Freshman corners to take center stage against Mississippi State
When Missouri takes the field against Mississippi State in its final game of the regular season on Saturday, the Tiger defense will know what to expect. It will be up, in part, to a pair of true freshmen to stop it.
Like any Mike Leach-coached team, Mississippi State throws the ball more and runs it less than any other squad in the country. The Bulldogs average 54.3 passing attempts per game compared to just 16.2 runs. Their rushing average of 23.3 yards per game is on pace to be the lowest by an FBS team since at least 2008. While that may not be a bad thing for a Missouri defense that has been gashed on the ground the past two games — head coach Eli Drinkwitz even said this week that it’s probably good Mississippi State won’t run the ball because the Tigers are so thin along the defensive line — the matchup will thrust the Tigers’ depleted secondary under the microscope.
In particular, the true freshman duo of Jaylon Carlies and Ennis Rakestraw will be tested. With junior Jarvis Ware and redshirt freshman Ishmael Burdine out, both will not only start at cornerback, but play virtually every snap. Drinkwitz is confident the duo can answer the challenge.
“Those guys have proven to be able to handle it,” he said. “Have they got beat? Absolutely. But have they held their own, too, in a lot of situations? You bet. And so incredibly thankful that those guys are here, and they've shown up big when we needed them.”
Rakestraw and Carlies have taken different paths to their starting spots. By now, Tiger fans have gotten to know Rakestraw. He arrived at Missouri as one of the most hyped high school prospects in recent memory thanks to Eli Drinkwitz’s viral celebration when he picked the Tigers over Alabama and Texas on National Signing Day. Almost immediately, he started living up to the fanfare, generating positive buzz in fall camp. He beat out senior Adam Sparks for a starting spot in fall camp and has started all nine games this season.
Carlies, on the other hand, flew under the radar, which is fitting of his matter-of-fact personality. His position coach at West Orange high school, Joe Light, called him “a man of few words.” Carlies had hardly played his college position prior to arriving on campus. Instead, he starred at wide receiver. In one game last season, he set a school record for most receiving yards in a single game with 241.
“Honestly he was one of the best all-around receivers that I’ve ever had,” Light said. “And that’s coming from, I’ve had some Division I kids at Kentucky, Duke. … He could block his butt off, he’s very physical, he has great hands.”
Fortunate timing allowed Carlies to catch the eye of Missouri defensive coordinator Ryan Walters. During Carlies’ senior season, his West Orange team would have periods of practice where everyone went through defensive drills, regardless of whether they played mostly offense, and then other segments where everyone worked at an offensive position. While observing a practice, Walters saw Carlies practicing at defensive back. At that point, Carlies hadn’t played in a game on defense except in extreme situations, such as when an opponent might attempt a Hail Mary. But Missouri didn’t have any spots left at receiver, and Walters believed Carlies’ length and athleticism could translate to the other side of the ball. So he offered Carlies a scholarship to play defensive back.
Every other college that offered Carlies except one, Purdue, had done so assuming he would play wideout, including his self-described dream school, Miami. But Carlies visited Missouri with high school teammate Tyler Jones in October of last year and fell in love with the campus. Both players wound up committing to the Tigers.
“They had me at receiver,” Carlies said of Miami, “and that was always my favorite school growing up, but I went to Miami on like an unofficial, seeing the school, things like that, and it just didn’t feel as home as I thought it would, and I felt Missouri was more comfortable for me, so I was more comfortable coming to play DB.”
Given the choice, most high school kids would likely choose to play a position that gives them a chance to touch the football over defense. Light said the fact that Carlies prioritized which program fit him the best over which position he would play speaks to his mature personality.
“That’s JC,” he said. “JC is not like your get-me-the-ball, I-need-attention wide receiver. JC is the ultimate team player.”
Once football activities began, Rakestraw went to work trying to earn a starting job. Carlies simply sought to find a position. The Missouri coaches initially gave him reps at both cornerback and safety before deciding corner would be the better fit. Walters said Carlies might actually have benefitted from his lack of experience at the position, as he didn’t have any bad habits that needed breaking and he soaked up the instruction of cornerbacks coach David Gibbs.
“He has gotten better just from learning the technique of how to play the position,” Walters said on Dec. 9. “... Being able to mold a guy who doesn’t have bad habits and really be able to give him your influence as a coach, it’s definitely paid off for JC, and you’re kind of seeing the fruits of his labor and the fruits of him paying attention to detail.”
Light isn’t surprised Carlies was able to pick up the new position so quickly. For one, he said Carlies has always had a high football IQ, understanding how to set defensive backs up on the outside before breaking a route toward the middle of the field, for instance. Now that he’s playing on the opposite side of the ball, that same knowledge comes in handy as receivers try to trick him. Light also said Carlies has always been studious in breaking down film, which has allowed him to improve his technique.
