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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Something interesting happens when a Missouri defensive lineman runs onto the field with his extended hand, thumb-first, perpendicularly tapping the crown of his helmet.

The gesture, rarely picked up by TV cameras as broadcasts show replays and tight shots during substitutions, looks a bit like a player miming a horn. And that would make sense: The signal means Mizzou is rolling out its “rhino� package.

It’s another twist on the Tigers’ defense that modifies their 4-2-5 base system into something that looks very different because of a change in personnel. MU’s rhino look involves five defensive linemen, with the extra down lineman playing as a nose tackle.

That changes Missouri’s system into more of a 5-2-4, with the defense’s STAR hybrid safety generally leaving the field to make way for the nose tackle.

The look has appeared in both of Mizzou’s last two games, wins over Boston College and Vanderbilt. While using five defensive linemen or a nose tackle isn’t groundbreaking football, it is a twist that the Tigers and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon are trying out for games against run-happy quarterbacks.

“That was a game plan decision,� coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “based off 12 personnel.�

He’s referring to offensive formations that use one running back and two tight ends, known in football parlance as “12 personnel.� With the opposing offense sacrificing a wide receiver for another blocker, the MU defense responds by ditching a defensive back for another lineman with defending the run as the priority.

“It was a heavy run personnel for them,� Drinkwitz said, “and we felt like the most important thing for us was to control the A and B gaps, not really allow their center to be free to climb up to the second level (and) put the center and guard more in one-on-one blocks. So we went to a rhino package.�

Mizzou’s alignment in its rhino package reflects that. The nose tackle lines up head-on with the center, while the defensive tackles spread out a little bit more to be able to attack any of the gaps between the offensive tackles. By adding an extra rusher to the interior of the play, math dictates it’s more likely that the defense gets a one-on-one matchup around that part of the line, too.

Offenses lining up with 12 personnel isn’t unique either, but the blend of that formation with a mobile quarterback made the BC and Vanderbilt matchups the time to use the rhino package. Both Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos and, especially, Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia run a fair number of read and option plays.

Because the Tigers’ defensive priority was to keep both of those quarterbacks contained and away from the perimeter, the rhino package allowed the defensive line to remain more spread out toward the edge without opening too many gaps inside.

“It allows your ends to be more contain players so the ball doesn’t get out on the edge,� Drinkwitz said.

Marquis Gracial, a high school standout at St. Charles, has emerged as the primary nose tackle option, slotting in between tackles Kristian Williams and Chris McClellan.

“I thought Marquis really did a nice job coming in and playing the nose, which is what he primarily did in the game,� Drinkwitz said.

The rhino package was a new variation timed to be used for the first time against Boston College, and it was used notably on first downs early in the game.

“We hadn’t shown that,� Drinkwitz said. “We had hoped that it would create some confusion or an adjustment to their game plan.�

Vanderbilt was likely more ready for the rhino package to appear, or at least aware of the fact that it could. It seemed to pop up in more third-and-short situations on Saturday, including one in overtime.

But it still seemed to throw off the Commodores at times. Mizzou deployed the rhino package on the second play of the game — a second-and-5 — and Vanderbilt stumbled into a false start penalty while staring down five defensive linemen plus a likely linebacker blitz.

When the Commodores were backed up even more on the second-down play, the Tigers trotted out their prowler package — which has just three defensive linemen but seven defensive backs — on third down. Routinely changing up the number of linemen and mixing in blitzes from safeties and linebackers is a key part of what Batoon has shown in defensive play calls over the past two games.

There aren’t many changes for the linemen involved in the varied looks, but they recognize how personnel counts affect the team on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

“It’s still more attack, react on different things, get vertical, harass the quarterback and create takeaways — the message is still the message,� Williams said. “But as far as that (rhino) formation, it’s just bringing a bigger package on. It’s harder to run the ball on a three-man or five-man front, so it’s just changing the look for the offense so they can be confused.