COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri players have been careful not to share too many details when it comes to new coordinator Blake Baker’s defensive scheme, but there’s one clear difference that will be impossible for fans to miss this fall. Baker’s 4-2-5 system shares some traits with last year’s defense under former coordinator Steve Wilks, but under Baker, the Tigers’ base package will always have three safeties on the field.
Welcome to modern defensive football.
Wilks preferred three cornerbacks and two safeties in his secondary. Baker flips that philosophy around and likes having a third safety, someone who can defend all areas of the field and play closer to the point of attack at the "star" position.