Mizzou Football's Most Important Players: No. 30, Sione Laulea

When attempting to put together — or rather, maintain in Missouri's case — an elite defense, the cornerback room is among the most important parts of the phase. Missouri's cornerbacks in 2025, although not outright bad, were a weak point relative to the standard of the res tof the defense.

Toriano Pride Jr. had a strong end to the season, while Drey Norwood was steady throughout and Stephen Hall struggled to keep up at the Power Five level. All three exhausted eligibilty after the season, so in response, Missouri went out and landed the transfer commitment of former Ole Miss cornerback Chris Graves Jr., who projects to be a surefire CB1 on a new-look Tigers defense.

Graves hasn't allowed a single touchdown in his four-season, 1,300+ snap collegiate career, even when increasing his role to be the Rebels' CB2 in 2025. It'd be a surprise for Graves to be anything short of a competent, strong top corner for the Tigers next season. Defensive Coordinator Corey Batoon shouldn't have to worry too much about Graves' status.

But for the cornerbacks — perhaps more than any other position — the group is only as strong as its weakest link. Let's say Missouri deploys three boundary cornerbacks for a high quantity of snaps, as it has in recent seasons. Graves could be lockdown, but if the other boundary corner on the field struggles and gets beat, then that's an open receiver every time. Point being; the Tigers' depth at cornerback needs to be solid, but who'll answer the call?

Who will be Mizzou's starting cornerbacks?

Oregon transfer Sione Laulea projects to be a top candidate to start at corner alongside Graves. Laulea committed to Missouri for his final season of college football after an interesting journey on the west coast.

He began his collegiate career at the juco level, competing at San Mateo College in 2022 and 2023 before being ranked the No. 1 juco cornerback by 247sports after the 2023 season. He then committed to Oregon, where he developed as a depth piece in 2024, then took on a larger role in 2025.

Last season, Laulea allowed just three receptions for 33 yards on nine targets — two receptions and 27 yards of which were against Indiana, the eventual National Champions — per Pro Football Focus. He also logged two pass breakups, three stops, posted a coverage grade of 76.7 and a run defense grade of 70.4 while playing 116 snaps.

Oregon defensive back Sione Laulea runs during practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Now that Laulea's at Missouri, he has a strong chance to leap from a depth role to a key starter. All of his peers in Missouri's cornerback room — excluding Graves — either played small roles for their respective teams in 2025 or were still in high school. Despite Laulea not having tons of P5 experience under his belt, he's got enough to warrant a potential starting nod next season.

Part of Laulea's importance is in regards to the rest of the depth in the room. If he doesn't pan out, the remaining options are far less secure. There's Nicholas DeLoach Jr., who was a starter in 2024 before being benched in favor of Hall in 2025. There's also Jahlil Florence, a fellow Oregon transfer who's dealt with major injuries throughout the last three seasons and is aiming to return to a once-quality form that he played at when healthy in 2023. Aside from Florence and DeLoach, the room is comprised of underclassmen with either minimal or no experience at the collegiate level.

While having an elite defense requires high-level performance from the entire team, Laulea's individual success will likely have a direct correlation with the competence of Missouri's pass defense and success of the defense as a whole.

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