Highly-touted freshman receiver Dorial Green-Beckham carefully watched the ball fall into his hands.

Green-Beckham reeled in the bubble pass and was promptly leveled by a defender before he could even look up field.

The defender who annihilated the proclaimed, almighty 6-foot, 6-inch, 220-pound Green-Beckham? That would be 5-foot, 10-inch, 190-pound cornerback E.J. Gaines.

That drilling delivered by Gaines on the much bigger Green-Beckham, which came in Missouri’s first scrimmage of fall camp, went down as one of the camp’s most memorable moments.

Only three of the 12 wideouts listed on the Tigers’ depth chart are listed under 6-foot, 1-inch, so Gaines regularly surrenders three or more inches to his opposition.

In passing skeletons throughout camp, juniors would often be matched up one-on-one with 6-foot-5-inch, 215-pound Marcus Lucas, the fellow junior listed as the team’s No. 1 receiver.

More times than not, Gaines won these match-ups with blanket coverage, playfully chirping away at other receivers afterward.

“The dude’s just an athlete,” Lucas said. “What a lot of different corners don’t do is they don’t turn and look at the ball whenever they’re covering. E.J. does a good job of that.

The junior from Independence is coming off a sophomore season in which he ranked fourth in the NCAA and set a school record with 18 passes defended en route to earning All-Big 12 Conference first-team honors.

Despite his success as a sophomore, questions for Gaines persist as the Tigers embark on their inaugural SEC season.

How he will adjust to the speed and physicality of the SEC is the most common question Gaines was asked during camp.

Gaines said he isn’t concerned.

“The Big 12 was a great conference, especially for defensive backfields because all they do is throw,” he said. “There were some great receivers in there: Justin Blackmon, Ryan Broyles … I got a lot of big names I got to cover and I’ll get to cover good receivers in the SEC.”

In preparation for the SEC, Gaines said he has bulked up a bit in anticipation of the league’s power running attacks. He now weighs 10 more pounds than he did last season.

Gaines was named preseason third team All-SEC in July. That could be seen as a slight or a small token of respect, considering his first team All-Big 12 performance a year ago.

But Gaines isn’t interested in getting caught up in preseason honors. His bar has been set higher, as in first team All-SEC and All-American honors kind of higher.

According to coach Gary Pinkel, it’s Gaines’ consistent, high level of play
during practice that makes such lofty goals possible for the Tigers’ top defensive back.

“He always practices well,” Pinkel said. “I don’t ever remember (defensive backs) coach (Cornell) Ford saying he just didn’t play very well today. It never comes up. He always shows up.”

When he first arrived at MU, Pinkel asked Gaines if he wanted to play running back or cornerback. Fortunately for the Tigers, the defensive backfield is where Gaines has always wanted to call home.

“He said, ‘I like playing corner, I like being out in space, I like the challenge of trying to lock down on the receiver,’” Pinkel said.

In Pinkel’s eyes, Gaines has something most corners don’t.

“They talk about quarterbacks having ‘it,’” Pinkel said. “As a corner he’s got ‘it.’ You’re seeing a humble guy that’s an all-conference player who’s working as hard or harder than he’s worked before.”

Gaines knows new challenges await, and said he’s ready for them.

“You can’t be complacent with your stats or anything from last year,” Gaines said. “It’s a new year, a new season in a new conference. I got to make more plays.”