For the most part, Missouri should know what it has on the defensive side of the ball in 2020. The Tigers return eight starters from the second half of last season (after Cale Garrett left the lineup due to injury) and nine of their top 12 defenders in snaps played. Even after a head coaching change that saw a complete overhaul of the offensive staff, the leadership of the defense remained relatively intact, with Eli Drinkwitz retaining defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, as well as cornerbacks coach David Gibbs and defensive line coach Brick Haley. After the unit finished last season 14th nationally in total defense and sixth against the pass, there’s reason for optimism, even against a brutal 10-game, SEC-only schedule.
But if there’s one position group on the defensive side of the ball that carries some mystery into 2020, it’s the cornerbacks. Missouri lost its two most experienced players at the position during the offseason as DeMarkus Acy graduated and Christian Holmes transferred to Oklahoma State. Holmes and Acy had combined to start 45 games and play more than 3,100 snaps in their college careers. The remaining seven scholarship corners on Missouri’s roster have combined for 25 starts and about 1,800 snaps.
Considering that, you would be forgiven for being surprised at the rave reviews the cornerback group has earned lately. Drinkwitz said the group has been “whooping our tails” — meaning, the offense’s tails — during the first week and a half of fall camp. Walters went so far as to say that he thinks the position could be better than last season, even without Acy and Holmes
“Obviously Acy did a lot of good things for us, really, the last four years, but I like our younger guys,” Walters said. “I think those guys have a chance to be pretty special. ... I like their maturation, I like what coach Gibbs is doing with them, and you’re seeing what they’re doing in (independent workouts) and working on technique, it’s showing up in 11-on-11 in situations. And so I think we’ll be better at corner than we were last year.”
The cornerback position is not a complete unknown. After starting all 12 games as a sophomore last season, Jarvis Ware will likely take over Acy’s role as Missouri’s top corner. Senior Adam Sparks, who started eight games as a true freshman in 2017 but has seen his playing time diminish in the past season and a half, could resume on a larger role, as well.
But even if those two both start, at least a couple unproven players will have to contribute meaningful snaps. And as Walters suggested, it’s those unproven first- and second-year players who seem to be inspiring a lot of the optimism around the position.
Sophomore Chris Shearin has the most experience of the group. Shearin played in 11 games last season, but the vast majority of his snaps came on special teams units. Redshirt freshman Ishmael Burdine missed all but one game during his first year on campus due to injury. Newcomers Jaylon Carlies and Ennis Rakestraw have both been on campus for less than three months. Yet Drinkwitz said they’re already pushing the upperclassmen.
“We got a lot of young guys,” Drinkwitz said. “We got great competition. Only thing better than a little competition is a lot of competition, and there's a lot of competition in that room. Really good players: Sparks, Jarvis Ware, Ennis Rakestraw, Ish Burdine, J.C. Carlies, the list goes on.”
A key to the quick development of the younger players seems to be the makeup of the cornerback room. Both Sparks and Ware said that they’ve taken it upon themselves to show the underclassmen the ropes, and those players have embraced their leadership. Drinkwitz also praised Gibbs, who spent nine seasons coaching defensive backs in the NFL.
“I feel like the reason why they’re doing so good is because they came in with the mindset of I’m not going to do a lot of talking, I’m going to do a lot of listening,” Sparks said. “So everything that we’re doing, it really wasn’t a lot of mistakes being made. They saw us doing it, so they went and did the exact same things.”
"He does an unbelievable job," Drinkwitz said of Gibbs. "... He's got a lot of NFL experience, he knows exactly how to coach that position, the techniques, and that's what the kids want to know."
The two true freshmen, in particular, seem to have really turned heads during camp. Of course, Rakestraw arrived on campus with more hype than most newcomers. The Texas native picked Missouri over Alabama and Texas on National Signing Day, sending Drinkwitz into a screaming celebration that went viral. Ware said he’s been most impressed with Rakestraw’s footwork, to the point that he’s tried to emulate the true freshman. Carlies, who played both wide receiver and defensive back for his West Orange (Fla.) high school team, didn’t generate quite as much fanfare with his commitment, but he’s quickly catching up with his camp performance.
“I think the two that stick out the most in my mind right now are Ennis and JC,” slot receiver Barrett Banister said when asked about the cornerbacks. “JC is long, he’s physical, he’s a guy that, you don’t want him to get his hands on you. I think that’s the thing that’s stuck out the most with him. And then Ennis, he’s quick, and just talking with him in the facility and on the sidelines and stuff like that, Ennis has a really good knowledge of the game, and he understands what offenses are doing and how he needs to play defense to react to that.”
On the surface, considering Missouri had its spring practices cut short and players sent home for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, this might not seem like the best offseason to replace two established contributors like Acy and Holmes. But after spending the past three months working out together, Sparks believes the cornerbacks have gelled better than ever. The veterans have embraced a leadership role, and the young talent has been eager to follow. As a result, Sparks agrees with Walters’ assertion that the group can be even better than a year ago.
“I definitely think that we have a big leap to take,” he said. “I feel like we all had more time to stay together, stay with the coaches, fix the things that we didn’t fix before last year. Now we got to get those things fixed before the season started. So I feel like we can have a huge year if we decide to. It’s all on us.”
