It’s report card season for the football coaches. How did the defensive staff grade out?
It’s report card season for the Mizzou coaches and this week we continue our discussion of the defensive side of the ball. Last week, I graded Corey Batoon’s inaugural performance as defensive coordinator. While Batoon is ultimately reponsible for the overall performance of the defense, football is a team game and that applies to position coaches as well as players.
Due to recent changes in NCAA rules regarding the number of coaches that programs are allowed to employ, Mizzou currently lists a whopping 26 coordinators, position coaches, assistants, analysts and graduate assistants. That’s not to mention the 37 other members of the Eli Drinkwitz army including athletic training staff, recruiting staff, video staff, creative staff and support staff.
While the assistants, graduate assistants and the rest of the staff play important roles in advancing the program, it’s nigh impossible to analyze their performance from the outside looking in, so for the purposes of this report card, we’re going to stick with the primary coaches listed for each position. Not to spoil my report card for Corey Batoon, but overall the defense received a comfortably passing grade, albeit far from an A+ in 2024. Let’s break down how each position coach performed with the talent with which he had to work.
Secondary coaches
Al Pogue, Assistant Head Coach/Cornerbacks Coach
Al Pogue entered his third year as Mizzou’s cornerbacks coach with two massive NFL draft pick-sized holes to replace on both sides of the defense. He deservedly earned a great deal of credit for the development of Ennis Rakestraw and Kris Abrams-Draine, turning both into second- and fifth-round draft picks respectively.
However, SEC football memories are short and Pogue was tasked with replacing those two talented players with a mixture of returning experience in Dreydon Norwood and Marcus Clarke, a transfer portal addition in Toriano Pride, and redshirt freshman Nicholas Deloach. Taking a look at the passing defense stats above, Pogue’s unit did a better job of limiting overall passing yards per game and passing first downs per game than 2023, however just about every other stat saw a moderate, if understandable, decline from last year.
The one stat that sticks out like a sore thumb is the decrease of interceptions from nine to seven. That number ranks 113th in the nation, which is poor, no matter how you slice it. That’s a number that will need to improve in 2025. In terms of giving up deep passes, Pogue’s cornerbacks were prone to a few blown coverages throughout the season, primarily committed by Toriano Pride, but anecdotally, most of the memorable big plays were a result of poor safety play rather than poor cornerback coverage.
As far as developing new talent is concerned, Pogue deserves credit for helping Dreydon Norwood turn into an above average SEC-level cornerback as well as identifying the potential in rising sophomore Nicholas Deloach. Considering the turnover of talent from 2023 to 2024, Pogue’s grade won’t suffer too much, but his unit also was one of the weaker on the team this past year.
Final grade: B-
Jacob Yoro, Safeties
Jacob Yoro is perhaps the most under-the-radar position coach on the staff. Hired as an off-field defensive analyst last winter after serving as defensive coordinator for two years at Hawaii, he was elevated to an on-field position as safeties coach last July once the aforementioned NCAA rules expanded the number of coaches allowed on the sideline and in practice. This new rule allowed Corey Batoon, who was previously tasked with coaching safeties on top of coordinating the defense, to focus entirely on his coordinating duties.
Yoro saw some NFL attrition in his position group as Jaylon Carlies graduated and was drafted by the Colts in the fifth round. Beyond that, the rest of the 2023 safeties returned in 2024, including super seniors Jacob Charleston, seniors Sydney Williams and Tre’Vez Johnson, experienced starter Daylan Carnell and rising sophomore Marvin Burks.
Production on the field for the safety group was mixed at best in Yoro’s first year. Daylan Carnell continued his great play at the STAR position while Jacob Charleston played fairly well, but was limited by his overall athleticism as well as some nagging injuries throughout the season. Williams and Johnson played relatively sparingly as Marvin Burks grabbed a starting role in his second season at Mizzou. The explosive play rate for the defensive passing game wasn’t great and the safety group, primarily Marvin Burks, was prone to at least one big blown coverage per game, leading to large chunk plays, if not touchdowns, in each game.
The safety position was one of the weakest on the Mizzou team in 2024 and Yoro can take some of the heat for that. While the talent overall was also one of the weakest on the roster, Marvin Burks did not have the break out sophomore season many were hoping he would. The off-season transfer portal saw several needed, talented additions to the safety room including star Jalen Catalon by way of UNLV and Texas and Arkansas, Virginia Tech’s Mose Phillips, and Northern Illinois’ Santana Banner. If this infusion of talent and experience doesn’t raise the floor of the safety group, Yoro might have a hard time defending his position this time next season.
