4-star WR James Madison II commits to Missouri: 'I feel like I can be a part of something special and really grow it'

When it came to his recruitment, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star wide receiver James Madison II said the best way to describe the battle between Florida State and Missouri would be, “super tight”.

While Florida State was viewed as the favorite to land his pledge for much his recruitment, Madison II will instead return the state he was born and raised as he announced his commitment to Missouri Tuesday afternoon.

“When I say that this race was super tight, it was super tight but when I knew, I knew,” Madison II told On3. “It came down to the wire because those two schools stood out to me the most and I cut off rest of my recruitment a little bit earlier because I knew it was one or the other. I took three official visits before I felt like I knew and I knew I wanted to take those two.

“After I saw what I saw from those two, it really was a hard decision to make but I felt Missouri was the best place for me to go.”

Madison II said that in his mind it was all Florida State before he took his official visit to Missouri on June 9. He took an official to Florida State a few weeks later but the impact left from the Missouri trip wasn’t enough to change his mind.

What factors led Madison to committing to Missouri

Ultimately three factors played into Madison II’s final decision.

The first was getting to finally be able play in front of his family back home in Kansas City. He was born and raised there until the eighth grade when he moved to Florida to live with his aunt and uncle so he could play at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Belief in Missouri receivers coach Jacob Wheeler was the second biggest factor in his mind.

“I also have full trust in Missouri’s receivers coach,” said Madison II, the No. 345 player in the 2024 class. “He’s always been a stand up guy with me and I know that he can develop me to take me to the next level. He’s put guys like AJ Brown, DK Metkalf and Elijah Moore in the league so that kind of development is there.”

Finally getting to return home, give back to the community and put Missouri Tigers football on the map arguably played the biggest factor in his decision.

A die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fan, Madison II remembers growing up watching the Chiefs but never really got into Missouri Tigers football.

Building upon the Tigers’ 2024 recruiting class and helping them reach the top of the SEC to bring young fans that will eventually be lifelong fans is Madison II’s biggest goal.

“I feel like I’ll be able to give back to where I started out and be able to impact the entire state,” Madison II said. “I want to be able to show that if Missouri can be a contender in the SEC. I feel like I can be a part of something special and really grow it.”