Mizzou's Flagg Brothers Both Force Turnovers Against UMass

Despite having the bigger play, Corey Flagg Jr. insisted his brother is the better player.

Mar 16, 2024; Columbia, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers safety Caleb Flagg stares at the field prior to a play during Missouri's annual Black & Gold Spring Game at Faurot Field. / Matt Guzman

The usual abundance of yellow flags against the Missouri Tigers were absent in the game against the UMass Minutemen, but there were two other Flaggs on the field doing damage.

Just before halftime, the Tigers had allowed the Minutemen to get into the red zone and needed to end the drive. On a third-and-goal nine yards from the end zone, Corey Flagg Jr. caught a pass from quarterback Taisun Phommachanh that went straight into the Missouri linebacker's hands.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," Corey said of his pick.

After his interception, Corey ran all the way to UMass 15-yard line. Despite having quite the run before he was stopped, Corey was quick to joke about his run in the post game conference.

"First of all, I need to go to speed school," Corey said.

Not many people would argue with his speed. Corey's interception and 80-yard rush was the longest in program history since a 100-yard rush from Ronnell Perkins in 2019.

"I mean, talk about a huge momentum play," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Corey's interception. "it was going to be 24 to 10 or six. Instead, we end the half 24-3, which is exactly what you want to do."

Regardless, the stop took away seven possible points for the Minutemen and gave three to the Tigers just before they went into the locker room. It cut off the momentum that the Minutemen were building and forced it back in Missouri's direction.

"Any takeaway is going flip the momentum," Corey said. "I feel like it did flip the momentum and made sure we finished the game the way we supposed to finish it."

But, Corey wasn't the only Flagg to force a turnover in the game. With just two minutes left in the game, his younger brother Caleb, a safety, forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt freshman cornerback Shamar McNeil.

As is usually the case in life, the big brother had to have the bigger play. But Corey insisted that his brother is the better player and just need more chances to prove it.

"I told you guys he was a 'dawg.'" Corey said following the win over UMass. "I told everybody that I interviewed with that he's better than me. (He's a) hell of a player. I'm dead serious, man. The more opportunities he gets, he can keep making plays the way he made."

Both Corey and Caleb transferred to Mizzou from Miami and Houston Christian respectively prior to this season. They got to play their first game together in the season-opener against Murray State. In the game, Corey recorded five tackles and Caleb, who only played later in the game, recorded one.

“I just can’t thank Coach Drinkwitz enough for allowing me and my brother to be a part of this,” Corey said after their win over Murray State.

Flagg Football#MIZ | #STP pic.twitter.com/y0wL5NZP3Z

— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) October 12, 2024

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