4-3, with the Gamecocks in the Shotgun. Kentrell is lined up at the Sam position. The ball is snapped, and the USC center and left guard pull to the right to set up a wall of blockers with the right tackle, and the running back in tow. Josh Augusta comes through up the middle, forcing Perry Orth to take off running to the right.

The guard looks for Kentrell and tries to seal a block on him to give Orth some running room, but whiffs on the block giving Kentrell the opportunity to break down and make the tackle to prevent a big play into the red zone. A PI call and an incomplete pass would end up being the final result of Carolina's last offensive drive of the day.

**************

The All-American candidate was all over the field against the Gamecocks Saturday, and is still on pace for a career year in his final season at Missouri. After the game, Kentrell told the press he was only "about 85%"; a big outing against the 11th ranked Gators would not only boost his senior year resume, but put the Tigers back on track to a third SEC East title.