February 19, 2013

Recruiting Rewind: Defensive Backs

With Gary Pinkel's 13th recruiting class at Missouri officially in the books, PowerMizzou.com is taking a look back at each recruiting class by position. Today we continue our "Recruiting Rewind" series with a look at the defensive backs.

Save for William Moore, Missouri hasn't churned out a wide assortment of NFL defensive backs. That doesn't mean it hasn't had its fair share of productive secondary players, though. Gary Pinkel's staff has had a lot of success from the junior college ranks, especially at safety. Pig Brown is the best example of this, but Kentrone Walker fits the bill as well.

At cornerback, in-state prospects have helped the staff immensely. Carl Gettis came from outside of St. Louis. E.J. Gaines came from Independence. A.J. Kincade, Darnell Terrell and Hardy Ricks came from the St. Louis area as well. But two Texas guys in the Class of 2008 - Kip Edwards and Kenji Jackson - broke that trend. Interestingly, in 2011 and 2012, the staff did not recruit a single defensive back from Missouri, instead diving into the state of Texas for that position.

Class of 2001

Orlando Gooden (East St. Louis, IL)

Solid special teams contributor before transferring to Indiana State.

A.J. Kincade (St. Louis, MO):

Very productive career after arriving at Missouri as a fairly notable recruit (top-65 in defensive backs). After redshirting in 2001, he contributed immediately as a redshirt freshman in 2002 and established himself as one of the team's defensive leaders as an upperclassman.

Marcus King (Irving, Texas):

Led Missouri with three interceptions as a senior in 2005 and took two back to the house. Moved from safety to cornerback midway through his career.

Justin Scott (Lufkin, TX):

Played mostly special teams. Backup strong safety.

Jason Simpson (The Woodlands, TX):

His production slipped as a senior, but the fiery captain was an all-league performer and had a good run in the black-and-gold.

Quincy Wade (St. Louis, MO):

Dealt with injuries as a junior, but closed out his career as a valuable safety.

Calvin Washington (Lancaster, TX):

Captain in 2005, got a look with the Washington Redskins after graduating from Missouri.

Verdict: : Pinkel got a lot of mileage out of this first group of defensive backs. Several of them became solid contributors in the secondary and, perhaps more importantly, trusted leaders on the MU defense.

Class of 2002

Marcus Bacon (Houston, TX) 3 stars

The late Marcus Bacon moved to linebacker and became a First Team All-Big 12 player in 2006 as a senior. He led MU with 103 tackles that year.

Verdict: RIP Marcus Bacon. He may not have been a defensive back once he got to Mizzou, but the Tigers were lucky to have him.

Class of 2003

Alex Woodley (Mesquite, Tx) 2 stars

Played early in his career before a dismissal from the team. He eventually rejoined the team prior to 2006.

Lareno Seymour (St. Louis, MO) 2 stars

Backup free safety.

Nino Williams (Tyler, TX) 3 stars

Impact junior college safety who was third on the team in tackles in 2004 and also had two interceptions. He brought a lot to the table in two years at Missouri as a safety after earning All-America honors as a juco cornerback.

Verdict: Williams was a solid addition from the junior college ranks.

Class of 2004

William Moore (Hayti, Missouri) 2 stars

Recruited from a small town in the very southeastern tip of Missouri and grew into an All-American and All-Big 12 safety. Finished with 284 tackles and 11 career interceptions, and he's now a teammate of Sean Weatherspoon's on the Atlanta Falcons.

Trenile Washington (Marietta, OK) 2 stars

Played sparingly and got injured during his sophomore year.

Domonique Johnson (LaMarque, TX) 2 stars

Transferred to Jackson State, then hopped around several NFL practice squads.

Steve Redmond (Kansas City, MO) 2 stars

Moved to linebacker and became a steady backup.

Verdict: This class produced one star in William Moore. Johnson contributed some before he left the team.

Class of 2005

Hardy Ricks (St. Louis, MO) 3 stars

Safety who spent five years at Mizzou as a backup.

Darnell Terrell (St. Louis, MO) 4 stars

Honorable mention All-Big 12 player who lost a little playing time to Carl Gettis as a senior. Still a very good career overall.

Chad Washington (Lancaster, TX) 3 stars

Last played at MU in 2006.

Verdict: Terrell and Ricks lasted all the way through their MU careers, and Terrell in particular had some good moments.

Class of 2006

Castine Bridges (JUCO) 3 stars

Earned a starting spot by the end of his career. Had 69 tackles and an interception as a senior in 2008.

DB Pig Brown (JUCO) 3 stars

Had enjoyed a terrific 2007 season before his season-ending injury in the Iowa State game. At the time, it was devastating to MU's secondary because Brown had emerged as one of the fiercest safeties in the Big 12.

Justin Brown (JUCO) 3 stars

Never played.

