Missouri's 1989 football team went 2-9 under coach Bob Stull. There aren't many lasting memories from that year -- but the legacy of that team has had an effect both on Missouri and college football over 25 years later.
On that team, four players have sons who are playing, or have played, Power-5 college football. Linebacker Stacy Elliott saw his son, Ezekiel, go to Ohio State to have a stand-out three-year career, and will likely be selected early in the 2016 NFL draft. Cornerback Adrian Jones' son, Julian, signed with Illinois as a linebacker in 2014.
(The younger Jones, however, is suspended indefinitely pending investigation from an alleged sexual assault.)
Andy Lock, right tackle, and Curtis Wilson, center, were line-mates that season. Now, their sons, separated by one year in age, will both play quarterback for Missouri this coming fall.
Drew Lock ascended to Missouri's starting job in the middle of last season. He was a blue-chip prospect, a four-star recruit and an Elite-11 quarterback with offers from all around the country. Micah Wilson, who signed with Missouri on Wednesday, took a different path to his father's alma mater.
"I wanted Micah to go through the process without me really involved," Curtis Wilson said. "If he was good enough to play at Mizzou, then I would have been super pumped. If he wasn't good enough, then there was a place for him."
That place was Boise State, a school the three-star quarterback committed to on April 26, 2015. Wilson completely shut down his recruitment at that time; even before then, however, it was admittedly quiet. His father said the family didn't pursue off-season camps, combines and competitions, instead focusing their visits to schools closer to their Oklahoma home.
"We had the opinion that, if he's good enough, they'll come find him," Curtis Wilson said. "If he's not, it's not meant to be."
Micah's hope was that Missouri would come through with an offer early on. The Tigers' staff did show interest -- but at that time, during the spring of his junior year, Gary Pinkel was not sure if he would sign a quarterback in the 2016 class. So Wilson committed to Boise State, a place he felt would help him develop best as a quarterback.
"After I committed to Boise State originally I was solid with them. I never really thought about [the possibility of Missouri eventually offering] at that point," said Wilson.
"When he committed to Boise State, the number of schools that came after him was unbelievable," Curtis Wilson said. "I'm talking multiple Pac-12, a couple SEC, multiple Big 12 schools -- a lot of schools came after him. But he shut it down because he found a place he thought he really picked.
There were two factors that led Wilson back to Missouri, the only school he would consider switching to. The first factor was the coaching change at Missouri, and specifically the hire of Josh Heupel at offensive coordinator. Heupel offered Wilson when he was at Utah State; the two were familiar with each other.
But the second factor that didn't get much attention was a departure from the Broncos. Eliah Drinkwitz, Boise State's quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, left for the same positions at North Carolina on Jan. 11. So, even before Missouri offered, the wheels were in motion for Micah Wilson.
It still took some time. After an official visit to Boise State the weekend after Drinkwitz left, Wilson received a notification on his phone while waiting for his connecting flight in Denver, back to Tulsa. It was from Twitter, and Missouri assistant Ryan Walters was now following him.
Wilson followed Walters, and about 30 minutes later, Walters and Wilson were talking on the phone. They set up an in-home visit on Monday, but by the time the Wilsons' returned home, Heupel changed those plans. Instead, the visit would be Thursday, and Heupel would be the coach going.
"Why would he be coming out here this close to signing day to say hello?," Micah rhetorically asked his dad. They knew what was coming, and Curtis told his son to make up his mind before hand -- "That's how this rolls," Curtis said.
The offer came after dinner, and after Heupel finished speaking, Micah's response was quick.
"Coach, I think I'd like to take you up on that offer."
"I just knew that Mizzou was the place I wanted to be," Micah would say later. "It's my dream school so I committed right there."
He officially decommitted from Boise State afterward, sending out a tweet at 8:29 pm to announce it. In the hour from announcing his decommitment to announcing his commitment to Missouri on Twitter, Oklahoma State reached out to him.
But at that point, Wilson was a Tiger, a dream-come-true for a recruit who always wanted to play for his father's alma mater. He'd seen his two older brothers play at Tulsa and Princeton, and now he has the chance to play for Missouri.
Soon thereafter, Curtis Wilson got a message on Facebook from his old teammate, Andy Lock. Lock told Wilson how happy he was, and if any advice was needed, to make sure he reached out.
"That's just the kind of guy Andy is," Curtis Wilson said.
It's not uncommon for athletic parents to have athletic children. Obviously. But what is novel is Missouri's quarterback situation going forward.
"The thing that's kind of random and kind of wild is when you see two guys off the same offensive line that are both having quarterbacks," Wilson said.
Now, Missouri has two quarterbacks who were born into black-and-gold families, two quarterbacks that have always wanted to play for Missouri -- and now two quarterbacks who have that opportunity.
"They obviously get their athleticism from their moms," Heupel said.
