Soft-spoken Webb is making noise with his play in Mizzou secondary
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The leader of Missouri's secondary can often get overlooked on a defense full of loud, talented players who always seem glad to share their thoughts.
Senior safety Braylon Webb prefers a quieter approach, although he says his responsibilities as a team captain have made him more vocal this season. On the field, he speaks volumes with his play, a message that was amplified last week with two interceptions in a 42-13 win at Florida.
"We hadn't gotten a lot of takeaways in the last couple games so we were really overdue for some," Webb says. "I give all the credit to the front seven. They were getting great pressure all night and that's every game, so they really get all the credit from me."
They get all the credit from most everyone else, too, and with good reason. But that dominant front four still needs help from a somewhat-maligned secondary that ranks seventh in the SEC in pass defense efficiency, and it all starts with Webb.
He's the only returning full-time starter in a group seeking more improvement this week against Vanderbilt and the SEC's worst pass offense. The Commodores are averaging less than 160 yards per game through the air and plan to play their fourth different starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Johnny McCrary.
But Missouri will have to be ready for others as well, so the defensive backs may need someone with experience and understanding to guide them. Coach Gary Pinkel and cornerbacks coach Cornell Ford say no one fills that role better than Webb, one of the Tigers most respected by his teammates.
"He knows the position," Pinkel says. "He's smart. He could probably coach it back there with (safeties) coach (Alex) Grinch. He's worked so much back there with all those guys."
Webb's athleticism and statistics may not be overwhelming, although he does lead the team with three interceptions and ranks third with 44 tackles. A year ago he finished second with 89, behind only linebacker Andrew Wilson.
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More than anything, Webb just always seems to be in the right place, as he was Saturday when Florida's struggling quarterbacks threw the football up for grabs amid constant pressure. Middle linebacker Michael Scherer says Webb always ends up near the top of the chart in the locker room posting every player's production points and percentages.
"Braylon Webb never does anything wrong," says Scherer, who ranks second in the SEC with 65 tackles in seven games. "I don't know that I've seen one for Braylon that's lower than a 95 percent, so when you think about it, it's pretty ridiculous how good he is and he helps direct everybody."
That's critical to the development of players such as Aarion Penton, a true sophomore with obvious talent prone to some critical mistakes early in the year. He has cleaned those up significantly, and the discipline of the Tigers' secondary is a big reason they've given up only two plays longer than 30 yards and none over 50 in the last three games.
Webb's consistency may be another reason he's typically not the center of attention, since he's not the type of safety known for making huge hits or spectacular catches. But it's one of the top qualities Ford says he shares when talking about the strong safety with NFL scouts.
The potential and intangibles are clearly there, Ford says, for Webb to be a contributor at the next level. Now heading into a favorable matchup and coming off the first two-interception game of his career, it feels like the perfect time for Webb to take that next step forward.
Just don't expect him to talk about it.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
