Mizzou lands another KC-area football recruit for 2022. Here’s the 3-star who committed

A pipeline of football recruits across Missouri is quickly being funneled to the University of Missouri, and football coach Eliah Drinkwitz is the man making it happen.

The second-year coach has had the Kansas City area on his radar in building the Tigers’ 2022 class, even picking up a verbal commitment from a transfer recruit while attending a Royals game last month. A trio of 3-star KC prep standouts — Blue Valley North wide receiver Mehki Miller, Lee’s Summit North offensive lineman Armand Membou and Lee’s Summit tight end Max Whisner — had already pledged to the Tigers, helping comprise what looks like a recruiting class unseen in Columbia for years.

As of Tuesday, the KC contingent of MU pledges now numbers four.

Three-star St. Thomas Aquinas defensive lineman Jalen Marshall verbally committed to the Tigers via social media Tuesday afternoon, choosing Missouri after visiting the campus on June 25.

The 6-foot-6, 275-pound Marshall is ranked as the No. 6 player in Kansas and the No. 105 defensive lineman nationally in his class, per 247 Sports. He picked MU over the likes of Indiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma State (all of which he visited).

Marshall was a part of a St. Thomas Aquinas team that went 6-4 and made it to the sub-state round in the KSHSAA Class 5A playoffs last season, losing to eventual state champion Mill Valley.

Marshall is the 12th recruit of Drinkwitz’s 2022 class thus far, eight of which either play in Missouri or on the Kansas side of the KC area. MU’s 2022 class is currently ranked 17th in the country and sixth in the Southeastern Conference, per 247 Sports’ rankings. Both rankings would be improvements from its class rankings from a year ago.

Six four-star recruits have already pledged to the Tigers, fourth-most in the SEC behind Texas A&M, LSU and Georgia, though Alabama also has three five-star recruits.

This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 3:03 PM.