2019 QB Connor Bazelak chooses Missouri over Georgia, Kentucky, and other SEC rivals

Missouri has done pretty well with Ohio quarterbacks in the past. Brad Smith, of Youngstown Chaney High, became the first college QB to average a 2,000/1,000 season over four years and served as the catalyst for the Tigers’ turnaround under Gary Pinkel. Maty Mauk, of Kenton, led Pinkel’s Tigers to the 2014 SEC East title*.

Barring a plot twist, there will be another Ohio signal caller in Columbia beginning in 2019. On Sunday afternoon, Barry Odom’s Tigers earned a commitment from Connor Bazelak, of Dayton’s Archbishop Alter High.

Per the 247Sports Composite, the 6’3, 207-pound Bazelak is a high-three-star prospect — the No. 20 pro-style QB in the class and the No. 22 prospect in the state of Ohio. And with the offers he listed, it’s a wonder he wasn’t a four-star: SEC foes Georgia, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt had all pursued Bazelak, as did schools like Indiana, Purdue, Pitt, WVU, and Boston College.

His vertical passing is awfully pretty:

The footwork is solid, and even when he’s under pressure, he gets the ball where it needs to be.

You could say that Mizzou’s 2019 recruiting class has finally gotten underway over the last couple of weeks. The Tigers landed their first big fish when four-star St. Louis lineman Jack Buford chose the home-state school above Oklahoma, Arkansas and plenty of others.

Now, Odom has his 2019 quarterback. Time to see where things go from here.

Buford, by the way, knew something was coming. He is quickly serving as the de facto public face of the 2019 class.

WELCOME, CONNOR.

* Yeah, things went awry after that. But whatever, rings last forever.