It’s no secret that Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers are raising the bar for Mizzou football recruiting. There’s been a lot of buzz around the program recently as commitments have increased. And now we’re in July, and Missouri’s 2022 class is ranked No. 16 nationally and 6th in the SEC, according to 247sports.com. That is ridiculous for a program like Missouri.

That’s not to say Mizzou isn’t a good school. We’ve never seen anything like this level of Mizzou football recruiting at Mizzou before. It’s fine to be open about it. Drinkwitz recently signed the highest-rated class in school history, and he’s already on track to do so again.

To put it in context, according to the 247sports.com database, Barry Odom signed seven four-star recruits during his four-year tenure. If Drinkwitz signs all of the four-star recruits he currently has committed to. He will have nine four-star recruits in his first two classes. For the record, that was with me crediting the 2020 class to Barry Odom. Despite the fact that Drinkwitz was technically the coach at the time that class was signed. That is quite impressive. That is the level at which Mizzou must recruit in order to compete with the best in the SEC.

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Not all of those four-star recruits will pan out, but a four-star recruit will almost always be better than a three-star recruit. Despite what we’ve been telling ourselves for years, stars do matter in that regard. Remember when we used to get excited about “high three-stars” when it came to three-star recruits? No offense to those recruits or the previous regime, but Missouri’s 6th or 7th best commit right now would typically be the “underrated crown jewel” of a Mizzou football recruiting class. Things are evolving.

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Keep in mind that Drinkwitz went 5-5 with a team that was essentially Barry Odom’s, an all-SEC schedule, and Covid difficulties. Imagine the damage Mizzou could do if Drinkwitz could stack three or four more of those top-25 range classes. It’s exciting to consider.

What’s really impressive, however, is not only the number of recruits Drinkwitz is bringing in but also the optics of it. C.J. Stokes and Emeka Megwa, for example, appeared to be Mizzou’s top running back targets at one point. When Stokes committed to Michigan, and Megwa seemed out of reach, Drinkwitz brought Texas running back prospect Tavorus Jones on a visit, only for him to commit the next week. Just casually landing Texas’ top running back. Nothing to worry about,

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Deshawn Woods, anyone? The 6’4″, 270-pound prospect is the top prospect in Nebraska, and Drinkwitz just signed him as well. Even the Nebraska beat writers can’t believe a player from their state would leave for Missouri (which is ironic given that Nebraska hasn’t been in a position to criticize Mizzou in years).

Drinkwitz is bringing in the best players from places that no one expected Mizzou to recruit from. Even in the previous cycle, Drinkwitz was able to entice Indiana prospects Daylan Carnell and Kylan Montgomery, both of whom were four-star prospects in the heart of BIG10 country. When it came to committing crimes, Ennis Rakestraw was an exception to the rule.

Despite the fact that Odom’s regime established the initial relationship with him, Drinkwitz was able to close the deal on a Texas player who had committable offers from Texas and Alabama. Don’t forget about the transfer market, where Drinkwitz has been able to effectively fill gaps and sign key contributors. Mizzou’s secondary was looking a little thin a couple of months ago after the transfers of Jadarrius Perkins and Jarvis Ware, but Drinkwitz was able to turn around and land Tulsa transfers Allie Green and Akayleb Evans, both of whom project as NFL prospects, turning the secondary into a strength rather than a weakness. Talk about addressing a need.

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Of course, Drinkwitz cannot take all of the credit. You also have to give it to his assistant staff, which is made up of a lot of guys with NFL experience and a track record of success in Mizzou football recruiting. At the same time, Drinkwitz deserves credit for cultivating those relationships and focusing on his staff hires.

We all thought Mizzou was a sleeping giant of a football program as fans. They have a loyal fan base that will turn out when the team performs well, they have top-notch facilities to attract recruits, and they have a long history of being a good football program. All they needed was the right coach to bring it all together.

Conclusion

When it comes to Mizzou football recruiting, Drinkwitz appears to be that coach. It appears to be a recurring headline. We seem to say that every time Drinkwitz gets a big Mizzou football recruiting, but he’s had enough of them that it feels real this time. People are starting to take notice of what Mizzou is doing in Mizzou football recruiting across the country, and it’s time for us to acknowledge as fans that we’ve finally found the guy we’ve been looking for. It’s a completely new Zou.