Position Battle: The Three-Man Race for Mizzou's Second Cornerback

As fall camp draws nearer, Missouri's depth chart for the 2026 season will begin to take shape. Some positions are clear locks or have already been announced — see Austin Simmons being announced as QB1 after spring camp, or make the assumptions that Cayden Green will man the left tackle spot and Ahmad Hardy will lead the backfield.

Other positions are far less solidified from top to bottom, with battles surely set to be held to determine who'll earn starting nods and who'll have to earn stripes as a rotational piece.

Last season, head coach Eli Drinkwitz drew battles for the starting quarterback and starting right guard into the regular season. This season, the battle for the second boundary cornerback could need some extra time to sort itself out, as former starters Toriano Pride Jr., Stephen Hall and Drey Norwood all turned pro over the offseason.

Ole Miss transfer Chris Graves should have the top corner spot locked down, as he brings by far the most previous production of any Tiger corner, having played over 600 snaps at boundary corner for the Rebels in 2025. Here's who top candidates to start alongside Graves are.

Who will start at cornerback for Mizzou?

The in-house former starter: Nick DeLoach Jr.

Despite losing the top three corners from last season's rotation, one of Missouri's starters from the 2024 season is still on the roster. Now-redshirt junior Nicholas DeLoach Jr. played 495 snaps in 2024, posting a PFF coverage grade of 63.4 while allowing 17 receptions for 301 yards on 30 targets.

His role was diminished in 2025 to a depth corner, playing primarily on special teams rather than a regular contributor in the cornerback room. He'll need to fight for his starting again role in 2026, but he does have the advantage of being the only former Tiger starter in the room.

The climbing veteran transfer: Sione Laulea

Sione Laulea enters the Missouri cornerback room after two seasons at Oregon, where he played a depth role for a stacked Ducks defense. Standing at 6-foot-4, 196 pounds, Laulea has the size advantage over the rest of the vying options in the new-look cornerback room.

While he didn't start for Oregon, he did start in his two seasons at San Mateo College at the juco level, being rated as the No. 1 juco cornerback prospect in the nation after his 2023 season. Now with experience as a starter in juco and experience developing at Power Five with Oregon, Laulea could put all the pieces together and start for the Tigers in his final season of college football.

The dark horse, return-to-form: Jahlil Florence

Once upon a time, Jahlil Florence looked poised to become one of Oregon's top cornerbacks. He played over 600 combined snaps in his first two seasons with the Ducks, logging 13 stops, 30 tackles, two interceptions and two pass breakups.

He then suffered a season-ending meniscus injury that also kept him sidelined for the remainder of the 2023 season and the entirety of the 2024 season. Florence also dealt with a minor hand injury in the spring of 2025, and appeared in just two games in the 2025 season.

If Florence can return to his once-promising form at Missouri, he could make a serious run for the second starting boundary corner job.

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