ATLANTA 鈥 Worried about Missouri football鈥檚 recruiting? Eli Drinkwitz wants you to relax.
Meeting with a select group of reporters before he took the stage at the Southeastern Conference鈥檚 media days Thursday, Drinkwitz confirmed what has been a growing assumption about his approach toward high school recruiting: When it comes to allocating money on player acquisition, he鈥檚 leaning strongly toward transfers over recruits 鈥 and that鈥檚 contributing to a rather lackluster 2026 recruiting cycle.
The Tigers have 10 verbal commitments in their 2026 class, which puts them just 75th in 247Sports national rankings. That鈥檚 second to last in the SEC, and not where MU generally wants to be.
Except now, in the age of ready-made starters arriving every offseason via the transfer portal, it might not be that far off.
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鈥淚 know there is some angst amongst the fan base 鈥 or at least on Twitter or X 鈥 about recruiting,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚 would just say, 鈥楻elax.鈥 We鈥檙e building a roster. In the past, when it came to recruiting and building a roster, there was really only one way to do it and there was only one window to do it. That was why there was so much focus and media attention and so much to do with signing day. That鈥檚 not the case anymore. That鈥檚 not the only way.鈥
Of the 38 newcomers on Missouri鈥檚 2025 roster, 17 are freshmen in from the high school ranks and 21 came in from the portal, Drinkwitz pointed out.
And it was as he was building that roster last December that Drinkwitz rolled out his 鈥減roduction over potential鈥 catchphrase to explain why the program remained bullish on its talent despite losing some talented freshmen who鈥檇 redshirted in 2024. While the compensation players like Williams Nwaneri, Kewan Lacy and Courtney Crutchfield 鈥 three of the more noteworthy outgoing transfers鈥 received isn鈥檛 clear, it鈥檚 likely Mizzou paid a significant amount for their signatures out of high school.
Yet that trio didn鈥檛 play much at all in 2024. Nwaneri was on the field for 38 defensive snaps, Lacy for 43 on offense and Crutchfield for 10.
鈥淗ow much money can you pay to have players not playing and contributing?鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a decision everybody鈥檚 got to make.鈥
His decision, based on those players鈥 exits and the current state of MU鈥檚 high school recruiting, seems to be that those who play less will make less.
鈥淔reshmen feel like, recruits feel like they have a certain amount of value that maybe was generated in the past,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure that鈥檚 exactly going to be the value moving forward because in order to get a big-time payday, they have to be slotted to come in and start Day 1. If they鈥檙e not, my value and somebody else鈥檚 value on them may be different.鈥
Some schools are still willing to splash the cash on recruits. In a well-publicized recent example, Texas Tech 鈥 which is unafraid to splash the cash on anybody in any sport these days 鈥 picked up a commitment from a five-star offensive line prospect in exchange for a multimillion-dollar revenue-share contract.
With the arrival of revenue sharing via the House settlement and stricter rules on what athletes can receive through NIL deals, there鈥檚 a soft salary cap on college football rosters now. Managing that cap is part of the job for coaches, and an aspect that Drinkwitz 鈥 who relinquished playcalling duties two years ago 鈥 has leaned into.
鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 about selecting the strategy and sticking to some principles,鈥 he said, 鈥渋n how you want to construct and build a roster. 鈥 Each year, you鈥檝e got to figure out how you want to build your team and where you want to invest your money: how much you want to invest in returning players, how much you want to invest in future players. That鈥檚 a formula that we鈥檙e working to build.鈥
Evidently, it鈥檚 a formula involving less on the high school front and more reliance on the portal. Hence, Drinkwitz asks fans to remain calm and cool while he waits to collect his 2026 newcomers.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e proven 鈥 I hope that we鈥檝e proven 鈥 as a staff to our fan base that we know how to build a construct a roster,鈥 he said. 鈥淛ust got to put faith and trust in us and I鈥檓 confident in our process. 鈥 We鈥檒l be fine when it comes down to putting a very competitive team on the field.鈥
