Rakestraw, Hopper to Miss Cotton Bowl for Mizzou

Missouri football will be missing two of its top defenders in the Cotton Bowl due to injury.

The Missouri Tigers will be without two of their key defenders against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper will be out for Missouri. 

Source: Two Missouri star defenders — CB Ennis Rakestraw and LB Ty’Ron Hopper — will not play in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State because of the injuries that slowed them late in the season.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 23, 2023

Rakestraw has missed multiple games for the Tigers this season due to a groin injury he suffered ahead of the team's week 4 win over Memphis. The junior is viewed as one of the best defensive back prospects for the 2024 NFL draft. Missouri replaced Rakestraw with sophomore Dreydon Norwood and junior Sidney Williams.

Hopper, the team's second-leading tackler in the regular season, suffered an ankle injury in the Tigers' week 11 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. Without the senior linebacker, Missouri allowed 500 yards offense against Florida, the defense's second-highest amount for the 2023 season. Following the win over Florida, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz admitted that the absence of Hopper was "pretty evident."

Missouri's linebacker room was shorthanded before Hopper's injury as fellow starter Chad Bailey suffered a season ending abdominal injury that required surgery. In games that both the starters missed, Missouri has replaced the two with graduate Chuck Hicks and junior Triston Newson. 

Coming off of a 10-2 season, the Missouri Tigers will play Ohio State in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium Friday, Dec. 29. Missouri is playing in the Cotton Bowl for the first time since the 2013 season, when they won 41-31 over Oklahoma State. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN at 7 p.m.

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