Mizzou’s ‘Death Row Defense’ looks to maintain consistency, despite new faces

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Over the years, Mizzou football's 'Death Row Defense' has become a cornerstone for head coach Eli Drinkwitz's teams.

From stars like defensive end Isaiah McGuire to defensive end Darius Robinson, all the way to cornerback Ennis Rakestraw...Coach Eli and his staff have always found ways to pack their roster with impact-players, on that side of the ball. As a result, the defense has been the most consistent unit for the Tigers over the last few years, ranking No. 8 in the nation in total defense in the 2025 season.

However, heading into the 2026 season, defensive coordinator Corey Batoon is now facing the challenge of rebuilding, after more than a handful of his biggest stars made their way to the NFL.

Mizzou replenished those losses with some big swings in the portal, bringing in guys like cornerback Chris Graves Jr., linebacker Robert Woodyard and quite a few others. But, with all those new faces, the focus now turns to maintaining the consistency of what 'Death Row Defense' is all about.

"[With a new unit,] you don't assume anything, right. Like, every year it's a totally different unit and like new people transition in, transition out, so you don't take anything for granted," Batoon said. "So, you start back at day one. The big thought that we had as coaches is to go back and just go back and look at even the practice plans. How do we install these things? How much time do we dedicate to like tackling, right? We were really good tackling unit last year, that was that was a strong suit for us. So, not assuming that these guys are going to be a good tackling unit, right, and so go back and making sure that we are thorough in regards to how much time we dedicate different ways that maybe we've tweaked things. All of those things, you know, come back into play. Now, it's the first opportunity, you know, for this year's unit to kind of go about doing those things. So, you know, all of those things are factored in and and they're plotted, you know, in terms of time and commitment to that. Then, you go out and you try to replicate the positives and, you know, take the bad stuff off tape that you wanted to improve on from last fall."

Coach Batoon said he's been impressed with how much his returners have stepped up, in terms of communicating the standard to the new players.

"[It's about] just holding the standard, the same standard we had last year and the same standard they had before I got here," returning safety Santana Banner said. "Everybody needs to be moving the same direction with the same intent."

"When I first got here, I was kind of confused when they started saying ['Death Row Defense']. So, when I realized like what it's for...I really liked that. It really stuck with me," linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. said.

However, maintaining the same standard, doesn't mean the Batoon's unit wants to settle for the same results. The Tiger defense is hoping to make some strides, this season, specifically in the forced takeaways department.

In 2025, Mizzou ranked No. 14 in the Southeastern Conference in forced takeaways, tallying just 12 on the season. Players said that the key to unlocking that part of the defense starts right now...in fall camp.

That's an area that Mizzou's new-look secondary is going to take pride in in 2026, according to cornerbacks coach Al Pogue.

"Getting interceptions, I think that's really big for us. I think that's going to be what separates us and take us to the next level. You know, I think we do a good job for the [pass break-ups] and and playing the ball, but now we've got to come up with the interceptions and give our offense an opportunity to go down to score points," Pogue said.

"[In practice, its' about] finishing with the ball, throwing balls," he continue. "You know, a lot of times I'm guilty of doing drills and not getting the ball out. You know, I got to make a conscious effort of everything that we do is finishing with the ball. So, you know, we all can get better, we all can improve. And that's what I'm looking to do. So, make sure those guys are catching balls before practice, during practice and after practice."