The Missouri Tigers football team significantly enhanced its secondary on Sunday, with reports from multiple sources confirming that UNLV safety Jalen Catalon is transferring to Mizzou. Catalon is the fourth defensive back and third safety to join Missouri through the transfer portal this cycle. He is considered a three-star transfer, ranking No. 243 overall and No. 12 among safeties in the portal. During the 2024 season, Catalon had what many view as the most productive season of his career, recording 96 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, five interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown), four passes defended, and one forced fumble. His performance helped the Rebels achieve an 11-3 record, and he was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which honors the best defensive back in the nation.
Catalon was a four-star recruit from Mansfield Legacy High School in Texas and initially signed with Arkansas in the 2019 recruiting cycle. Over four seasons in Fayetteville, he played a notable amount of snaps in two of those years after redshirting as a freshman. During the COVID-affected 2020 season, which didn’t impact his eligibility, he appeared in 10 games and started in nine, achieving a career-high of 99 tackles along with two tackles for loss and three interceptions. Following that season, he was named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist for the first time and earned a spot on the All-SEC first team by The Associated Press. Unfortunately, in 2022, Catalon played only one game due to injury and subsequently transferred to Texas for the following season, where he appeared in eight games and started four, finishing with 17 tackles and one tackle for loss. After just one season with the Longhorns, he transferred to UNLV.
Now, Catalon has one season of eligibility left and will join fellow safeties Daylan Carnell and Marvin Burks Jr. at Mizzou. The Tigers have also recruited safeties Santana Banner from Northern Illinois and Mose Phillips from Virginia Tech through the transfer portal. Catalon is expected to immediately take on a starting role alongside Carnell and Burks Jr., with Caleb Flagg, Trajen Greco, Phillips, and Banner providing valuable depth. The former Razorback is returning to the SEC and joins a Mizzou transfer class that has reached 15 commitments, helping the Tigers achieve a No. 10 ranking in the nation, as per 247Sports.
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