On Week 6 of “This Week of Mizzouting,” an impromptu bye week opened up plans for football coach Eli Drinkwitz to hunker down on finishing the 2021 recruiting class and starting the 2022 class.
“I’m going to recruit,” Drinkwitz said in a Zoom press conference Tuesday.
And The Maneater’s recruiting staff is going to cover it, checking in on Drinkwitz’s recruiting endeavors and Steve Bieser’s latest commit to join his baseball program.
###Aiden Heberlie (Baseball, 2022)###
Missouri has nabbed its eighth commitment for the 2022 class. Valle Catholic (Ste. Genevieve, Mo.) utility player Aiden Heberlie announced his collegiate intentions on Oct. 12 via Twitter.
According to Prep Baseball Report , Heberlie was listed as the top outfield prospect from Missouri or Illinois at the Metro East Open event, hosted by PBR Illinois.
Heberlie usually roams the outfield, but the Tigers’ newest commit is also listed as a shortstop. He stands at 6-foot-3 and excels at all aspects of the game. At the plate, baseballs jump off Heberlie’s bat at a max exit velocity of 94 miles per hour, and he has a boatload of pull power to left field.
He also impresses with his glove and his arm, with a natural ability for tracking the ball and an 87 miles per hour throw from the outfield grass. His 6.55 60-yard dash speed at the event was the fastest out of all outfielders as well.
The performance earned Heberlie a spot on the PBR Future Games, where he will be representing Team Missouri in the Lake Point invitational.
Heberlie is a dual-sport athlete, supplementing his baseball abilities by playing wide receiver and cornerback for Valle Catholic’s football team.
###Top 2022 in-state target Luther Burden chooses Oklahoma over Missouri, others###
Eli Drinkwitz was unable to win one of his most important in-state recruiting battles on Oct. 9 when five star Cardinal Ritter College Prep (St. Louis) wide receiver Luther Burden committed to the University of Oklahoma.
The No. 14 overall recruit in the nation was a longshot to spurn Lincoln Riley’s Sooners for a different school, according to the 247 Crystal Ball predictions. Burden included Missouri in his top five last month alongside college football blue bloods Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Oklahoma’s offense is a perfect fit for a talented offensive weapon like Burden. In Riley’s three-year tenure, the Sooners haven’t finished outside of the top 10 in points per game despite starting a different quarterback each year, and all three quarterbacks who have come through Riley’s offense have been drafted within the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.
When Burden arrives on campus, his quarterback will be 2019 five-star recruit and current OU starter Spencer Rattler in his redshirt junior season or 2021 five-star commit Caleb Williams.
Burden probably factored the rate at which receivers transition from playing Saturdays in Norman to Sundays in NFL stadiums into his decision. OU has yielded a wide receiver in four out of the last five draft classes, with the last two drafts yielding first round receivers.
Missouri has yielded three receivers in the last five drafts, but only one, 2012 five star commit Dorial Green-Beckham, was drafted within the first two rounds.
While it may be disappointing for Drinkwitz to miss out on the best player in Missouri, Burden placing the Tigers in his shortlist alongside some of college football’s best is a step in the right direction for a team that did not value in-state talent during the Barry Odom years.
However, Drinkwitz is not done recruiting premier pass-catchers. Kevin Coleman, another St. Louis five star receiving threat, is still in play for the Tigers.
###News on 2021 football prospect Khristian Zachary###
Three star D-line prospect Khristian Zachary (Carrollton, Ga.) announced he was going to pick which program he would play college football for on Thursday. The big question was where he would go.
His answer: “The 7”.
Zachary released a video through the Rivals Twitter account which can only be described as a cinematic epic. The four-minute long thriller features Zachary receiving sage wisdom from his parents dressed in cloaks, a well-choreographed forest fight scene and creepy voices telling him to pick a school.
Ironically, the man who calls himself Reverend Triple 7 did not pick a school.
The Carrollton High pass rusher never explicitly said which of his top six schools he would play for next fall. Instead, the Tigers prospect said he was committed to “The 7” as the video drew to a conclusion.
Incredible.
It later came to light that the video was just a teaser for a different commitment date. Later on Thursday, Zachary tweeted “3 days……..”, so it looks like The Tigers will be waiting until this weekend to find out if he will be an addition to Missouri’s deep 2021 D-line class.
