Still feeling the effects of a bad loss to Wyoming and the decommitment of top-recruit Antonio Doyle last week, the Missouri football program started trending back up when local product Jalen Logan-Redding announced he was staying in Columbia on Monday.

On Thursday, Barry Odom’s 2020 class got an even bigger boost with the huge commitment of Javian Hester.

A four-star wide receiver out of Booker T. Washington in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hester had a long list of suitors that included high-profile Power 5 teams like Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio State. The Sooners and the Longhorns were presumed to be the favorites to land Hester once he announced his commitment date, but the Tigers eventually jumped to the top in the most recent crystal ball projections by 247Sports.

Ranked 233rd in the Class of 2020, Hester is also the No. 40 receiver in the nation and the No. 3 player out of Oklahoma. Hester’s 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame stacks up well with some of Missouri’s most recent success stories at receiver, and he’s expected to help bolster a receiving corps that will feature the likes of Jalen Knox, Kam Scott, Maurice Massey, CJ Boone and fellow 2020 recruit Jay Maclin for years to come.

Get to know: Javian Hester

Hometown: Tulsa, OK

High School: Booker T. Washington

Position: Wide Receiver

Ht/Wt: 6’4, 180

Rivals Ranking: 4-star, 5.8

247Composite Ranking: 4-star, 0.9153

Total announced offers: 19

Offers to note: Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, Arkansas, Oklahoma

Hester’s highlights

Long, fast, explosive... yes.

We’ll have more on the impact of the commitment and the roster fit in the next few days.