CLEVELAND, Ohio – Mizzou Football had four players drafted Saturday, as safety Tyree Gillespie (Ocala, Fla.), offensive lineman Larry Borom (Detroit, Mich.), safety Joshuah Bledsoe (Houston, Texas) and running back Larry Rountree III (Raleigh, N.C.) were all selected on the third day of the 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland. Mizzou’s five draft picks (including Nick Bolton on Friday) are the most in an NFL Draft since five Tigers were taken in 2015. It also marks the first time since 1983 Mizzou has had two secondary players drafted.
In the fourth round, Gillespie was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the 38th pick in the round and the 143rd overall selection. In the fifth round, Borom was taken by the Chicago Bears with the seventh pick in the round and the 151st overall selection. In the sixth round, Bledsoe was selected by the New England Patriots with the fourth pick in the round and the 188th overall selection, while Rountree was taken by the Los Angeles Chargers with the 14th pick in the round and the 198th overall selection. The foursome follows linebacker Nick Bolton (Frisco, Texas), who was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round on Friday, marking the 17th consecutive season Mizzou has had a player selected in the NFL Draft dating back to 2005.
Tyree Gillespie
Gillespie becomes the first Mizzou safety selected in the NFL Draft since William Moore was taken in the second round (55th overall) by the Atlanta Falcons in 2009. The Ocala, Fla., native was a three-year starter who made 28 starts and played in 41 games for the Tigers from 2017-20, amassing 146 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 12 PBUs and one forced fumble. In 2020, Gillespie recorded 46 tackles (third-most on the team), four PBUs and 1.0 TFL while producing three games with seven or more tackles. In 2019, Gillespie finished the year with 50 tackles, second-most on the team, while adding 4.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, seven pass breakups, a QB hurry and a forced fumble.
Gillespie is the fourth Tiger taken by the Raiders, following WR Joe Stewart (1978 – 4th round, 108th overall), OT John Clay (1987 – 1st round, 15th overall) and DL Stryker Sulak (2009 – 6th round, 199th overall).
Larry Borom
A three-year contributor and two-year starter, Borom becomes the 56th offensive lineman drafted in program history and the first since Evan Boehm and Connor McGovern went in 2016. Borom played in 33 games and started 19 games (16 at RT, two at LG, one at LT) for the Black & Gold, playing all over the offensive line before nailing down the right tackle spot halfway through the 2019 campaign. Borom was ranked among the nation’s elite lineman in 2020, as ProFootballFocus.com graded him as the nation’s 16th-best tackle with an 87.0 grade. He also earned the SEC’s top pass-blocking grade with a mark of 84.5. In 2019, Borom was part of an offensive line group that allowed just 6.08 tackles for loss and 2.25 sacks per game. The Detroit native was a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection.
Borom joins one of the NFL’s first franchises in the Chicago Bears as he is the 13th Tiger taken by the Bears, most recently following WR Justin Gage (2003 – 5th round, 143rd overall).
Joshuah Bledsoe
Bledsoe gives Mizzou two secondary players selected in the same NFL Draft for the first time since 1983 when Demetrious Johnson (Detroit Lions – 5th round, 115th overall) and Kevin Potter (Houston Oilers – 9th round, 326th overall) were selected. The Houston native played in 41 games from 2017-20 and started every game of the 2019 and 2020 seasons (22 starts) for the Tigers. In 2020, Bledsoe made 41 tackles, had a team-high 6 PBUs, 1 INT and 1 FF while leading a Tiger secondary that was recognized as one of the SEC’s best. He had his most memorable game as a Tiger in a win over the defending National Champion LSU Tigers on Oct. 10, as held LSU’s Terrence Marshall to three receptions on 57 yards and batted down an LSY pass in the end zone on a late-fourth quarter fourth-and-goal to seal the victory. In 2019, Bledsoe finished the year ranked third on the team with 49 tackles (35 solo) with 4.0 tackles for loss and a team-high 10 pass breakups. He became the first Mizzou safety in more than a decade to post 10+ pass breakups in a single season and it was just the eighth time at Mizzou defender had 10 pass breakups in a single season since 2009.
Bledsoe is the fifth Tiger, and first since 2000, to be drafted by the New England Patriots, following K Henry Brown (1970 – 10th round, 239th overall), OT Andy Ekern (1983, 12th round, 326th overall), DB Harry Colon (1991 – 8th round, 196th overall) and DT Jeff Marriott (2000 – 5th round, 163rd overall).
Larry Rountree III
Rountree becomes the first Mizzou running back to be drafted since Marcus Murphy was taken in the seventh round by the New Orleans Saints in 2015. The Raleigh, N.C., native, leaves Mizzou as one of the most decorated running backs in program history, as he ranks first among running backs and second all-time in rushing yards (3,720 yards) and rushing TDs (40), only trailing Mizzou legend Brad Smith in both categories. His 3,720 career rushing yards rank 16th on SEC’s career rushing list as he produced 800+ yards in each of his last three seasons, including a 1,000-yard season (1,216) as a sophomore in 2018. Rountree was explosive for the Mizzou offense in 2020, as he rushed for 972 yards in 10 games while scoring 14 TDs on the ground, the eighth-most in a single season in program history, and was named to the All-SEC Second Team by the league’s coaches. He erupted for 185 yards and three rushing TDs in Mizzou’s last second win over Arkansas (12/5/20), one of the 14 100-yard rushing games in his career.
Rountree is the fifth Tiger to be selected by the Los Angeles Chargers, following Russ Washington (1968 – 1st round, 4th overall), Kellen Winslow (1979 – 1st round, 13th overall), Tommie Stowers (1990 – 11th round, 283rd overall) and Andrew Gachkar (2011 – 7th round, 234th overall).
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