Safety Trajen Greco was one of a few Missouri defenders who struggled to start the 2026 season. Against Troy in Week 3, the junior was partly culpable on two Trojan touchdowns: a poor pursuit angle leading to a breakaway 76-yard touchdown catch-and-run on the opening drive, and a late rotation on a 55-yard touchdown reception to close the first half.
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz held Greco accountable following the game.
"We had man-to-man coverage, we played outside leverage. They threw basically routes on air. Our free safety had a terrible angle," Drinkwitz said of the first touchdown following the win over Troy. "He's supposed to be there to tackle it or to get it down, and didn't. And I mean, it's awful. Bottom line, that's awful defense. And then at the end of half, they threw a vertical, and again, we had no free safety help, and we weren't able to get our eyes around, and we never didn't play through the hands to get the ball down."
The criticism was loud but fair. And if you know anything about Drinkwitz, you know he rides for his guys. Greco rebounded against Texas A&M on Saturday, logging one interception, three tackles and a tip that led to an interception for fellow safety Elijah Dotson. Despite past mistakes, the defensive back is now playing "fast and free."
An in-house conversation between the pair helped turn the tide toward his eventual stellar play in the 27-6 win over the Aggies.
"I think he came to grips with that he could cut it loose, and that nobody was going to judge him inside our building about performance. We love Trajen Greco, who Trajen Greco is," Drinkwitz said. "And sometimes, as a player, you get tied into your performance, meaning that's how people view you as a person. And he came to grips with the fact that we love him, regardless, and we just needed him to play a little better. And he had his best week of practice... there was just a different level of confidence in who he was as a person and who he was as a player (against Texas A&M)."
It may have been Drinkwitz's conversation that helped turn the tide for Greco, but third-year defensive coordinator Corey Batoon is who Drinkwitz attributes Missouri's shutdown defensive performance to.
The Tigers entered Saturday's contest fresh off a game in which the defense held Florida running back Jadan Baugh, who had 600 rushing yards through four games, to just 13 yards on the ground. Living up to that performance against the Aggies, who had a far worse rushing attack than the Gators but are a competitive SEC squad nonetheless, would be difficult.
Batoon prepared his guys.
"He's understated, and that's just because he walks with a humility that most people don't understand," Drinkwitz said of Batoon. "And he's a very special coach. He's a very special defensive coordinator. Y'all would be shocked the way he gets in that defense's ass. It's impressive, and everybody just thinks he just kind of walks the way he does. That dude, I mean, he brings it, and he brings it to the staff, and he brings it to those players, and those guys love him because they know that he's always trying to put them in the best position, and he can call a game now. Like that dude can call a game. Does a great job of showing multiple books. Does a great job knowing when to dial up pressure."
Missouri held Texas A&M to just 216 yards of offense, five for 18 on third downs, 1.3 yards per carry and 19 of 39 passes completed. It marked just the second time since the start of the 2020 season that the Aggies scored six or fewer points in a conference game.
The Tigers, driven by a young defense led by Batoon, have now allowed the third-least rushing yards (470) and the fourth-least yards per play (4.6) in the SEC this season. Give the man his flowers.
Batoon's defense will face a huge test next game, as Missouri (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will hit the road and take on Ole Miss (4-1, 2-1) at 2:30 p.m. in Oxford, Mississippi.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/missouri as DC Corey Batoon, S Trajen Greco lead Mizzou's defense in shutdown of Texas A&M .
