Top 25 cornerback rankings entering Week 9 of college football

It was a fascinating week of college football, with five ranked teams losing and two top-10 teams picking up their first loss of the season. It gave us plenty to evaluate in our weekly cornerback rankings.

And while the top spot did not change hands this week, we do have some movement in the top five.

One new player even cracked the top 10 of our weekly cornerback rankings, while there was plenty of movement in the teens this week as players jockeyed for position. Let’s dive into the latest updates.

1. Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri

The Missouri star remained in the top spot and put his team in excellent position to win against South Carolina on Saturday. He gave up two catches on three targets, but they went for only 19 yards. He also recorded another pass breakup.

On the season few have been as productive breaking up passes as Abrams-Draine. He now has a total of 14 passes defended, to go along with his four interceptions on the season. Abrams-Draine also has 35 tackles.

2. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama

The Alabama star was sensational in a win over Tennessee. He drew four targets and allowed just one completion for 6 yards in the contest. That’s superb work for a cornerback.

McKinstry also broke up a pass against the Volunteers, his fifth pass breakup this season. Through eight games in the 2023 campaign, McKinstry has logged 20 tackles, a tackle for a loss and the five pass breakups. The veteran doesn’t have quite the production of others on the list, but he’s been really hard to throw on.

3. Cooper DeJean, Iowa

The Iowa star had an excellent punt return negated by an unfortunate fair catch signal, but he showed how dazzling he can be with the ball in his hands yet again. Defensively, DeJean was targeted six times by Wisconsin and gave up only two catches for 23 yards.

That’s the kind of production Iowa has come to expect from one of the staples in the top 10 of the cornerback rankings each week. DeJean has now tallied 38 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, five passes defended and two interceptions.

4. Travis Hunter, Colorado

Colorado had a bye this weekend, but Hunter drops down a couple of spots thanks to impressive showings by McKinstry and DeJean. Still, Hunter is easily one of the nation’s best at the position, and that certainly hasn’t changed just because he was off for the week.

The two-way star who missed some time due to injury doesn’t have quite the numbers of some of the others, but his production has been impressive nonetheless. Hunter has 14 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups in four games so far.

5. Denzel Burke, Ohio State

The talented Ohio State cornerback was banged up in the team’s loss to Purdue two weeks ago and didn’t play in the game against Penn State, a last-minute scratch. The Buckeyes obviously fared OK without him.

Coach Ryan Day is hopeful to get Burke (and some others) back for the team’s upcoming game against Wisconsin. As is, Burke has recorded eight tackles, a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble, an interception and seven pass breakups through six games this season.

6. Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame

Notre Dame had a bye week after upending a top-10 USC team the prior week, and Morrison was instrumental in that win. He recorded four tackles, a tackle for a loss, an interception and two pass breakups against the Trojans.

Through a third of the season now, eight games, Morrison has recorded 20 tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and eight pass breakups. He’s one of the more active members of the Notre Dame secondary when it comes to getting hands on passes.

7. Mike Sainristil, Michigan

The defense helped the offense considerably in Michigan’s big win over rival Michigan State, and Sainristil got in on the action with a 72-yard interception returned for a touchdown. It was Sainristil’s third interception of the season.

The Michigan standout has been productive since Day 1. He has logged 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, three interceptions, four pass breakups and a pair of quarterback hurries through the first eight games of the season.

8. Willie Roberts, LA Tech

Roberts had a bye week after Louisiana Tech took on MTSU on a short week the previous week. In that MTSU game, Roberts managed to record a pass breakup for the third consecutive week. He also scored four tackles in the game.

Through eight games this season, Roberts has recorded 31 tackles, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, an interception and 10 pass breakups. He ranks tied for third nationally in passes defended.

9. TJ Tampa, Iowa State

Tampa was on a bye with Iowa State this week but is coming off a tremendous performance in a game at Cincinnati. In that game he picked off a pass, broke up another and recorded three tackles.

That brought Tampa’s season totals to 26 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups. He’s been quite disruptive as a presence in the secondary this season.

10. Josh Newton, TCU

Newton had a quiet game for TCU this weekend, simply not targeted much at all. Kansas State threw at him only once and was incomplete, thinking better of trying the TCU standout again on the afternoon.

Those kind of outings often disguise how good a cornerback really is, and it’s one of the things that make these cornerback rankings tough. Sometimes not showing up on the stat sheet is a good thing. On the year, Newton has 19 tackles, one interception and four pass breakups, so he definitely fits the mold.

Top 25 Cornerbacks 11-25

11. DJ James, Auburn
12. Kamal Hadden, Tennessee
13. Jahdae Barron, Texas
14. Khyree Jackson, Oregon
15. Kalen King, Penn State
16. Christian Roland-Wallace, USC
17. Terrion Arnold, Alabama
18. Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas
19. Chau Smith-Wade, Washington State
20. Sebastian Castro, Iowa
21. Micah Abraham, Marshall
22. Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
23. Kamari Lassiter, Georgia
24. Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
25. Jaylin Davies, UCLA

It was a relatively quiet week for the cornerbacks rounding out spots 11 to 25 in the cornerback rankings, with a couple scratches and a few players on bye. Both Jackson and McGlothern were scratches in their games, while Hairston and Lassiter were on bye in the SEC. The standout performance might have come from Abraham, who recorded an interception but also gave up a touchdown. In any case, we’ll revisit this part of the list next week when more guys are in action.