Del Howard (Garland, TX) 3 stars

Played all four years at Missouri and moved to free safety after starting his career as a cornerback. Missed a lot of his senior year due to injuries, but as a junior, he finished with 41 tackles.

Kevin Rutland (Galena Park, TX) 3 stars

Led the team with three interceptions as a senior and started every game at corner in 2009 and 2010.

Verdict: A lot of solid contributors developed from the Class of 2006. There's no telling what Brown could have done in 2007 had he not gone down with that injury.

Class of 2007

Carl Gettis (O'Fallon, MO) 3 stars

Returned punts and kicks and also had 48 tackles and two interceptions in 2010. Four-year player who came out of nowhere to take over a starting job as a freshman.

Trey Hobson (Stanley, KS) 3 stars

Started three games as a senior.

Donte Neal (Maples, TX) 2 stars

Never played.

Tremane Vaughns (Pasadena, CA) 3 stars

Junior college transfer who had 49 tackles as a senior in 2008.

Verdict: Gettis is far and away the best player out of this class.

Class of 2008

Kip Edwards (Arlington, TX) 3 stars

Became a starter as a junior and started every game at cornerback this year. Had 46 tackles and two picks.

Kenji Jackson (Mansfield, TX) 3 stars

76 tackles and three interceptions as a senior in 2011. Two-year starter who played right away as a true freshman.

Robert Steeples (St. Louis, MO) 3 star

DeSmet High School product who lasted five years at MU as backup.

Verdict: Steeples never played all that much, but the staff hit the jackpot with a couple of underrated Texas players in Edwards and Jackson.

Class of 2009

Tavon Bolden (Houston, TX) 2 stars

Missed 2011 for disciplinary reasons, then got kicked off the team for good.

DB Jarrell Harrison (JUCO) 3 stars

69 tackles and two interceptions as a senior in 2010, and played very well late in the year.

Jasper Simmons (JUCO) 3 stars

Had a solid 2009 campaign before disciplinary problems halted his senior season.

Matt White (Dallas) 2 stars

Played in all 12 games in 2012 and had 23 tackles and two pass deflections.

Verdict: Both Harrison and Simmons ran into off-the-field trouble, which derailed their careers a bit.

**Randy Ponder joined the program as a walk-on

Class of 2010

E.J. Gaines (Independence, MO) 3 stars

Third-leading tackler in 2012 for Missouri and had 11 pass deflections and one interception. All-Big 12 corner in 2011 and will be a key part of MU's secondary in 2013.

Tristen Holt (Gilmer, TX) 4 stars

Kicked off the team after an arrest.

Xavier Smith (Edmond, OK) 3 stars

Played in nine games and had four tackles in 2012.

Kenronte Walker (JUCO) 3 stars

Grabbed a starting spot at safety after transferring from junior college and became a real player in the secondary. His 71 tackles in 2012 ranked fourth on the team. He only had one interception, but that pick sealed a win against Arizona State.

Braylon Webb (Gilmer, TX) 3 stars

Returning starter at safety who ranked fifth on MU in tackles with 64 in 2012.

Greg White (DeQueen, AR) 3 stars

Converted to running back.

Darvin Ruise (Glen St. Mary, Florida)

Has moved to linebacker, where he had seven tackles in 2012.

Verdict: Solid all-around class. Walker had a nice stint with the Tigers, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of year Gaines has as a senior.

Class of 2011

Cortland Browning (Tyler, TX) 3 stars

Strong safety who played in three games as a redshirt freshman.

David Johnson (Spring, TX) 3 stars

Did not record a statistic as a redshirt freshman.

Ernest Payton (College Station, TX) 3 stars

Played in three games as a redshirt freshman.

Ian Simon (Mansfield, TX) 3 stars

Safety who played in 10 games in 2012 and had 14 tackles.

Verdict: All of these guys are still getting their feet wet.

Class of 2012

Torey Boozer (Eveman, TX) 3 stars

Redshirt.

Levi Copelin (Broken Arrow, OK) 3 stars

Redshirt who's now a WR.

Chaston (Cuffee) Ward (Cleburne, Texas) 3 stars

Redshirt.

John Gibson (Missouri City, Texas) 3 stars

Redshirt.

Ka'Ra Stewart (O'Fallon, IL) 3 stars

Dismissed from team after marijuana arrest.

Verdict: Can't make a judgment on this one yet.

Class of 2013

Aarion Penton (St. Louis) 3 stars

Great athlete who Cornell Ford said has the skills to play on either side of the ball.

Shaun Rupert (Montgomery, AL) 3 stars

Missouri went into the heart of SEC country to find him.

Duron Singleton (JUCO)

His late addition helped helped MU jump up the Rivals.com rankings for the Class of 2013.

Anthony Sherrills (Kansas City) 3 stars

Recruited as an athlete and, like Penton, could play either offense or defense.

Verdict: Singleton's signing was a nice surprise for Missouri.

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