Recruiting reset: Missouri closing in on another record-breaking class

One of the more frustrating parts of rebuilding a program in the SEC is time. Unlike college basketball, football rosters can’t be rebuilt overnight. Nobody knows that better than Missouri. The Tigers basketball program went from being the worst Power Five team in the country in 2016 to signing a top-five recruiting class and playing in the NCAA Tournament in 2017.

Things have been a little slower for second-year football coach Eliah Drinkwitz. The cupboard wasn’t bare when he took over for Barry Odom, but the Tigers had – and still have – major talent deficiencies compared to most of their SEC counterparts. Drinkwitz made major progress on that in the 2021 class, bringing in a handful of local four-star prospects (Travion Ford, Dominic Lovett and Elite11 QB Tyler Macon) as well as four-star Indianapolis defensive back Daylan Carnell. Mizzou ended the cycle with its first top-25 class since the Gary Pinkel days, and it appears they’ll outpace that class with this year’s crop.

Missouri 2022 commits

With a little under three months until the early signing period begins, the Tigers have 14 players committed for 2022. Six of those 14 are consensus four-star recruits, and four are in the most recent 2022 On300 rankings. Leading that group is interior offensive lineman Tristan Wilson, who jumped from outside the rankings to No. 79 overall. Fellow road-grater Deshawn Woods (No. 201), linebacker Xavier Simmons (No. 222) and wide receiver Ja’Marion Wayne (No. 272) round out the group.

On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power had this to say about Wilson jumping into the rankings: “In reviewing his senior video, Wilson jumped out as an obvious rankings riser. The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder from Lebanon, Missouri, is a mauling presence on the interior. Wilson fires off the snap and plays with outstanding pad level and leverage. He’s an explosive, strong athlete.”

Missouri’s national ranking

Missouri has the No. 17 class in the country and the No. 6 class in the SEC, despite only having 14 players committed at this point. Each of the eight teams ranked behind the Tigers in the SEC have at least 14 players committed, and some have as many as 18, so we’re not likely to see massive shifts in where these teams stand by signing day.

Strength of Missouri’s class

Landing Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill quarterback Sam Horn was a huge out-of-state win for Drinkwitz and Co. As was nabbing four-star running back Tavorus Jones out of Texas. But the strength of this class is upfront, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The aforementioned Wilson is a big part of that, but stealing Woods, one of the two best players in Nebraska, would’ve been unheard of a few years ago. Add in Kansas City-area three-star lineman Armand Membou and Chicago tackle Valen Erickson, who the Tigers flipped from Nebraska, and the pieces of an SEC-level offensive line are taking shape.

Missouri’s best recruiting win

Missouri has won a couple of tough recruiting battles in 2022, and they’ve also held on to a couple of commits despite overtures from other schools, namely four-star defensive lineman Marquis Gracial. But landing Xavier Simmons is one of Drinkwitz’s biggest recruiting wins to date. Simmons committed to Virginia Tech in June, but Missouri kept on him and eventually got him to flip in mid-August. North Carolina is not an area where Missouri heavily recruits at all, but credit Drinkwitz and linebackers coach DJ Smith, who coached together at Appalachian State in 2018 and 2019, for the big land.

Missouri’s most underrated recruit

Following Odom’s departure in 2019, there was a dearth of talent at the wide receiver position. Drinkwitz has addressed that largely through the transfer portal (Keke Chism and Mookie Cooper) but he’s also had success in the high school ranks. And especially in 2022, where they’ve not only landed Ja’Marion Wayne, but a very underrated wideout in Leawood (Kan.) Blue Valley North speedster Mekhi Miller. At 6-foot-1, he has good size for an outside receiver, but his speed and ability to take the top off of a defense is what Missouri sorely needs. He likely won’t be a starter in 2022 as a freshman, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him contribute in a significant way.

Still on the board for Missouri

Arguably the biggest local target in the past few recruiting cyles remains on the board, and he recently named the Tigers in his top three schools with Alabama and Georgia. East St. Louis (Ill.) High wideout Luther Burden, the No. 90 player in the On300, has long been a shimmer in Missouri fans’ eyes. But with his decommittment from Oklahoma in August, the chances of him actually ending up in black and gold became a legit possibility. He visited Columbia multiple times over the summer and is expected to be in town for homecoming weekend Oct. 9. He’s visiting Georgia the following weekend and is expected to announce his commitment on Oct. 19.

Burden is exactly the type of elite local prospect Missouri has lost out on in recent years, but the Tigers have a real shot. He also hails from a school that produces a lot of Power Five talent (eight such commits or signees in the last four years), and continuing to build in-roads there will be paramount for the Mizzou staff. Adding him would give serious credibility to what Drinkwitz is building, and it would show just how much of a force Missouri is locally. In total, the Show-Me State produced eight On300 players in this year’s class.

Class geographic breakdown

Missouri — 6
Kansas — 2
Texas — 2
Nebraska — 1
North Carolina — 1
Illinois — 1
Georgia — 1

Class position breakdown

Quarterback – 1
Running back – 1
Receiver – 2
Tight end — 1
Offensive line – 4
Defensive line – 2
Linebacker – 1
Defensive back – 2
Special teams – 0