Missouri 2022 Rankings Update: Defensive Backs

We unveiled our updated Class of 2022 rankings earlier this week, which includes 300 ranked prospects and more than 650 total prospects including the Watch List. <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://prepredzone.com/missouri/rankings/2022-rankings/"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Click here to view the updated 2022 Rankings!</strong></span></a></p> There are 37 defensive backs in the top 300 and 90 defensive backs overall for the Class of 2022 in Missouri in the Prep Redzone database. Today we are taking a closer look at the top five defensive backs. (Click on the player names to check out their prospect pages on PRZ, including links to their HUDL highlights.) <strong>1. [player_tooltip player_id="37535" first="Cameron" last="Epps"], Chaminade (Oklahoma State)</strong> Epps, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, was one of the state’s top offensive players this fall, primarily as Chaminade’s quarterback, but was recruited and is projected as a defensive back. He is the No. 8 overall prospect in Missouri in the Class of 2022 rankings update. Epps accounted for 2,451 total yards (1,852 rushing, 427 passing, 172 receiving) and 36 touchdowns (28 rushing, five passing, two receiving, one return). Defensively, he recorded 49 tackles and one sack. He also averaged 42.1 yards per punt over 27 attempts. Epps made an early commitment to Oklahoma State, where he could play cornerback or safety, and then remained committed to the Cowboys throughout the process despite drawing attention and offers from other schools. <strong>2. [player_tooltip player_id="37522" first="Isaac" last="Thompson"], St. Louis University High (Missouri)</strong> Thompson, a 6-1, 195-pounder, is the No. 11 overall prospect in Missouri’s Class of 2022 rankings update. The University of Missouri signee is a dynamic athlete who has excelled as a cornerback, safety and wide receiver for the Junior Billikens over the years when he’s been healthy, but he was limited to just three games in his final two seasons due to injuries and COVID restrictions in the fall of 2020. As a senior, he played in just two games but recorded 202 total yards (106 receiving, 96 rushing) and two touchdowns while racking up 14 tackles. As a junior, he played one game and recorded 11 tackles and two receptions for 36 yards. He had 752 total yards (605 receiving, 147 rushing) and six touchdowns as a sophomore, along with 39 tackles and two interceptions. In his last game as a sophomore, against CBC, he showed what he was capable of when he caught eight passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. <strong>3. [player_tooltip player_id="37536" first="Kaleb" last="Purdy"], De Smet (Kansas)</strong> A 5-10, 175-pound safety, Purdy had a distinguished four-year career with the Spartans that included winning a state championship as a sophomore and a runner-up finish as a junior. As a senior, he racked up 59 tackles and three interceptions and scored one touchdown. In 2020, as a junior, he recorded 52 tackles and three sacks in seven games. He had 48 tackles and an interception as a sophomore and 39 tackles and two fumble recoveries as a freshman. Purdy committed to Kansas after also receiving scholarship offers from Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan and Missouri. <strong>4. </strong><b>Dewan Mack, Lee’s Summit North (Northern Iowa)</b> Mack, a 6-0, 190-pounder, is a do-it-all cornerback who is just as likely to come up with a game-changing hit as he is a game-turning interception. Mack racked up 72 tackles, nine pass break-ups, three interceptions and two forced fumbles during his senior season as he helped lead the Broncos to the  Missouri Class 6 semifinals. Mack committed to Kansas, the first school to offer him, early in the recruiting process before receiving offers from Miami-Ohio, Tennessee-Martin and Northern Iowa. He later decommitted to Kansas and ended up committing to and signing with Northern Iowa in December. He looks like a steal for the Panthers. <strong>5. [player_tooltip player_id="37525" first="Caldra" last="Williford"], Lutheran North (Murray State)</strong> Williford, a 5-10, 160-pounder, had an impressive four-year varsity career with the Crusaders that included winning a state championship as a sophomore in 2019. Over four seasons, Williford racked up 174 tackles, <span style="font-size: 1rem;">six interceptions, five fumble recoveries and one </span>interception<span style="font-size: 1rem;">. He also scored two touchdowns, on a kickoff return and interception return — both in the second quarter of one game in his </span>sophomore<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> season. </span> Williford was, like Mack, also committed to Kansas and the previous coaching staff but decommitted last summer to re-open his recruiting. He had previously reported offers from Minnesota, Ohio, Central Michigan, Iowa State, Michigan State, Oregon, West Virginia, and Missouri before committing to the Jayhawks. He received an offer from Murray State in November and pledged to the Racers two weeks later. Like Mack to Northern Iowa and like his future teammate [player_tooltip player_id="171843" first="Justus" last="Johnson"] from CBC, Williford looks like a steal for Murray State. <strong>Next five: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37539" first="Blair" last="Schonhorst"], CBC (Ball State)</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37567" first="Jordan" last="Coleman"], De Smet (Ball State)</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37601" first="De’Shawn" last="Fuller"], St. Mary’s </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171843" first="Justus" last="Johnson"], CBC (Murray State)</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37650" first="Keilan" last="Powell"], North Kansas City</strong> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Prep Redzone Missouri Rankings Updates Positional Breakdowns  </span></strong></p> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/missouri-2022-rankings-updates-quarterbacks/">Quarterbacks</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/missouri-2022-rankings-update-running-backs/">Running Backs </a>| <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/missouri-2022-rankings-update-wide-receivers-2/">Wide Receivers</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/missouri-2022-rankings-update-tight-ends-2/">Tight Ends</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/missouri-2022-rankings-update-offensive-linemen-2/">Offensive Linemen</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/missouri-2022-rankings-update-defensive-linemen-2/">Defensive Linemen</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/01/missouri-2022-rankings-update-linebackers-2/">Linebackers</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/01/missouri-2022-rankings-update-defensive-backs-2/">Defensive Backs</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/01/missouri-2022-rankings-updates-athletes/">Athletes</a> &nbsp;