Phone call kept Mizzou football’s star-studded cornerback duo together for 2023

Ennis Rakestraw Jr. is thankful they forgot him.

Scan a preseason All-SEC team here, peruse a positional power ranking there, and the Mizzou football cornerback’s name is seldom present.

No matter. He’s grown quite fond of being an afterthought this offseason.

“I thank them for not putting me on there, I don’t need a big head,” he said. “You just gave me something more to push for.”

Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine nearly didn’t team up to form one of the SEC’s most intriguing cornerback duos for a second straight year. Abrams-Draine was draft eligible. Rakestraw said he considered exploring other options.

But after receiving a call from his teammate, frequent roommate and fellow starting corner saying that he was coming back for another season in Columbia, Rakestraw had heard enough to make the decision to ride again.

“(Abrams-Draine) made me feel confident that we’re going to do this thing together again,” Rakestraw said, “and (now) I’m back, and now I’m gonna do it again.”

In the 2022 season, the pair combined for 26 pass breakups, an interception, two forced fumbles and 62 total tackles. Abrams-Draine’s 14 solo pass breakups ranked second in the SEC behind only Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry.

Now firmly entrenched in fall training camp, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz has enjoyed watching Missouri’s wide receivers having to sharpen their skills against the returning corners.

And the wide receivers are getting their money’s worth in those reps.

“I am blessed to go against them two every day. I embrace that to the (fullest),” said Oklahoma transfer Theo Wease Jr., who could be in line for a notable role this year. “Two great athletes. I just know when I’m lined up across from them I’ve gotta come with it every day.”

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker has returning experience in abundance in his second year in Columbia, which he said was due in large part to timely name, image and likeness deals.

“(NIL) definitely worked out in our favor,” Baker said. “I’ll put it that way.”

Now, corner — a room that runs deep with backups in Dreyden Norwood and Marcus Clarke, who transferred to the Tigers from Texas A&M and Miami, respectively, before last season — shapes up to be one of Missouri’s greatest strengths heading into an important fourth season under Drinkwitz.

But there’s still another step to take. Take a look at those combined statistics from the presumed starters again.

Twenty-six pass breakups. One interception.

It’s a significant difference, and the duo has taken heed.

Rakestraw’s plan of action is to get a hair more aggressive. He isn’t worried or concerned about how freely he’s been playing, but he reckons when the ball is in the air he has found himself playing more to avoid being beaten, hence the pass breakup vs. interception disparity.

No more, he says.

“To be honest, it’s more technique, because any half a centimeter or inch as a corner is a half a centimeter away from the ball. It’s a couple picks I should have (made),” Rakestraw said. “It’s just the little things, really. But when I build on the little things, it’s gonna turn into great things this year.”

And that’s just the beginning of the ways he has worked to make returning a worthwhile endeavor.

Rakestraw, tired of comments about his size as he finds himself more frequently in the box, said he is up to 195 pounds, which would be a 19-pound increase from his listed weight in 2022. Drinkwitz called it “good weight.”

The head coach also added that he shows a “hustle tape” from practices in team meetings. Rakestraw is on each one, Drinkwitz said.

As for the other half of the enticing tandem, Drinkwitz sees Abrams-Draine locked in from the very first drill of every practice — field goals — where the corner is hustling to get a block. Abrams-Draine, unlike Rakestraw, was awarded preseason All-SEC recognition with a second-team nod, and other than a number change — No. 14 to No. 7 — Drinkwitz said he’s the “same player,” which bodes well for the secondary.

In Rakestraw’s eyes, all those small but significant changes could make all the difference in the Tigers’ upcoming season. He brought up some of Missouri’s narrow losses in 2022, including at home against Georgia and on the road against Florida.

Preseason rankings don’t bother him, at least not outwardly. But wins and losses certainly do.

“The No. 1 goal is to get wins. That’s what we struggled on. We had some games where we were one play away,” Rakestraw said. “I had a lot of PBU (pass breakup) success, but we need more plays with the ball, disrupt more timing, and find ways for us to win.”

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.