Drinkwitz and Mizzou Football Adapting to Hectic New Recruiting Scenarios

Where a recruit will actually sign his name when the time comes can be unpredictable and adjusting and pivoting to fill roster holes is now more important than ever.

Michael Stamps | Dec 5, 2024

Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz is interviewed on field with the College of Engineering’s Boston robotics robot Spot on field prior to a game against the Boston College Eagles at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Missouri Tigers

With all the moving pieces and late decisions that high school recruits make, getting players to sign the line on a National Letter of Intent is more difficult than ever before.

Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz knows all about that, with the Tigers adding three late and somewhat surprising commitments to the final list of signees.

Drinkwitz made quite the comparison to real life when it comes to the late stages of recruiting a prospect before signing day. The Tigers earned the pledge of four-star EDGE Javion Hilson on signing day and his name only revolved around the Tigers a couple of days out from his signing.

His commitment wasn't a shock by the time it was announced, but hearing his name involved with the Tigers in the days leading up surely was. The process of making him a Tiger was very fast.

“Well, it's like speed dating,” Drinkwitz said. “We had a relationship there too, just because of some previous players and had been there to watch him and evaluate him.”

Drinkwitz and his recruiting staff brought in two brand new running back commits and had its previous one de-commit. The freshman running back class was completely flipped on its side when four-star former Kentucky commit Marquise Davis announced his decision to commit to Missouri. That was much more of a surprise to the outside eye, but not to Drinkwitz.

“Marquis, we've actually been involved with for a while and we actually had him on campus early in his recruiting process,” Drinkwitz said.

Most Missouri fans and media probably didn't know Davis would end up as a Tiger. The legitimacy of former running back commit Jamarion Morrow's commitment was in question, so bringing in two new running backs was not a shock. Drinkwitz also added three-star back Brendon Haygood to his arsenal after Morrow de-committed. The Missouri staff was ready for the next man up when others decided to leave or make a new decision.

Whether it's unfortunate or not, that's the true nature of college football recruiting now. With much more factors for athletes to consider, some change their decision multiple times, and down to the wire. Drinkwitz and the Tiger recruiting staff had a plan for when certain players backed out of their commitments, like Morrow, and pivoted to Haygood and Davis.

“A lot of last-minute changes, important and different things like that, so [it’s] definitely different,” Drinkwitz said. “I’m not saying it's good or bad. It's just hard to deal with.”

With the level of uncertainty that comes along with the recruiting process, it's more important now than ever before for coaching staff to create deep relationships with their prospects. Arguably more important than having a good relationship with the player is having one with his family. In many instances, a recruits mom, dad, or guardian of some sort will play a vital role in a commitment decision. Being on good terms with that person certainly plays a part in getting a commitment.

“You got to build trust and respect and that's what we try to do with these relationships, is build a foundation of trust and respect,” Drinkwitz said.

Despite the uncertainty and craziness that comes with National Signing Day, the Tigers filled out a 17-man recruiting class with four and three-star talent. The next step for Missouri is filling the rest of its holes with experienced transfer portal talent.

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