Missouri Tigers Spring Football Position Previews: Cornerback

Spring football is moving by very quickly as the Black & Gold scrimmage on April 18th is coming up soon. Today we take a look at the backbone of the Tiger defense in 2015: the cornerbacks.

Missouri returns its two top corners from the 2014 season in junior Aarion Penton and senior Kenya Dennis. David Johnson and Logan Cheadle are listed as Dennis’ backup while John Gibson, Raymond Wingo, and Finis Stribling will rotate in at Penton’s spot.

Sep 27, 2014; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Dylan Thompson (17) is tackled by Missouri Tigers defensive back Aarion Penton (11) during the third quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Penton and Dennis stepped in for current St. Louis Ram E.J. Gaines and former Mizzou standout Randy Ponder last season, and, much like linebacker, what was thought to be a liability going into the season turned out to be a big reason why the Tigers had one of the most dominate defenses in the SEC.

It wasn’t always completely stable as Penton found himself in Gary Pinkel’s doghouse after his arrest for marijuana possession and was suspended for the Texas A&M game. That was the second time he was arrested for marijuana, his first arrest came in the offseason going into the 2014 season.

Despite his troubles, Penton is a very talented cornerback at 5-foot-10 190 pounds. He played as a true freshman in 2013 and started for Gaines when he went down with an injury and recorded an interception. In 2014, Penton had three interceptions to lead the corners, and 36 total tackles.

This will be Dennis’ second year in the Missouri program after transferring from Hinds Community College in Mississippi. At 6-foot-200 pounds, he is one of the bigger corners in the conference, and really came on strong towards the end of the year. He had 61 tackles, 4.5 for loss, and an interception despite not starting the first three games.

With his bigger stature, opposing wide receivers will have a tough time getting past Dennis. He also has a lot more speed than people thought, and he proved it by reportedly running a 4.38 forty in March.

Jan 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers tight end Lincoln Plsek (85) tries to elude Missouri Tigers defensive back Kenya Dennis (7) during the 2015 Citrus Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Missouri wins 33-17 over Minnesota. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Gibson was the starter opposite Penton for the first three games, and then was replaced by Dennis. He remained in the rotation and started the Texas A&M game for Penton. He also was apart of the deeper rotation in 2013 where he recorded his only interception and had 14 tackles.

With more time on the field, Gibson upped his tackle numbers to 32 in 2014. The redshirt junior is one of the faster players on the roster as he may see some time in the return game.

This will be Johnson’s fifth year in the program and will be a bigger part of the rotation backing up Dennis. At 5-foot-11 195 pounds, he and Dennis will both see time being matched up against bigger receivers. Johnson had five tackles in 2014.

Cheadle, nephew of actor Don Cheadle, was an early-enrollee in 2014 and avoided the redshirt. The sophomore-to-be only recorded one tackle in 2014, but was a big contributor on special teams, primarily blocking. He may continue to see a lot of time on special teams, but being that this is his second spring, he may have an edge at being apart of the rotation over the redshirt freshmen.

Those redshirt freshmen are Raymond Wingo and Finis Stribling.

Wingo is the younger brother of former Buffalo Bills corner Ronnie Wingo, and has speed to burn as he ran a sub 4.3 forty in the offseason. He played both ways in high school and could potentially see time playing receiver if no one there steps up during the spring and summer. It’s more likely that he’ll stay on defense, however, and may be the one who winds up returning kicks.

Stribling was under recruited out of high school (only a two-star), but could surprise some this year. At 5-foot-11 175 pounds, he develop into a nice bigger corner like Dennis and Johnson.

Position coach Cornell Ford has two NFL-caliber corners in Penton and Dennis, and with new defensive coordinator Barry Odom’s new, aggressive style of defense, those two could have their stats blow up.

Penton needs to stay out of trouble, as it’ll likely be his last strike, and needs to be a leader for the younger, talented corners to have as deep of a rotation as possible.

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