Missouri Tigers add this accomplished safety via college football transfer portal
The Missouri Tigers football team bolstered its secondary in a big way on Sunday, as it was reported by multiple outlets that UNLV safety Jalen Catalon is transferring to Mizzou.
Catalon is the fourth defensive back and third safety to join Missouri via the transfer portal during the current cycle of between-schools player movement.
He is regarded as a three-star transfer, ranking No. 243 overall and No. 12 as a safety in the portal.
In 2024, Catalon turned in what was arguably the most productive season of his career: 96 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, five interceptions (one of which he returned for a touchdown), four passes defended and one forced fumble.
He helped lead the Rebels to an 11-3 record and was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, the honor given annually to the country’s best defensive back.
Catalon was a four-star recruit out of Mansfield Legacy High School in Texas and signed with Arkansas during the 2019 cycle. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound safety spent four seasons in Fayetteville, playing significant snaps in two of them after redshirting his first year.
In 2020, the COVID season that doesn’t count on his eligibility clock, he played in 10 games and started nine, racking up a career-high 99 tackles as well as two tackles for loss and three interceptions.
Catalon was named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist for the first time in his career after that season, and was also listed on the All-SEC first team by The Associated Press.
In 2022, Catalon missed all but one game with an injury and decided to transfer to Texas after the season. For the Longhorns, Catalon played in eight games and started four of them, finishing the season with 17 tackles and one tackle for loss.
He transferred to UNLV after his lone season at Texas.
Catalon has just one season of eligibility remaining and joins the likes of Daylan Carnell and Marvin Burks Jr. at the safety position with MU. The Tigers have also added safeties Santana Banner from Northern Illinois and Mose Phillips from Virginia Tech via the portal.
Catalon should immediately slot in as a starter with the Tigers alongside Carnell and Burks Jr., while Caleb Flagg, Trajen Greco, Phillips and Banner should all provide quality depth.
The former Razorback is making his return to the SEC, joining a Mizzou transfer portal class that is up to 15 commits. The Tigers now have the No. 10-ranked class in the country, according to 247Sports.
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