Roster review: Cornerback
Since the 2019 football season ended, a lot has changed for the Missouri football program. The Tigers fired head coach Barry Odom on Nov. 30 and 10 days later announce the hire of Eliah Drinkwitz. Drinkwitz had just eight days to salvage a class for the early signing period, all while slowly piecing together his staff of assistants. Drinkwitz appears to have the defensive side of the ball set, but will hire two more offensive assistants.
Now that the dust has finally begun to settle, it's time to take a look back at the 6-6 season. In this series, we will go position-by-position to evaluate the performance in 2019 and the pieces In place for 2020. Today, we take a look at the cornerbacks.
2019 recap
Missouri's pass defense was one of the biggest surprises (certainly the biggest positive surprise) of last season. The cornerbacks certainly deserve a lot of credit for the improvement. The Tigers ranked 112th nationally against the pass in 2018, allowing 262 yards per game through the air. A year later, they leapt to seventh, surrendering just 179.3 yards per contest. Senior cornerback DeMarkus Acy may not have earned all-SEC honors like he did as a junior, but he was a big part of the success until he missed the final two games of the season due to a hamstring injury. Sophomore Jarvis Ware started opposite Acy, and while Ware played well at times, he got picked on by the two best quarterbacks Missouri faced, Georgia's Jake Fromm and Florida's Kyle Trask, and he drew a few untimely penalties. Christian Holmes often rotated with Ware and Acy and entered the game for passing situations.
Looking ahead
Departing: DeMarkus Acy, Richaud Floyd
Returning: Jarvis Ware, Christian Holmes, Adam Sparks, Chris Shearin, Ishmael Burdine, Chris Mills
Missouri will miss Acy, who started the majority of the past three seasons and generally drew opponents' top wideout. Replacing him will be a challenge, but there are several potential candidates to do so. Ware should have the inside track on a starting spot after he started all of last season. The rising junior is Missouri's most physical corner, but he needs to learn to cut down on penalties while remaining aggressive. Holmes and Sparks also have starting experience, though both have been inconsistent. Holmes took over as a starter midway through the 2018 season and played well, but he looked to regress last year after Ware took his starting spot. Sparks started eight games as a true freshman in 2017 but missed time due to injuries in 2018 and has not gotten back into the starting lineup. Shearin and Burdine present some intrigue as well. Both played a bit last season, with Shearin seeing action in 11 games, mostly on special teams, and Burdine coming out of nowhere to play 35 snaps in the season finale against Arkansas after he was previously declared out for the season due to an injury. Both should have every opportunity to work their way into the regular rotation during the offseason.
Incoming: none
Missouri signed two defensive backs during the early signing period In high school teammates Tyler Jones and Jaylon Carlies, but both seem more likely to wind up as safeties than cornerbacks. The coaching staff might pursue a true corner before February, but given the team's depth at the position, it's not an absolute must.
Projected 2020 starters: Jarvis Ware, Christian Holmes
Ware seems like a safe pick to start. The other spot should be wide open. Holmes has the most experience of the group, so he gets the early nod, but Sparks, Shearin and Burdine could all make a run at starting.
Offseason storylines to monitor:
Can Ware or anyone else take over Acy's mantle as The Guy in the defensive backfield — a vocal leader who can lock down an opponent's number-one wideout? Admittedly, we probably wont know the answer until the games are played, but in today's football, it's essential to have a cornerback who can win one-on-one matchups against a top target more times than not.