Missouri Football recruiting: News and updates from early signing day 2020

It’s signing day!

It’s had to have been a giant whirlwind for new Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz as he was just hired nine days ago, and spent every last waking moment trying to preserve what remained of the recruiting class Barry Odom put together.

There were decommitments from 4-star St. Louis offensive lineman Jalen St. John, 3-star Texas defensive end Robert Wooten, 3-star Columbia defensive lineman Jalen Logan-Redding, and 3-star Florida defensive end Cooper Davis. Davis has since committed to Illinois, Logan-Redding flipped to Minnesota, and Wooten hopped on at Virginia Tech.

Word is still up in the air on 3-star Memphis offensive lineman Ray Curry and 4-star Oklahoma wide receiver J.J. Hester. Signs are positive for Hester (UPDATE: he tweeted out a picture of him looking out over Faurot Field, so that’s probably a good indicator of where he’s at), not so much for Curry.

Missouri currently has 13 commitments in its 2020 class. Most are expected to sign today, with decisions becoming known from Hester and Curry. Follow along below for live updates and for a primer on what to expect for Missouri’s 2019 recruiting class

Missouri recruiting: Live updates, analysis from the early signing period

2:20 p.m. — Mitchell Walters makes it double digits for Missouri as he becomes the Tigers’ 10th signee

1:50 p.m. — Ray Curry joins Dominique Johnson, flips from Missouri to Arkansas

12:56 p.m. — Another Maclin is heading to Columbia. Jay Maclin signed his LOI and hopes to follow in his older cousin Jeremy Maclin’s footsteps

12:35 p.m. — Arguably Drinkwitz’s most impressive early development as head coach is bringing Elijah Young back into the fold

12 p.m. — In-state quarterback Brady Cook signs his LOI

11:45 a.m. — J.J. Hester makes it official with ink to paper

10:27 a.m. — Another post-Odom defection. Cooper Davis signs with Illinois

8:21 a.m. — From out of nowhere, Dominique Johnson flips from Missouri to Arkansas

8:15 a.m. — Robert Wooten becomes the second former Missouri commit to sign elsewhere. He’s now a Virginia Tech signee

8:02 a.m. — J.J. Hester ends any doubt with this early morning announcement, he’ll be a Mizzou Tiger

7:57 a.m. — Tyler Jones joins teammate Jaylon Carlies as a Missouri signee

7:36 a.m. — Don’t look now; a former Missouri commit signs with Minnesota

7:13 a.m. — Columbia-product Will Norris makes it official

7:05 a.m. — Drake Heismeyer is staying in-state

6:37 a.m. — Potential kicker of the future Harrison Mevis signs his LOI

6:27 a.m. — Jaylon Carlies becomes Missouri’s first signee

We’ll keep this section updated as the signings roll in. But here are the known expected signings and times:

• Drake Heismeyer, OL, Missouri — 7:00 am CST
• Elijah Young, RB, Tennessee — 11:00 am CST
• J.J. Hester, WR, Oklahoma — 11:30 CST
• Brady Cook, QB, Missouri — 12:00 pm CST
• Tyler Jones, DB, Florida — 12:45 pm CST
• Mitchell Walters, OL, Missouri — 2:20 pm CST

Missouri recruiting: 2020 commitments, rankings

Missouri recruiting: Storylines for the early signing period

• How much of the original signing class will Coach Drinkwitz be able to preserve? With Ryan Walters and Brick Haley returning, there’s continuity on the defensive side of the ball. Whether that’s good or not it should at least help with the relationships in recruiting.

With needs on the defensive line, both the Defensive Coordinator Walters and Defensive Line coach Haley should help the program build upon a position of need, even without much there in the class as it stands.

• In addition, which recruits don’t sign on Wednesday?

The questions around Curry and Hester are obvious. But there have been some rumors about Kevon Billingsley, a solid commitment at this point, and his academic situation. Billingsley attended multiple high schools which could leave him still working on that side of it.

• Who are the top targets for the stretch run?

Some of this will come into focus after the dust settles from early signing period, but if Missouri gets the signees they expect on Wednesday, it will be able to focus on some of the needs still out there. Will they be able to get back in the game with Jalen St. John? Are there other targets still out there who can build out the rest of the class?

• How will the coaching change and recruiting restrictions impact the rest of the class?

This is probably the biggest question mark. Drinkwitz has done a good job so far keeping much of the class together, but he still has a big task ahead of him. There are scholarship limits coming in place next season and restrictions on time that can be spent recruiting. And the Tigers are probably looking for another 5-8 players. When and how they get them... well that’s the question.