With a focus on defensive line and defensive back, Eli Drinkwitz ushered in 22 student-athletes from across the country under his “New Zou,” tagline on National Signing Day on Wednesday. Mizzou’s class was ranked No. 20 in the nation, according to Rivals. That’s the highest rated class in MU history. Drinkwitz considered eight in-state signees. Six came from the St. Louis area and two from East St. Louis.

Of the 22 recruits who signed on Wednesday, the ratings breakdown is as follows:
2-Star–1
3-Star–14
4-Star–7
5-Star-0

Quarterback: East St. Louis quarterback Tyler Macon is a four-star recruit rated as the No. 8 overall player in the state of Illinois. Macon also had interest from Illinois, Central Michigan, Indiana, and Michigan State.

Defensive Backs: Darius “D.J.” Jackson  picked Missouri over Arkansas State, Kansas, Kansas State, and UConn. Defensive back Davion Sistrunk had offers from Baylor, Charlotte, Cincinnati, and Colorado. Tyler Hibbler of Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis signed. Indianapolis native and defensive back Daylan Carnell, who had offers from Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Duke, and Indiana. Zxaequan Reeves, from Titusville, Florida committed to Missouri over Pitt, UMass-Amherst, Florida Atlantic, and Florida A&M.

Defensive Line: Jonathan Jones of McKinney, Texas had offers from Baylor, Colorado, Texas, and Nebraska in his final five, along with Mizzou. According to 247 sports, he is the No. 40 strong-side defensive end in the country. Desmet’s Mekhi Wingo was the first prospect to verbally commit to Drinkwitz’s 2021 class. Defensive end Daniel Robledo is a junior college-transfer who chose the Tigers over Arizona, UCLA, Ole Miss, Houston, Washington State, and UCF. St. Louis . Defensive end Travion Ford picked Mizzou over offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Texas. Indiana-native Kyran Montgomery picked Mizzou over offers from Arizona State, Ball State, Boston College, and Bowling Green. Defensive tackle Realus George Jr. left Miami a year ago and spent the season at Independence Community College. George is originally from Atlanta, GA.

Linebackers: Dameon Wilson comes to Mizzou from Grover, North Carolina, he had offers from Appalachian State, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, and East Carolina. 247 Sports has Wilson as the No. 10 linebacker in the country. Zach Lovett chose the Tigers over offers from Louisville, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, and Iowa State.

Running Backs: Former Desmet High School running back Taj Butts had offers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, and Kentucky.

Wide Receivers: East St. Louis native Dominic Lovett officially signed and flipped his commitment from Arizona State to Mizzou just one week before national signing day.

Tight Ends: Mizzou football added two tight ends,  Gavin McKay had scholarship offers from Kansas, Indiana, FAU, and Liberty and Washington, Missouri-native Ryan Hoerstkamp picked the Tigers over Alabama, Arizona, Washington, and Arkansas.

Offensive Line: Offensive lineman Connor Tollison signed with Mizzou. The Jackson High School senior helped lead the Indians to a Class 5 state championship this past season and had offers from Alabama, Arkansas State, Illinois, and Indiana. EJ Ndoma-Ogar, a transfer from Oklahoma, was the nation’s No. 9 guard prospect coming out of high school. He played four games in the 2019 with the Sooners.