No Wasted Time: Well-Traveled Jalen Catalon 'Proud' to Finish Career at Mizzou

In his seventh season of college football, Jalen Catalon has seen about as much as any safety could. He plans to leverage that at his final stop in Columbia.

Sep 25, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Jalen Catalon (1) celebrates during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Jalen Catalon sat on a counter just above a water-stocked mini fridge next to Ahmad Hardy and Josiah Trotter early Tuesday afternoon.

It was a few minutes before all three were set to face the media to discuss the end of spring practices and the transition into summer workouts. For Catalon, it marked the first time he'd do so as a Missouri Tiger.

"Short answers," he muttered to himself, eager to make a quick leave from Missouri's practice facility. "Short answers. Short answers."

The 24-year-old wasn't a stranger to any part of college football. Entering his seventh season — sixth in the Southeastern Conference — he knew what to expect for his first availability. Twelve minutes later, he left the podium having answered more questions than his other two teammates combined.

"We have the talent to be as good as we want to be," Catalon posed, "but that's the question. How good do we want to be?"

As for returning to SEC football?

"I'm just glad this is my last stop," he said.

Sep 25, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Jalen Catalon (1) celebrates during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Catalon's history with Missouri runs surprisingly deep. The safety grew up in Mansfield, Texas just outside of Dallas and quickly made a name for himself as a four-star Division I prospect.

The Tigers, led by then-coach Barry Odom, offered him first.

"Crazy that he was here," Catalon said, foreshadowing a lengthy partnership between the pair beginning with his 2016 scholarship offer. "Coach Odom was the first person to believe in me."

Catalon ultimately decided to commit to Arkansas as a true freshman, leaving Odom with the Tigers until the coach joined the Razorbacks' staff as a position coach and defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022. After that, Catalon transferred to Texas for one season before reuniting with Odom at UNLV for what would become the duo's final season together.

By that point, Catalon had already seen it all.

"That was something that I cherished," the safety said. "He honestly kept me going. I credit him for ... allowing me to show that I could do this."

The Runnin' Rebels made it to the Mountain West Championship in Catalon's lone season, but fell short to Ashton Jeanty's Boise State squad before taking down California in the LA Bowl. Catalon finished second on the team with 96 tackles and five interceptions and made the AP's All-American Third Team.

None of those outcomes were good enough.

"If you're not first, you're last," Catalon said. "I was third (team). I wasn't first."

"I want to be a champion," he added. "I want to be a champion in conference; I want to be a national champion. If you're not doing this to be that, you're wasting your time."

Aug 31, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; UNLV safety Jalen Catalon (1) returns an interception for a touchdown against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. | Photo via UNLV Athletics

Shortly after UNLV's season was over, Odom and Catalon split once again. The former took a head coaching position with the Purdue Boilermakers to continue his tenure, and the latter was SEC bound — this time to Columbia, where coach Eli Drinkwitz took a liking to his competitive nature.

"He’s hungry to win," Drinkwitz said. "His experience ... at UNLV with Coach Odom, helping turn that program around, was huge for him. But now he wants to come back into the Power 5 and do it at another level."

For Catalon, a return to the conference seemed inevitable.

"When you start something, especially at a great conference like this, you always want to come back," he said. "I want to show that I can compete."

Beyond being a "violent player" — an endearing term coined by Drinkwitz — Catalon brings versatility to a defensive unit set to lose several of its stars; his experience makes learning a new role in a new system almost second nature.

"He's played in ... four different defensive systems," Missouri defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said. "He's been very productive in that. Very confident. We're shaking it up, so guys are playing different positions. "He's done a nice job absorbing it."

Catalon's teammates echo that sentiment.

"He's been around college for a little while," Tigers linebacker Josiah Trotter said. "Really smart player. Great guy to have behind you.

"If he has something to say, we're all going to listen."

Texas defensive back Jalen Catalon (11) tackles Kansas wide receiver Doug Emilien (5) in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns' game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Saturday, Sept. 30 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. Texas won the game 40-14. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Catalon lives in the details. Such has been the case since he first started playing at Arkansas, much to the chagrin of Drinkwitz's Tigers at the time.

"Man, he just knows," Drinkwitz said. "He baited our quarterbacks into a couple of bad looks. He baited offensive linemen into making protection calls on blitzes when he was bluffing ... He’s just got instincts and knowledge from the amount of experience he has playing the game."

Since then, Catalon has improved his game, vowing that the best way to adapt to a new system is simply to "make plays." He's already done so in Columbia, in more ways than one.

"I just want to be useful," the safety said of his intended approach over the summer. "Just because the pads are off, doesn't mean we can't get better."

As Catalon sat above the mini fridge at the Tigers' facility, he reflected. Next to him were two of his teammates — both also Missouri transfers, but with much less experience. That, he could help with.

"I went through so much in my career," he said. "So much adversity. There's so much knowledge I can give to my teammates."

Almost a decade prior, Catalon received his first offer from the Tigers as a high schooler. Now, he was one of their top additions in the transfer portal as a seasoned veteran. At each stop, he faced challenges of adapting, fitting in and standing out. It didn't always work.

Would he change anything about his journey? Absolutely not.

"I don't take anything for granted," Catalon said in an all-but short answer. "Those things I had to go through from when I first stepped on campus to now have made me who I am. I'm thankful for the journey. Thankful to look back from that point to now and say that I went through the things I went through because it led me here, to be a Mizzou Tiger. I'm proud to be that."

Turns out, he isn't the only one.

"We are really, really glad we got him," Drinkwitz said. "I think he’s really enjoyed all the amenities we have and the brotherhood we’ve built. And I think he’s already added to it in a positive way.

"Man, he is going to be a very impactful player."