Final grade: C+
Front seven (six?) coaches
Al Davis,Defensive Line/Interior
Like Jacob Yoro, Al Davis began his time at Mizzou as a defensive analyst before being elevated to his current position in the middle of the 2021 season. Like Pogue, Davis had to replace an incredible amount of experience and talent going into 2024 as the Tigers lost three stud tackles in Jayden Jernigan, Realus George and Josh Landry to graduation. To replace them, Davis had super senior Kristian Williams, transfers Sterling Webb and Chris McClellan and rising returners in Marquis Gracial and Jalen Marshall.
The loss of such experienced interior defenders proved itself out in 2024 as all rushing and pass rushing statistics took a dive from the previous season. Some of this is a reduction in the havoc rate, which can partly be attributed to changes in defensive calls and reduced production on the edge and in the linebacker room. That said, teams ran for more than 14 yards per game more in 2024 than in 2023, and some of that can be attributed to a weaker interior.
Davis was able to maximize the production out of super senior Kristian Williams and Florida transfer Chris McClellan, who both played as well as Mizzou fans could possibly have hoped for this past season. Unfortunately there was a stark drop off in production after those two. Sterling Webb played decently well, but wasn’t the destructive force he was at New Mexico State in prior seasons and Marquis Gracial and Jalen Marshall both failed to move the needle much. For a unit that has yet to add any transfers and loses starter Sterling Webb, the onus is on Davis to find some improvement in Gracial, Marshall or one of the freshman in Justin Bodford or Elias Williams in order to keep the interior stout in 2025.
Final grade: B-
Brian Early, Defensive Line/Edge
Before Jacob Yoro was elevated last summer, Brian Early was slated to be the newcomer of the defensive coaches. Hired from Houston after Kevin Peoples vacated his spot to follow Blake Baker to LSU, Early came into a unit losing sack leader and first-round talent in Darius Robinson. Early did have second-leading sacker in Johnny Walker, Jr. returning as well as the experienced Joe Moore and transfers Zion Young, Eddie Kelly, Jr. and Darris Smith. That’s not mention five-star freshman Williams Nwaneri and four-star Jaylen Brown incoming as well.
While Smith was injured in fall camp and Joe Moore a bit later in the season, Early was able to piece together a solid unit between Walker, Jr., Young and Kelly as well as sophomore Jakhai Lang. Frustratingly for fans, the talented Nwaneri and Brown didn’t see the field much and left the team shortly after the season ended. Their lack of playing time wasn’t necessarily a reflection on Early and more a reflection on those players’ need for further development.
Ultimately, Early’s defensive end unit proved to be fairly competent setting the edge in the run game, but diminished in terms of overall havoc rate, pressure rate and sack numbers compared 2023. Losing a first rounder with 8.5 sacks will tend to do that, but Tiger fans hoped for more than 2.1 sacks per game out of D-line Zou. Early does get some credit for helping Johnny Walker, Jr. turn himself into a pro prospect, as JWJ nearly doubled his sack numbers in 2024, putting up 9.5 after only five sacks in 2023. That said, Walker, Jr. leaves via graduation and Early will be tasked with not only replacing those 9.5 sacks, but hopefully increasing the overall number of sacks considerably as well. Star Georgia transfer Damon Wilson and a healthy Darris Smith will hopefully help next year.
Final grade: B-
D.J. Smith, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
I’ve got a lot to say about the linebacking corps in 2024, both good and bad, but since D.J. Smith just left the staff to take a promotion as defensive coordinator at his alma mater Appalachian State, I’m not sure it’s really worth my time to write or your time to read. Smith was just replaced by Miami (FL) linebackers coach Derek Nicholson, who’s contract ink is still wet enough that he isn’t even listed on the Mizzou coaches roster yet.
Overall, Smith’s linebacker unit was fine, if significantly less havoc-y (like the rest of the defense) than it’s 2023 version. The loss of Ty’ron Hopper to the NFL was a big reason for that, as well as a mid-season injury to Khalil Jacobs. However Chuck Hicks seemed to regress as a sixth-year senior and Triston Newson didn’t have the same high havoc rate as last year either. Freshman Nick Rodriguez showed some flashes but didn’t factor much on the field for the Tigers.
Final grade: B