Derrion Rakestraw

Position:
Safety
Height:
6-2
Weight:
200
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Woodstock, Ga.
High School:
Sequoyah
Prev School:
Colorado

2021: Saw action in all 12 games… Finished the season with 32 tackles and 2.0 sacks… Had 1.0 sacks and one interception versus Morgan State (Sept. 11)… Had a season-best six tackles on the road versus SMU (Oct. 21).

Prior to Tulane: Played in 36 career games with 11 starts at Colorado … He has 58 career tackles, including four for a loss and five for no gain … He also has nine third down stops, seven quarterback hurries, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble and three interceptions.

2019 (Jr.)—He played in all 12 games and started the final nine games of the season at safety … He played in 11 games on defense with 601 total snaps, fifth most on that side of the ball … He finished the season with 38 tackles, including three for a loss and four more for no gain … He added five pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, four third downs stops and three interceptions … He played on special teams in all 12 games on the field goal block, kick coverage, punt cover and punt return units, a total of 75 plays … he had five special teams points, including one tackle, one knockdown or springing block on kick return, one caused penalty, one field goal/PAT pressure and one touchdown save … He had a season and career best nine tackles against Arizona State when he also had a tackle for loss, third own stop, pass breakup and interception … He was CU's nominee for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week … He also had interceptions at Washington State and against Stanford … In two scrimmages and the Spring Game, he had nine tackles, one third down stop, one tackle for zero and one for a loss.

2018 (Soph.)—Played in all 12 games with two starts … Saw action in seven games on defense, totaling 262 plays … Responded with 19 tackles, one for a loss and another for no gain … Also had four third down stops, three quarterback pressures and two pass breakups … One interception, which came in his first career start against Arizona … Also had 10 special teams points with four tackles, including two inside the 20 with one force fumble and one knockdown or springing block on special teams… Had five tackles against Utah with one quarterback hurry … Had four tackles, one pass breakup and one third down stop against Washington State.

2017 (Fr.-RS)—After going through spring football as a wide receiver, the coaches moved him over to defensive back for fall camp … Ended up playing in two games on defense, but in all 12 on special teams … Earned 10 special teams points on the strength of five tackles (four solo, one assisted) and five knockdown or springing blocks on a kick return … Saw his first career action on the defensive side of the ball in week two against Texas State, when in 10 snaps from scrimmage, he recorded one tackle, a pass breakup and one quarterback chasedown … Recorded tackles on kickoff coverage in the UCLA and Arizona contests.

2016 (Fr.)—Redshirted; he practiced as a wide receiver in his true freshman year with the Buffs … He did dress for the first five games of the season.

HIGH SCHOOL—He earned honorable mention All-State honors as a senior, when he was also named first-team All-County in being named its athlete of the year; he was also a first-team All-County performer as a sophomore and junior and earned Sequoyah’s varsity receiver award three times (sophomore through senior seasons) … Caught 42 passes for 659 yards and six touchdowns his senior year, averaging 15.7 yards per catch with two 100-plus yard games; on defense, he was in on 25 tackles (20 solo) with five interceptions … Averaged 21.7 yards on 13 kickoff returns, and 7.8 on five punt returns … As a junior, he caught 51 passes for 659 yards (12.9 per) and four touchdowns, while racking up 42 tackles (36 solo) with four interceptions playing cornerback … Top games as a senior: in a 41-10 win over River Ridge, he caught eight passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns; in a 24-3 win over Cass, he had seven receptions for 108 yards and a score … He also had two 100-plus yard games as a junior: he caught six balls for 136 yards and two TDs in a 27-0 win over River Ridge, and had a career-high nine receptions for 132 yards with a touchdown and seven tackles in a 31-28 loss to Creekview … Under coach James Teter, Sequoyah was 4-6 his senior year, 6-6 his junior season and 8-3 his sophomore year … He also lettered twice in basketball (power forward, did not play as a senior) and lettered four times in track (jumps); he is the school record holder in the high jump (6-4) and the long jump (23-9) and is a four-time state qualifier in those events (long jump three of those years; he finished seventh in the long jump as a senior).

PERSONAL—He was born March 4, 1998 in Fremont, Calif. … Hobbies include playing most sports, spending time with friends, shopping for new gear and playing video games (Xbox in particular) ... His grandfather (Howard Burford) played college basketball at Gonzaga and was drafted by the NBA's Portland Trailblazers in the 11th round in the 1971 NBA Draft; and three cousins played college football: Terrance Mitchell (Oregon, currently a cornerback with the Cleveland Browns), Brian Thomas (Fresno State) and Kalvin Robinson (Western Kentucky). (Last name is pronounced rake-straw)

DERRION'S NOLA STORY
How do you define what it means to be NOLA Built?
Excelling in everything you do

What drew you to New Orleans?
Culture, food and the Tulane football program

Favorite spot to hang out in New Orleans?
2950 Ben Weiner Dr.

What was your first impression of New Orleans?
The humidity was WAY worse than Colorado