COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou football is turning heads – and commitments – this summer, capitalizing on the recruiting opportunities presented by the NCAA lifting its in-person “dead period” restrictions.
Former Tulsa CB Allie Green IV joined his old teammate, CB Akayleb Evans, in joining the Tigers, officially announcing his commitment yesterday. Evans committed to Mizzou last Friday amid strong interest from Notre Dame, and he also had offers from Georgia, Texas, Texas Tech and Deion Sanders’ Jackson State.
The duo leave behind a program that possessed one of 2020’s strongest defenses in college football, let alone for a mid-major. Both were starting members of the Golden Hurricanes defense that limited opponents to 21.6 points per game and earned a spot in the American Conference Championship. Green IV spent the last three years as a starter, and Evans would’ve done the same if not for a shoulder injury in 2019 that limited him to three games.
Both provide intriguing size (Evans is listed at 6’2”, and Green is listed at 6’3”) to the Tigers secondary, which only had cornerback experience from sophomore Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and redshirt sophomore Ishmael Burdine. Evans has two years of eligibility while Green has just one, and the two give defensive coordinator Steve Wilks a ton of flexibility to adjust to different offensive looks within the pass-heavy SEC.
The Tigers earned another addition to their 2021 class with the commitment of OT Connor Wood. The 6’5”, 315-pound Montana State transfer earned an honorable mention in 2019 as an FCS All-American; this was the last time Wood saw the field due to the Bobcats’ decision to opt out of the 2020-21 season. He spent two years as a starter on the offensive line as a right tackle, and he was in line to assume the starting left tackle spot before leaving the program.
He will surely compete for the right tackle vacancy left behind by the Chicago Bears’ Larry Borom, and his experience provides welcomed depth to Marcus Johnson’s unit. He is the second offensive line transfer that the Tigers pounced on, the first being 6’3”, 330-pound Oklahoma transfer EJ Ndoma-Ogar, who joined the 2021 class in November.
The 2022 class also saw a new addition earlier this week in Conroe, Texas cornerback Marcus Scott II. The former LSU commit officially visited Missouri on June 11 and announced his intentions to further his career in Columbia only two days later at the conclusion of his visit.
“I know after everything I’ve seen and everyone I talked to that this is the spot for me,” said Scott in an interview with Rivals’ Mitchell Forde shortly after committing.
He is the ninth member of the 2022 class, which the Tigers will look to expand upon in the coming weeks. Loads of talent have piled into Columbia for the HS Tiger Camp sessions held throughout the last week, including 2023 recruit Tyler Gant, a 6’4”, 270-pound defensive end at Christian Brothers College in St. Louis.
These events lead up to next week’s 7 on 7 and OL/DL camp, which will feature teams from across the state of Missouri. Potential athletes in attendance include Tiger commits WR Ja’Marion Wayne and S Isaac Thompson, as well as East St. Louis targets WR Luther Burden and CB Ahmad Robinson.