“He’s very meticulous when it comes to watching film,” Light said. “I mean, he would put in hours and hours and hours of watching film. … I think that gave him a leg up, and Tyler a leg up, too, when we take it so serious at West Orange where they could probably come into a college film room and feel comfortable breaking down film.”
Carlies and Rakestraw differ in personality, with the quiet Carlies contrasting the fiery, loquacious Rakestraw. But the two share a similarity that has been key to earning playing time: the right blend of humility and confidence.
Light said Carlies was never one to celebrate his scores or ask for the ball more in high school. Even during his 241-yard outburst, Light said, Carlies “was just like ‘yeah, coach, whatever. Next play.’” Yet he could take over a game when his team needed to. Teammates raved about Rakestraw’s confidence, his belief that he belonged in the SEC, as soon as he hit campus. But in speaking to reporters this week, Rakestraw said he went into the season understanding there were going to be some ups and downs. His goal has been to simply make more good plays than bad.
“It happens to the best of them,” Rakestraw said. “My favorite corner, Jalen Ramsey, like, he gives up touchdowns. But he just holds himself accountable. Everything that happens on the field, hold it accountable, learn from it, you grow on it. Like you accept it, but you don’t accept it to where it makes you go down. Your confidence has to stay high. ... You gotta get them more times than they got you.”
Both Carlies and Rakestraw have experienced their share of bad plays this season. During the season-opener, a baptism by fire against No. 2 Alabama, Ware left the game in the first quarter with an injury. As a result, Rakestraw spent virtually every snap lined up against either Jaylon Waddle, who racked up 134 yards and two touchdowns during the game, or DeVonta Smith, who leads the country in receiving yards. He surrendered six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Carlies wound up playing a handful of snaps, including defending Waddle. The only time his man was targeted during the game, Waddle caught it for 13 yards and a first down.
Even during Missouri’s win over South Carolina, when Carlies made his first college start, it wasn’t all perfect. Both Rakestraw and Carlies were on the field for South Carolina’s final drive of the game, when the Gamecocks could tie the score with a touchdown. Carlies got beat by Josh Vann for a 16-yard completion that went for a first down on third and long. Yet Drinkwitz pointed to that game as one that showed him the promise of the freshman duo.
“Any time you have these guys playing as true freshmen, there's going to be times where it's like, holy cow,” Drinkwitz said. “But you also know that the best teacher is experience, and they're going to continue to improve, and we got the makings to have a really good defensive secondary with those two guys anchoring those positions, specifically in the type of scheme that we like to play, which is man-to-man coverage.”
Fast forward to last week, when Ware once again was absent due to injury. Carlies played 67 of 74 defensive snaps, far and away the most he’s ever played on the defensive side of the ball in one game. Rakestraw played 60. Both got beat once for a long completion by Georgia’s top wideout, George Pickens. Rakestraw gave up a 31-yard touchdown on a third down in the second half. He admitted he never got beat like that in high school, both from an individual play or a score perspective (his Duncanville high school squad went 40-3 during his final three years there), but he’s spent the past week studying his mistakes in order to learn from them.
“I play one of the hardest positions on the field, corner,” Rakestraw said. “Just gotta have a short mindset. And I realize in this game they’re going to throw the ball, so going to be a lot of good this game, could be some bad.”
Indeed, that ability to not dwell on the bad plays will likely be against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs not only throw nearly every play, but Leach showed in the team’s season-opening upset of LSU that if he thinks he can beat opposing cornerbacks over the top, he’s willing to dial up plenty of deep shots. Plus, with the lack of available scholarship players at corner, even if Carlies or Rakestraw struggles, they’re likely not coming out of the game. They’ll have to work through any hiccups in real time.
Despite those challenges, both players said they’re looking forward to the matchup.
“I’m pretty sure that would get all DBs excited,” Carlies said, “but that also just tells me I gotta always stay alert, because you never know what’s coming. I can't take a play off expecting it’s a run, just gotta stay focused throughout every play.”
“It’s a redemption week,” said Rakestraw. “Like, redeem yourself from all of the bad that’s going on by catching an interception. … They’re going to throw the ball, they rarely run the ball. So it’s just a chance for the team to get some interceptions, D-line to get some sacks.”
Light, too, is looking forward to seeing what Carlies can do during the matchup. Even though at this time last year Carlies was playing on the other side of the ball, Light believes in his athleticism and work ethic. In fact, he’s so confident in his former player that he made a bold prediction: He expects Carlies to snag his first career interception on Saturday.
“If he has a chance to put a lick on a receiver, he’s going to do it,” Light said. “If he has a chance to get a hand on a ball and pick that thing off, he has great hands.
“You know what, I’ll say it. I’ll go on the record. I think he’s going to get his first pick this week because of that, because of Mike Leach throwing the ball 60 times.”