Missouri momentum: Tigers getting it done with star-studded 2025 recruiting class (2024)

Matt Zollers called Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz in April to tell him the news.

Zollers, a four-star prospect out of Pennsylvania, was ready to commit to the Tigers over offers from Georgia, Penn State and many others.

Drinkwitz’s first reaction was to yell with excitement.

“I forget where he was — he was somewhere,” Zollers said of the Tigers’ eccentric head man, “and he just screamed.”

Later, once Drinkwitz returned to his indoor voice, he and his assistants had one request for Zollers.

“When I first committed, they told me that I needed to trust them because I was the first commit (in the Class of 2025),” Zollers said. “They were telling me I needed to trust them, saying that this (year’s class) had the chance to be the best in school history.

“They’ve kept their word ever since.”

On the heels of the program’s first 11-win season since 2014, Missouri is rolling indeed on the recruiting trail with a class that ranks No. 16 nationally and includes three top-100 prospects. In addition to Zollers, who has climbed to No. 38 overall and the No. 7 QB in the 247Sports Composite, the Tigers also have pledges from offensive tackle Lamont Rogers out of Texas (No. 55) and wide receiver Donovan Olugbode out of Florida (No. 79).

Even after four-star wide receiver Jayvan Boggs flipped to UCF earlier this week, Mizzou’s class still includes nine blue-chippers — up from eight in the Class of 2024 and five in the Class of 2023. Should the Tigers’ current average player rating of 90.67 hold, it would be the program’s highest mark of the modern era.

“I think that if all the pieces fall into the right slots that we have a chance to go really, really far and do some really, really great things for Missouri,” said four-star offensive tackle commit Jack Lange of Eureka (Mo.) High.

Lange, ranked No. 152 nationally, is the top player in Missouri and picked the Tigers over Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ole Miss. This would mark the second consecutive cycle for Missouri to sign the No. 1 player in the state after Drinkwitz and staff landed five-star edge rusher Williams Nwaneri of Lee’s Summit North to headline the program’s 2024 class. Luther Burden, the Tigers’ superstar wide receiver from the 2022 class, is from East Saint Louis, Ill., just across the Mississippi River from the Missouri border.

Zollers, meanwhile, went to high school 1,000 miles away in suburban Philadelphia, and his recruitment is a testament to the way Drinkwitz and his staff have struck a balance between acquiring top talent nationally while maintaining a strong presence in their backyard as Mizzou’s stock has skyrocketed in the past year.

“As a fan, (last season) was very refreshing to see,” Lange said. “Obviously, they hadn’t done the greatest in previous years, so it was a nice, new thing to see. … Now, Mizzou’s gonna be a game that people start to circle, and it’s gonna be a game that people start preparing for a lot more.”

Lange said he likely would have ended up at Missouri regardless of the Tigers’ 2023 record, thanks to the proximity to home and how he connected with the coaches.

Zollers, too, believes Missouri would have been his pick even without the on-field results. He clicked with Drinkwitz right away when the Tigers head coach first visited Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Pa.,in February.

But Lange and Zollers are aware of Mizzou’s place in the larger college football landscape. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, there’s an opportunity for a new set of programs to elevate their profile. And the Tigers certainly fall into that category after beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and finishing No. 9 in the final CFP rankings.

“I knew they were a good team before that game because they were, what, 10-2 before that game?” said Zollers. “They lost to Georgia and (LSU) — two good teams. It’s not like they lost to any bad teams or things like that. … So I wasn’t shocked.”

Zollers said he had a hunch that good things were coming after he committed, in part based on who the Tigers were recruiting at that time. He has not yet met Rogers — the Texas native — but was on an official visit with Olugbode, whom he connected with quickly. Olugbode chose the Tigers on July 5 over Florida, Oregon, USC and Washington.

One day later, Rogers committed to Mizzou over Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas, Florida State and SMU.

“I was hitting up his phone, I think that entire week,” Lange said. “I was so excited when he committed. I was watching it live. I was in the car whenever he committed, so I was screaming pretty loud.”

The Tigers will pick more traction with recruits if they can replicate last season’s on-field success and prove they weren’t a one-hit wonder.

“I feel like it’s all coach Drinkwitz, and I just feel like everyone knows that he’s doing great things and they want to be a part of it,” Zollers said. “Who wouldn’t want to be a part of it? He’s putting together great classes — class after class after class — and they’re performing on the field. So why would you not want to be a part of it?”

(Top photo of Eli Drinkwitz: Jerome Miron / USA Today)

Grace Raynor is a staff writer for The Athletic covering recruiting and southeastern college football. A native of western North Carolina, she graduated from the University of North Carolina. Follow Grace on Twitter @gmraynor