Former Missouri Tigers teammates will be on opposite sides for Chiefs-Chargers game

Larry Rountree III was eagerly awaiting one game in particular last season.

The Missouri Tigers were set to face Arkansas at Arrowhead Stadium in the running back’s senior year, but like so many things amid the COVID-19 pandemic, plans changed and the contest was relocated to Columbia.

Now a rookie with the Los Angeles Chargers, Rountree will finally have a chance to experience that environment for the first time as he heads back to the state he called home throughout his college career. Opposite him will be a teammate he competed alongside in that 2020 matchup: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton. The former Tigers meet for the first time in their young NFL careers this Sunday.

“[This is] kind of one of the lifetime things we talked about since we were in college,” Bolton said. “We went against each other every single day, made each other better. ... I know what [Rountree] brings to the table week in and week out, so I’m excited to play against him.”

Bolton and Rountree were two of five Mizzou players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, matching the best draft class for the program since 2015. Safety Tyree Gillespie was taken by the Raiders in the fourth round, offensive tackle Larry Borom went to the Bears in the fifth and safety Joshuah Bledsoe landed with the Patriots in the sixth.

“It’s just a blessing,” Rountree said. “All the hard work we put in, now it’s our job, so we just got to keep working. The NFL is an industry of earned, it’s not an industry of oh well we’re gonna keep you for four years like college. It’s more so you gotta earn your right to stay.”

Many rookies taken late in the draft, like Rountree was in the sixth round, fall short of making the 53-man roster and spend their first year on practice squads. But he kept that possibility out of his mind throughout training camp, confident in his ability to perform at the highest level of football following a college career in which he rushed for more yards and touchdowns than any running back in Mizzou history.

Rountree had to adjust to the much faster speed of the game though, noting he was taken aback by the cadence of play calls during one of his first walkthroughs. The running back also quickly realized that the NFL is a “chess game”; everything is much more detail-oriented, especially when it comes to studying and breaking down film.

“It’s been great to honestly just play and learn more from the game and actually get coached up on things I can get better on and focus on those little things,” Rountree said. “I know throughout this year and years going on and me playing in the NFL that I’ll get better at those things and hopefully you’ll be looking at a Hall of Famer or at a 1000 yard rusher.”

Bolton, drafted by the Chiefs with the 58th overall pick, turned heads during training camp and is already making an impact in his rookie season. He has started both of the team’s games so far, called upon to replace linebacker Willie Gay, who suffered a toe injury in the preseason finale.

In Week 1 against the Browns, the linebacker played 76% of the team’s defensive snaps and had seven tackles, which tied for the team high. Though the Kansas City defense struggled against the Ravens in Week 2, Bolton proved to be a bright spot. He finished the game with nine tackles, eight of which were unassisted, and earned praise from NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, who called the rookie one of the MVPs on that side of the ball during the broadcast.

On the season, Bolton is tied with linebacker Anthony Hitchens for the team-lead in total tackles (16) and his 12 solo tackles are the most of any Chiefs player.

“I miss playing with [Bolton], he’s a heck of a player,” said Mizzou safety Martez Manuel, who has been following along with his former teammate’s rookie year. “It’s been really cool to just watch his process and watch how he can just keep amazing people by taking that next step and being such a pro like he is right now.”

In Los Angeles, Rountree has been trying to work his way up the depth chart at running back while also seeing time on special teams. He served as the Chargers’ No. 2 option behind Austin Ekeler in Week 1 at Washington, playing 27% of the team’s offensive snaps and gaining 27 yards on eight carries, but his usage went down the following week as fourth year running back Justin Jackson got more looks.

Determined to keep cementing his role, Rountree looks forward to the challenge of facing Bolton and the Chiefs come Sunday, noting that it was tougher to go against his teammate in practice than it was competing with any other linebacker in the SEC on game day. Knowing how much they pushed one another to improve with each of those reps across their three seasons together at Missouri makes their first meeting in the NFL even more exciting for the pair, who plan on catching up before kickoff and later swapping uniforms.

“But during the game it ain’t none of that,” Rountree said. “It’s a dog eat dog mentality.”