What will the Tigers’ back end look like next year?
Of all the position groups Mizzou fielded this past year, the one that perhaps elicited the most concern prior to the season and ultimately proved to be the weakest during the campaign was the Tiger secondary. While the Mizzou defense was a pleasant surprise overall in Corey Batoon’s first season as coordinator, the major deficiency throughout was the talent and execution of the back half of the unit.
Batoon’s defense did enjoy a solid success rate in passing downs, holding opponents to only 26 percent. However, the big problem from 2023 carried over to 2024: explosive plays. The Tiger defense did limit explosive rushing plays, giving up only 0.95 expected points added (EPA) on successful run plays. Unfortunately, successful passing plays were REALLY successful against Mizzou, with the defense giving up 1.62 EPA on successful pass plays.
The unit also struggled to force turnovers, only snagging seven interceptions all season. While interceptions are largely dependent on the opponent, Mizzou faced enough poor quarterback play that coming away with only seven picks can be considered a disappointment.
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A new look
In order to improve on the unit’s relatively poor performance in 2025, the Tiger coaching staff has embarked on a facelift for the secondary conducted primarily through the transfer portal. The secondary actually returns quite a bit of its production from last year, especially at the corner position. However, since the unit underperformed, that may not be a great thing. First, let’s take a look at who is leaving and returning (with the caveat that the transfer portal will re-open this spring and anyone could come or go):
Leaving
- Sidney Williams, Safety (Graduation)
- Tre’Vez Johnson, Safety (Graduation)
- Joseph Charleston, Safety (Graduation)
- Philip Roche, Safety (Transfer)
- Jaren Sensabaugh, Cornerback (Transfer)
- Marcus Clarke, Cornerback (Graduation)
Returning
- Dreyden Norwood, Cornerback (Senior)
- Toriano Pride, Jr., Cornerback (Senior)
- Nicholas Deloach, Jr., Cornerback (RS-Sophomore)
- Ja’Marion Wayne, Cornerback (RS-Junior)
- Shamar McNeil, Cornerback (RS-Sophomore)
- Cameron Keys, Cornerback (RS-Freshman)
- Marvin Burks, Jr., Safety (Junior)
- Daylan Carnell, Safety (RS-Senior)
- Trajen Greco, Safety (Sophomore)
- Nasir Pogue, Safety (Senior)
- Jackson Hancock, Safety (RS-Freshman)
- Caleb Flagg, Safety (Senior)
As you can see, the Tigers return basically all of their production from the cornerback position, as neither outgoing transfer Roche or Sensabaugh saw the field last year and Marcus Clarke played a very minor role. The biggest loss was at safety where super seniors Joseph Charleston, Tre’Vez Johnson and Sidney Williams depart, taking a combined 78 games played, 152 tackles and two interceptions with them. So how does Drinkwitz and Batoon plan on replacing them? With experience through the portal:
Incoming
- Santana Banner, Safety (Senior from Northern Illinois)
- Mose Phillips, Safety (Junior from Virginia Tech)
- Jalon Catalon, Safety (Super duper senior from UNLV, Texas and Arkansas)
- Stephen Hall, Cornerback (Senior from Washington State)
- Mark Manfred, Safety (Three-star Freshman)
- Charles Bass, Safety/Corner (Four-star Freshman)
Taking a look at this list, it’s clear what Drinkwitz and company were looking for: players with experience and production at a high level. Going into 2025, you’d be hard-pressed to find any player in the country, regardless of position, with more experience than Jalon Catalon. The seventh-year senior is a former first team All-SEC selection at Arkansas before taking a journey through Austin and Las Vegas to end up in Columbia. Hampered by injuries his whole career, Catalon is uber-talented when he has been able to play. In his first healthy full season in a few years in 2024, he racked up 96 tackles and five interceptions at UNLV. Those are crazy numbers for a safety on a pretty porous defense.
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Plug and play
One of the benefits of bringing in players with experience at a high level of college football is that there is a reasonable expectation that they will enter the spring ready to see the field. While incoming freshmen may take some time acclimating to the speed of the game (and college life in general) a guy like Catalon or Stephen Hall will be ready to integrate themselves immediately.
The safety position is where Mizzou saw the most turnover this offseason and that is where most of the playing time exists for the newcomers. If he can stay healthy, Catalon is basically a guarantee to slot in at the free safety spot as an upgrade to the departed Joseph Charleston. While Charleston was a solid player and good tackler, Catalon is a ball hawk who can wreck a game by himself. His presence alone will go a long way in improving the pass defense in 2025.
Marvin Burks, Jr. returns for the Tigers (with the caveat for every player on the roster: “as of now”) as their strong safety and it can be expected that he will play a decent role for Mizzou next year as well, provided he improves his ability to limit coverage busts. Santana Banner should be able to step into a rotational roll with Burks to provide talented depth to the safety unit that wasn’t really there last year. Banner has the flexibility to also play free safety so he can help out if (and sadly, probably when) Catalon gets nicked up and misses some time.
Based on the role he played for Virginia Tech, Mose Phillips most likely slots in as a box safety, which is referred to as the STAR position in Mizzou’s defense. That role has been filled, and filled well, by Daylan Carnell in recent years. Carnell will hold that starting spot again in 2025, but Phillips will be his heir apparent once he graduates. Phillips may also be used as fun toy for Batoon as well, playing alongside Carnell in run-heavy looks and perhaps as a blitzer; basically a more athletic version of the graduated Sydney Williams.
While just about everyone who played cornerback for Mizzou is back in 2025, Dreyden Norwood is really the only guy Mizzou fans can be excited about. While Toriano Pride, Jr. has a few flashes at the other corner spot, he had quite a few lowlights as well. Nicholas DeLoach, Jr. was the surprise of fall camp and played quite a bit in rotation with Pride, but neither did much to lock down that position moving into next year.
That’s where Washington State transfer Stephen Hall comes in. The experienced cornerback had 50 tackles, a pick and three pass breakups last year for the Cougars. He’s not a shoe-in for the starting corner job across from Norwood, but he will provided much-needed competition among the other corners vying for that second starting spot. At worst, Hall should serve as a better version of the graduating Marcus Clarke: a depth piece who won’t give Corey Batoon shivers if he is forced into action due to injury. At best, Hall will win the job outright and give the Tigers what they need most: a dependable coverage corner who isn’t apt to give up a busted coverage per game.
Incoming freshmen Charles Bass and Mark Manfred hopefully have bright futures ahead of them in the Black and Gold, but short of Ennis Rakestraw, Mizzou hasn’t had a true freshman provide significant production in the secondary in… a long time. The transfers Drinkwitz has brought in (as well as any additions that may be yet to come) will allow the coaching staff to develop Manfred and Bass at a pace that should hopefully help them in the long term.
In conjunction with added experience and talent in the linebacking corps, Mizzou’s defense should be slated to see, at worst, a slight improvement on paper over last year’s pretty okay squad. If the Tigers want to win double digit games for an unprecedented third straight year, the defense will need to see that kind of improvement on the field as well.