By Marie Reader
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Seven University of Missouri football student-athletes earned All-Southeastern Conference honors by the conference’s coaches, the league announced in early December.
CB Kris Abrams-Draine, WR Luther Burden III, T Javon Foster, DE Darius Robinson and RB Cody Schrader were first-team selections while LB Ty’Ron Hopper and K Harrison Mevis were second-team honorees. MU’s five first-team players was second only to Alabama’s eight.
The Tigers put together a spectacular regular season, going 10-2, the school’s first double-digit win season since 2014. MU went 6-2 in SEC games and won both the Mayor’s Cup over South Carolina and Battle Line Rivalry over Arkansas. MU qualified for its first New Year’s Six bowl and will play Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl.
Abrams-Draine was a semifinalist for the Bednarik and Thorpe Awards and leads the SEC with 16 passes defended and 12 PBUs. His four interceptions matched a career best and he has accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Burden emerged as one of the most electrifying players in the country, ranking among the nation’s leaders in yards after contact. He was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff and Maxwell Awards. He averaged just under 100 yards per game (99.8) and was third in the league with 1,197 yards on 83 catches with eight touchdowns.
Foster helped anchor an offensive line which paved the way for a 3,000-yard passer (QB Brady Cook), a 1,000-yard receiver (Burden) and 1,000-yard rusher (Schrader). The OL group is a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award and ranks third in the SEC for sacks allowed.
Hopper is a finalist for the Butkus Award and has accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Despite missing two games due to injury, he caused havoc on the field all season long leading the MU defense with 53 tackles, six for a loss along with 3.0 sacks, six QB hurries and three pass break ups. MU’s defense led the SEC in turnover margin (+9 / 0.75 per game), turnovers gained (18) and fumble recoveries (9).
Mevis is the first Mizzou player to score 400+ points via kicking. He closed the regular season by connecting on 14-straight field goal attempts and made 80-percent of his kicks this season (24-of-30). A two-time SEC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 18 and Nov. 20), he hit game winners of 61 and 30 yards to beat Kansas State and Florida, respectively. He holds the Mizzou career records for scoring (403 points), field goals made (86) and 50-yard field goals made (13). He also ranks eighth all-time in the SEC in points scored and third in career field goals (86) in the conference.
Robinson had a standout season after returning for an extra year and learning to play a new position on the edge. His 7.5 sacks rank sixth in the league while his 12.0 tackles for a loss sits eighth. He added 41 tackles, five QB hurries, a forced fumble, recovery and was a two-time SEC Player of the Week.
Schrader led the SEC in rushing, won the Burlsworth Trophy and is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. The league’s leading rusher by more than 30 yards per game, Schrader has 1,499 yards on 247 carries, including earning the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honor for his 205-yard performance vs. Tennessee the weekend of Nov. 11. The nation’s second-leading rusher has 13 rushing touchdowns and has scored in nine straight games after a 217-yard outing vs. Arkansas to close the regular season.
ALL-SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE AWARDS
FIRST TEAM
• Kris Abrams-Draine, CB
• Luther Burden III, WR
• Javon Foster, T
• Darius Robinson, DE
• Cody Schrader, RB
SECOND TEAM
• Ty’Ron Hopper, LB
• Harrison Mevis, K
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