A Missouri victory had long been secured Saturday night on Faurot Field when the real value of scheduling Southeast Missouri State began to pay off in the second half. That’s when MU coaches emptied the bench and put their last couple recruiting classes on display.

Ebner	Lambert

With its established veterans on the sideline for good, Missouri’s peach-fuzz defense made amends for some first-half struggles in the 52-3 win. Almost exclusively playing with freshmen and sophomores, the defense held SEMO to fewer yards in the second half (135) than the starters allowed in the first (199). The youngsters forced and recovered a fumble and let the Redhawks cross the 50-yard line just twice on six possessions.

Leading the youth movement were linebackers Will Ebner (seven tackles, two for loss) and Andrew Gachkar (five tackles, one for loss), a freshman and sophomore, respectively, who might be tackling their way to more playing time as MU’s level of competition picks up. The No. 6 Tigers (2-0) play Nevada (1-1) at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Faurot Field.

If anything, the underclassmen’s development, plus that of sophomore linebacker Luke Lambert, who started against SEMO, seems to validate Missouri’s less conservative philosophy toward playing true freshmen. Eight high school recruits from MU’s last two signing classes are first or second-team players on defense, including two true freshmen, Ebner and defensive end Jacquies Smith, who led all defensive linemen with four tackles against SEMO. Freshman safety Kenji Jackson also made his MU debut Saturday.

"You get to learn so much," said junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who played as a true freshman two years ago. "A lot of guys that are redshirting, they don’t get to learn what you’re learning and going through the game plan from week to week.

"It’s always good to get out there as a true freshman because it’s just a feeling that you’ve never experienced before."

Time will tell if the young linebackers see their roles expand once Big 12 Conference season arrives, but the future looks promising at the position. Next year, Missouri will have to replace senior middle linebacker Brock Christopher, who’s made 27 career starts, and senior strongside linebacker Van Alexander, who could make his 2008 debut against Nevada after recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. Weatherspoon, an All-Big 12 player last season, might be tempted to enter next spring’s NFL draft.

If so, assistant coach Dave Steckel’s linebacker corps should be braced to reload. Lambert, a 6-foot-3, 235-pounder from Brookfield, was the less celebrated of MU’s two freshmen who enrolled a semester early last year, the other being Harrisonville’s Michael Keck. But Lambert made an impact on special teams and gradually earned more playing time at the strongside position last season. His spot is replaced by a third safety when Missouri employs its nickel defense, which explains why he rarely saw the field against Illinois two weeks ago. But he played plenty against SEMO and racked up six tackles.

Keck, meanwhile, left the program last week after playing in just one game.

"Luke’s a hard worker," defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said. "The thing about Luke is he’s a pretty tough kid and a good tackler. We plan on using him a bunch."

Of all the young linebackers, Ebner’s already put together a few highlight-worthy tackles, showing the same flair for exploding through ball-carriers that MU coaches saw on his game film at Friendswood, Texas, High School. Once the pads came on during preseason camp, Ebner (6-1, 230) convinced the coaches he was ready to contribute.

"He was striking people," MU Coach Gary Pinkel said. "Some people when they hit, they jolt a player. Other players, when they hit, they go through the player. It’s a different type of explosion. He’s one of those guys he snaps you when you hits you."

Just ask SEMO running back Robert Watley, whom Ebner smoked a yard behind the line of scrimmage in the third quarter. Ebner later dropped him for a 5-yard loss in the fourth quarter, then hurried quarterback Matt Scheible into a poor throw that was deflected.

"It’s a really good job by the kids," Eberflus said. "They’ve worked their tail off to learn the run fits, the passing schemes and blitz tracks that we do."

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