Tight end commit Hea 'a mismatch' as a receiver
Monday evening, with less than 36 hours remaining until the early signing period began, Missouri found its tight end for the 2019 recruiting class. The Tigers didn't have to look far. The coaching staff called St. Louis native Niko Hea to offer him a scholarship, and Hea immediately accepted.
Hea is the 16th high school prospect to commit to Missouri in the current class and the 18th overall player to do so, counting graduate transfers Kelly Bryant and Jonathan Nance. He’s the seventh prospect from the state of Missouri to commit to the Tigers this year, and the sixth from the St. Louis area.
Christian Brothers College high school coach Scott Pingel said Missouri first started showing interest in Hea about two weeks ago, not long after four-star prospect Charles Njoku de-committed from the Tigers. Missouri brought Hea to campus for an official visit on the weekend of Dec. 7, but a scholarship offer didn’t materialize. Finally, even after Missouri brought Florida tight end Sam Snyder to campus this weekend, Hea got the offer he had been waiting for.
Pingel said Hea is excited about the prospect of playing for his home state school.
“I think any St. Louis kid likes their state school to look at him, so I think he’s pretty excited," Pingel said.
Hea burst onto the scene with a big senior season for CBC, but by that point, most schools had already identified other tight end targets. Hea only had scholarship offers from three FBS schools aside from Missouri, and no other Power Five teams extended him an offer. But Pingel believes the late-blooming Hea can develop into an SEC contributor.
“His offseason was phenomenal,” Pingel said. “He just really bulked up. He’s about 6-5, 225, and it’s legit size. He runs like a deer. He really dedicated himself in the offseason, made himself faster, made himself stronger, and just kind of more explosive, and it showed on tape this year.”
Pingel said Hea’s strength is his receiving abillity. He described Hea as “a mismatch” for opposing defenses, thanks to his combination of size and speed. In 12 games this season, Hea caught 43 passes for 814 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“He can play multiple spots,” Pingel said. “He can be attached, unattached, he can be an outside guy, slot guy. He’s multiple.”
Hea is expected to sign with the Tigers during this week's early signing period.