Youth movement in Mizzou football secondary shows a glimpse of Tigers’ future
When teams and conferences across the country elected to play football this fall, there was always going to be an adjustment because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Safety protocols were going to be at the forefront of every practice, game or gathering. Testing would be stringent. Players would inevitably have to sit out either because they contracted the virus, contact tracing or other rules.
Perhaps no other group has been affected so abruptly than the true freshmen on every team.
Mizzou rookies like cornerbacks Ennis Rakestraw and JC Carlies moved hundreds of miles from their hometowns when they arrived at Columbia. Like any batch of freshmen, they needed to navigate living by themselves, school, practice, time management and a slew of other first-time duties.
Then throw the pandemic on top of it all.
“What I miss the most is my mom’s cooking,” Rakestraw said. “Everybody missed their mom’s cooking. That’s something they always had, year in and year out. It’s a new experience for the both of us. My mom, she ain’t really used to me being gone.”
Rakestraw was given a rude awakening to his collegiate career. After spurning Texas and Alabama to choose Mizzou, the freshman from Dallas found himself starting against the Crimson Tide after an impressive preseason camp.
Then fellow starting cornerback Jarvis Ware went down with an injury. That meant Rakestraw was going to be matched up against the likes of Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith — just months after graduating high school.
“I play one of the hardest positions on the field at corner,” Rakestraw said. “Just gotta have a short mindset. I realize in this game, they’re going to throw the ball. There could be a lot of good this game, could be some bad. Just adversity.”
When Mizzou takes the field at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Mississippi State in the regular season finale, it won’t just be Rakestraw prowling the secondary. Carlies will make his third career start; he played the most snaps of his career in the Georgia loss.
That’s partly because of availability as Mizzou is hovering around 56 scholarship players. Ware is out with another injury while senior cornerback Adam Sparks opted out of the season. Redshirt freshman corner Ish Burdine is also out for Saturday’s game.
“Me and Ennis like brothers so we just bond real well,” Carlies said. “We’re on the field together, it brings us both excitement. I would say it improves both of our games, knowing we’re both freshmen out there that can play in the SEC in this environment.”
It’s a youth movement in the Mizzou secondary that’s going up against Bulldogs coach Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense. Senior safety Tyree Gillespie is out because of an injury with Jalani Williams taking over at strong safety. With Williams, Carlies, Rakestraw and Martez Manuel, that’s four out of five secondary spots taken by underclassmen. The lone senior is Joshuah Bledsoe at free safety.
It’ll be a tough test because of Mississippi State’s style. The Bulldogs lead the SEC by far in pass attempts because of Leach’s system. MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz said they substitute run plays by using actions like screens, which puts less emphasis on on the line of scrimmage and instead on the secondary.
“I’m pretty sure that gets all DBs excited, but that just also tells me you have to always stay alert because you don’t know what’s coming,” Carlies said. “I can’t take a play off thinking or expecting it’s a run. Just got to stay focused throughout every play.”
Carlies, Rakestraw and other freshmen will get a do-over of 2020 because the NCAA ruled this fall doesn’t count against eligibility. That means a chance to experience what Mizzou football is normally like without a pandemic.
Rakestraw points to a number of areas they’ve missed out on, whether that be a full Memorial Stadium, road trips without isolation … and post-game parties. Despite the tribulations, Rakestraw said he was proud of the team for sticking together like a brotherhood amid opt outs, transfers, the pandemic and whatever else 2020 holds.
“I would say I’ve grown the most just on staying on top of things,” Carlies said. “Making sure that I know when my tutoring sessions are. Making sure I’m getting to practice, getting food. Stuff like that. I would just say staying responsible throughout the whole semester would probably be my biggest improvement throughout it all.”