Missouri football’s junior defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine was absent during the Tigers’ Oct. 8 game against Florida due to injury, but the defensive back made a memorable return, putting up a strong performance against Vanderbilt last Saturday.
Abrams-Draine was instantly thrust back into action following the bye week, matching up against Vanderbilt’s star wideout junior Will Sheppard for a majority of the game. Sheppard ranks third in the SEC in receiving yards, but Abrams-Draine guarded up with ease.
Sheppard was targeted 15 times over the course of the game but only caught three of those passes. Abrams-Draine had multiple pass breakups on Sheppard, including two consecutive plays in the second quarter, one of which saw Vanderbilt freshman quarterback AJ Swann going deep only for Abrams-Draine to make an impressive diving breakup. Sheppard took a quick slant route that Abrams-Draine quickly shut down with a big hit.
On the Commodores’ next drive, Abrams-Draine made another athletic play on a deep pass to Sheppard, reading the wide receiver’s hands to prevent a big play.
Abrams-Draine finished the game with five total tackles and three passes defended, but the defensive back had a large role off the stat sheet, playing primarily man coverage and taking away many opportunities for big plays on the perimeter. His performance on Saturday proves that Kris Abrams-Draine will be a name that football fans will be hearing on Sundays in the near future.
Edited by Riley Gearhart | rgearhart@themaneater.comCopy edited by Kyla Pehr and Jacob Richey