The process of recruiting and getting commits for the class of 2024 began years ago.
However, the momentum that Missouri fans see today, from the 10-2 season to the Cotton Bowl berth to signing the 23rd-best recruiting class on National Signing Day on Wednesday, officially got rolling on Aug. 14 when the Tigers' crown jewel of the class committed.
"For the next three to four years, I'll be attending the University of Missouri," Lee's Summit North's five-star EDGE and the nation's No. 3 overall prospect Williams Nwaneri said to announce his commitment to the Tigers.
That was a couple of weeks before the Tigers would begin their 10-2 season.
From there, the work of head coach Eli Drinkwitz and his current team would carry the momentum for the next four months.
The first 10-win season in nine years, the numerous accolades racked up by various players and Drinkwitz himself, being named SEC Coach of the Year, were all a part of said momentum. But Drinkwitz knows it all began in Lee's Summit North's gymnasium in mid-August.
"I think you look back on the entire season that (Nwaneri's commitment) kind of started the whole positive momentum for our university, our program, our football season," Drinkwitz said during his National Signing Day presser on Wednesday. "Obviously, to get the consensus No. 1 player in the country to choose in August prior to any success that you've had on the football field was a huge momentum boost for us. Then, that momentum continued and carried out through the season."
Of course, when a player of Nwaneri's magnitude decides to commit, it doesn't mean teams back off from recruiting him.
In fact, they may turn up the pressure. But Drinkwitz was never worried about the team's highly coveted commit flipping on his commitment.
Not only was Nwaneri sturdy like a tree, but he actually helped close some deals in the week leading up to National Signing Day.
"He's been an oak and never once (was I) worried about it. Not one time," Drinkwitz said regarding the months-long rumors that Nwaneri would flip. "Had constant communication with Williams, his mom and dad.
"When we had in-home visits, everything was great. I think when he made his commitment in August, I don't think he ever even kind of wavered, contrary to what other people might have reported on Twitter (X). ... I'm appreciative of him and his family for believing in us and he did a really good job recruiting for us down the stretch right here. You know, helping reaching out to guys and making sure they understood why he was coming here and the belief that he had in (defensive ends) Coach (Kevin) Peoples and in the belief that he has in our staff."
Even though Drinkwitz (for the time being) can't talk about transfers who haven't officially signed, one player he is referring to as one of those guys Nwaneri helped recruit is Cayden Green, a former teammate of Nwaneri's at Lee's Summit North who suited up in over 500 snaps for Oklahoma as a true freshman this season.
Green was the No.8 overall available transfer in Rivals' portal tracker rankings.
Despite most of Green's snaps coming at left guard this season, he's expected to compete for the starting left tackle gig in 2024, a position that will be vacated after the graduation of second-team FWAA All-American and third-team AP All-American Javon Foster.
Since Nwaneri committed in mid-August, the Tigers had nine other high school players commit, with four happening in the last seven days.
The Tigers secured the commitments of four-star running back Kewan Lacy, four-star wide receiver Courtney Crutchfield, three-star offensive lineman Caleb Pyfrom and three-star defensive back Jaren Sensabuagh during that span.
Lacy and Sensabaugh arguably were the most surprising of the bunch, with both seemingly being set to head to other SEC schools, but Drinkwitz said a mini-tour of in-house visits last week sealed the deal to get these players to commit to Mizzou.
"I think there was a day last week within a 36-hour period I had eight in-home visits or visits that were not all in the homes but were for coffee or lunch or at schools," Drinkwitz said. "All the way from a couple in Atlanta down to see Elias (Williams) to Fort Lauderdale back up to some other places that I can't speak on just yet, but it's been busy. It's been really busy.
"You know, we got announced for the Cotton Bowl that night (on Dec. 3), and (offensive coordinator and quarterbacks) Coach (Kirby) Moore, (running backs) Coach (Curtis) Luper and I went to Kewan's home. They made some fantastic ribs and cowboy beans. It was delicious. And we ate and had a really good conversation and just felt like family and I thought we had a really good opportunity there. It was going to be us and two other schools. One of those schools and their head coach came in that week on Thursday and Kewan told us that he wasn't going to go on an official visit to that school and that he was done and was going to have a decision within the week. And so we felt pretty good about it."
About 90 minutes before Lacy committed to the Tigers on Dec. 14, it seemed like he was all but an Ole Miss lock until he wasn't. But it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Tigers will be losing AP first-team All-American running back Cody Schrader, as well as Nathaniel Peat after the Cotton Bowl as they've run out of eligibility, leaving soon to be redshirt freshman Jamal Roberts and soon to be redshirt sophomore Tavorus Jones as the only scholarship running backs.
The the team did get a commitment from Georgia State transfer running back and the nation's seventh-leading rusher Marcus Carroll, but he only has one year of eligibility.
So, Lacy can compete for playing time in 2024 and potentially to be the back of the future after that.
"We're very, very excited to get him. He's got electric speed, great vision, a tough runner, just a dynamic football player with the ball in his hands," Drinkwitz said. "I think he sees an opportunity with our team, with two seniors graduating, to come in and earn playing time and I think he will have more than enough talent to do that."
As for Sensabaugh, a former Vandy commit and the son of former NFLer Gerald Sensabuagh, he seemed like a lock to stay in-state and commit to Tennessee, but an official visit last weekend was enough to sway the three-star Ensworth cornerback to commit to the Tigers on Tuesday and sign on Wednesday.
"Jaren was a guy that we recruited,” Drinkwitz said. “I believe he came to the Florida game unofficially after he de-committed from a previous school. We were recruiting him really hard .I went into in Ensworth Academy the day he went on his official visit to Tennessee. I knew that we were going to be in a really difficult fight there, but we had the last visit and ultimately, we were able to convince him that this is the best place for him."
All 20 of the Tigers' commits signed on Wednesday, and this class marked the third top-25 recruiting class in four seasons. A feat Missouri only pulled off twice from 2000-2020.
Also, the 11 four-star players (by at least one service) in the class are the most Mizzou has had in a single class.
The momentum created from Nwaneri's commitment has not only snowballed into one of the best classes in school history, but one of the best seasons in school history.
Win, lose or draw come Dec. 29 when the Tigers face No. 7 Ohio State in the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Missouri has taken the last four months and transformed the program into a viable destination for big-time recruits and transfers, who not only want to play SEC ball but legitimately compete for national championships.
"I think these are all guys that are really competitors," Drinkwitz said. "They all looked at Missouri as an opportunity to compete. They weren't afraid of the competition. They embrace the competition, not only the competition in the SEC but the competition on our roster. They wanted to join the brotherhood.
"I feel like with this signing class that we have, with the additions (transfers) that have made commitments to us so far, and with the returning players that we have, I think the future of Mizzou football is very bright."
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