St. Louis player becomes latest in-state recruit to commit to Barry Odom and Mizzou

Missouri doesn’t kick off against Wyoming for another two days but the Tigers have already won one battle against the Cowboys.

The Tigers landed an oral commitment from St. Louis’ Arvell Ferguson, a defensive end from Kirkwood High School, as coach Barry Odom continues to secure in-state recruits after only getting one highly touted player to sign in the 2018 class. Ferguson’s teammate Maurice Massey committed to the Tigers in early August, joining Jack Buford and Martez Manuel as 2019 commits from the state of Missouri.

Ferguson is a 6-foot-4 pass-rusher who is considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and 247sports. He chose the Tigers over Wyoming, Arkansas State, Miami (Ohio), Ball State and Western Michigan.

In July at the Tigers’ ‘Night at the Zou’ event, Ferguson had said he wanted to decide early into his high school season but wanted to take a few more visits before doing so. He is the Tigers’ 11th pledge in the 2019 class.

The Tigers are still in the mix for a number of other highly touted in-state recruits, including wide receiver Marcus Washington, offensive lineman Ira Henry, defensive back Jalani Williams and linebacker Shammond Cooper.

Alex Schiffer

Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 3:05 PM.