The All-Drinkwitz Mizzou team: Cornerback
We’re nearing the end of the All-Drinkwitz team from his tenure at Mizzou. But we’ve still got a few positions left, and next up on that list is the cornerbacks.
If you want to read any of the offensive positions I’ve covered, you can find them in our story thread.
Or you can find the defensive positions here:
Now let’s talk about the guys covering the outside.
Starter: Kris Abrams-Draine in 2023
There’s no denying how great Kris Abrams-Draine was for Mizzou in 2023.
Simply from his box score stats, Abrams-Draine had 50 tackles with 2.5 for loss, four interceptions, 13 batted passes and a quarterback hit.
He had three straight games with an interception, helping Mizzou beat Kansas State, Memphis and Vanderbilt, while piling up 15 tackles in those three games.
And if you dive deeper, he was targeted 51 times that season and allowed just 24 catches (47.1 percent completion percentage against), which is fantastic. He did allow 324 yards, but on 51 targets, that’s great. And he had more interceptions than touchdowns allowed.
Abrams-Draine was called for just two penalties that season on more than 800 total snaps.
Simply a fantastic season.
Starter: Ennis Rakestraw in 2022
As we find our other starter, we go with the other side from Abrams-Draine at the same time.
Ennis Rakestraw was good for a long time at Mizzou, but injuries held him back from being as productive as his defensive backfield mate.
His most-productive season came in 2022, when he had 34 tackles with 3.5 for loss, an interception and 12 batted passes. Rakestraw also forced two fumbles, recovered one and had a quarterback hit.
The corner was targeted 51 times in 2022, allowing 30 completions (58.8 percent) for 395 yards and three touchdowns. He was called for four penalties on 725 snaps.
Rakestraw had a little bit of an issue with missed tackles that season, but not nearly as bad as the crew of safeties.
Overall, really a solid season. It would have been nice to see what he and Abrams-Draine could combine for the next year if Rakestraw could have stayed fully healthy.
Backup: Akayleb Evans in 2021
We’re heading back to 2021 for one of our backups in Akayleb Evans.
Evans produced 30 tackles with 1.0 for loss, one interception, six batted passes and two forced fumbles in 2021.
The Tigers’ primary outside corner that year was targeted 47 times and allowed 25 catches (53.2 percent) for just 271 yards. But he did allow five touchdowns and was called for five penalties.
There were some issues all around the Mizzou defense that season, but Evans was a solid outside defender.
Backup: Toriano Pride in 2025
As we move into the most recent season of Mizzou football, I’m sticking Toriano Pride into the backup spot.
Pride’s box score stats aren’t quite up to par with some of our other selections on the list. He had just 24 tackles with 1.5 for loss, two interceptions, four batted passes, one quarterback hit and one fumble recovery.
But look into his coverage stats and he was fantastic. Pride allowed just 20 catches on 45 targets (44.4 percent), and gave up just 194 total yards with only 38 of those coming after the catch.
Pride was really, really good in 2025.
Depth: Dreyden Norwood in 2025
And now we reach his defensive backfield mate who spent a long time building up to his best year in 2025.
Dreyden Norwood had just 24 tackles, but 1.5 of those came for a loss, while he batted five passes. Not an incredible group of box score stats.
Looking at hs coverage though, he was solid.
Norwood allowed just 17 catches on 34 targets (50 percent) for 258 yards. And he was called for just one penalty on more than 500 snaps.
The Tigers have adjusted how they use their corners since Abrams-Draine and Rakestraw departed, so the stats aren’t quite the same. But Norwood and Pride was a very solid pairing last season.
Depth: Allie Green IV in 2021
We finish up with Allie Green IV all the way back in 2021. Interesting that this worked out to be three sets of backfield mates.
Green had 30 tackles and four batted passes. A much more subdued box score than our other choices here.
And in coverage, he allowed 20 catches on 33 targets (60.6 percent) for 313 yards and five touchdowns.
Green was a fine second option behind Evans, but there’s a pretty clear fall off for the group after Norwood and Pride last season.