University of Missouri third-year assistant Ryan Walters has been promoted to the position of defensive coordinator for the Tigers, as announced Friday by Head Coach Barry Odom.
Walters, over the past two seasons, has been the co-defensive coordinator at Mizzou. Earlier this season, defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross was fired, as the Tigers got off to a poor 1-5 start, particularly noticeable on that side of the football.
This fall, Walters was generally in charge of the Missouri secondary, after having a general focus in the safety position in 2015 and 2016. Over the final five games of the regular season, all Missouri victories, the secondary improved dramatically, grabbing 8 of the season’s 12 interceptions in that time frame, including a pair by senior safety Anthony Sherrils, and two for emerging freshman cornerback Adam Sparks.
The Tigers will take on the Texas Longhorns in the Academy Sports + Outdoor Texas Bowl in Houston on Wednesday night, December 27th at 8 o’clock on ESPN and KTTN FM 92.3 (with radio pregame at 6 PM).
