COLUMBIA, Mo. – When it comes to Mizzou football one of the most scrutinized position groups — if not THE most scrutinized position groups — in the post-Pinkel era is the defensive line. For more than a decade, the unit produced scores of all-conference players and NFL draft picks, a factory of impact players year after year under the watch of longtime D-line coach Craig Kuligowski. The success was so consistent the group earned its own nickname — D-Line ZOU — that has carried over two head coaches later.
After an initial turnstile of position coaches in the early Barry Odom years, Brick Haley just completed his fourth season in charge of the D-line, a group that began the year loaded with experience and depth and subsequent high expectations.