We probably spend an outsized amount of time and mental energy worrying about how Missouri is recruiting its own borders. This is especially true in St. Louis, where recruits have been more prone to spread their wings and fly away.

Since Eli Drinkwitz became the head football coach last December, though, he’s kept his word — recruiting the state will be a top priority. He’s shown it time and again in the class of 2021, locking down many of the state’s prized recruits. And today, he just reeled in one of the biggest fish available.

Travion Ford is a consensus Top 150 player in the country by 247 Sports. Rivals has him listed at 222 in their Rivals 250. He’s consistently listed as one of the three best prospects in the state of Missouri, and Drinkwitz is bringing him to Columbia. It’s not as if Missouri has been historically unable to draw this sort of talent, but we’ve seen first-hand how well these sort of prospects have played out in the past. All you need to do is check out the #Lou2TheZou hashtag on Twitter to see the results.

Get to know: Travion Ford

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

High School: Lutheran North

Position: Defensive End

Ht/Wt: 6’3”, 222 lbs

Rivals Ranking: 4-star, 5.8

247Composite Ranking: 4-star, 0.9360

Total announced offers: 33

Offers to note: Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas and just about every big school you can think of

If Drinkwitz wants to get back to the days where Missouri was relentlessly attacking the QB, Ford will be a big help. He’s not a huge guy, but he’s definitely got some explosiveness off the line and enough moves to shake slower defenders. The thing that really stands out to me is how long his arms are — even when the QB is a little shift, Ford is able to reach him if he gets in the general vicinity. There’s a reason he’s in the Rivals 250 and is a consensus Top 150 by 247’s Composite — he’s a dangerous weapon on the end. It’ll be nice to see what he becomes once he can hit a college weight room.

What they’re saying:

Welcome, Travion! M-I-Z!