2021 NFL Draft: Do not sleep on Mizzou safety Tyree Gillespie

Background

Tyree Gillespie was born and raised in Ocala, Florida, a community about an hour northwest of Orlando. Playing at Vanguard High School, Gillespie played both sides of the field for the varsity football team, seeing meaningful snaps during his junior year and becoming a full-time starter during his 2016-17 senior season. He played a variety of roles on the field, most notably as a running back and safety, according to MaxPreps.

Gillespie was solid on both sides of the ball his senior year, rushing for 555-yards and seven touchdowns as a halfback. In one game, Gillespie rushed for three touchdowns and 184 yards on just six attempts, according to his Mizzou player profile. As a safety, Gillespie finished the season with 48 total tackles (36 of which were solo) and 2 interceptions. Gillespie also brought in two touchdowns outside of the offense, one on a punt return and another on a pick-six.

Despite having offensive and defensive stats above the national average, Gillespie had a hard time getting recruiter attention his senior season. Gillespie was only labeled a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and ranked 127th of eligible safeties in the class of 2017, receiving just nine offers.

The University of Missouri would end up being the school that offered him the best chance of on-field success. Gillespie credits getting a chance to contribute early as one of the main reasons for committing to Mizzou. Playing in the SEC gave Gillespie a chance to compete against some of the best college offenses (and by extension the best offensive players) in the country.

Gillespie did indeed get a chance to contribute early, seeing the field in seven games as a special teams player during his freshman season. But it was his sophomore season in 2018 where Gillespie got his chance to become a weekly starter.

In a Week 6 game against Alabama, Gillespie took over the starting role at the number one safety position. Despite it being his first game starting against the number one ranked team in the country, Gillespie made six stops that game that ended in a loss for Mizzou. He would end up making six stops again in 2018, this time against Kentucky (at the time ranked 17th in the AP poll). Gillespie was on his way to being a reliable starter in the secondary and it was just his sophomore season.

Gillespie’s junior season in 2019 saw even more improvements to his on-field performances, becoming one of the most effective defenders in the Mizzou secondary. He’d finish the season with 50 tackles, including seven pass deflections, four tackles for a loss, one sack and a single forced fumble.

Gillespie finished the season with the second-most tackles on the defense and proved to be a solid run-defender in and outside the box. Despite an abridged senior season in 2020 (due to COVID-19 game cancellations), Gillespie’s stats still improved across the board. He would finish the season with 46 tackles, just four less than in 2019 in 25 percent fewer games.

But trying to judge a safety on the raw stats he produces is a little unfair. After all, quality defensive backs are more valuable than just the tackles and pass deflections they put on the box score. In the next section, we’ll cover the things Gillespie did well in college and how those traits are valuable commodities in the 2021 NFL Draft.