Missouri Lands Former Alabama Defensive Lineman From Transfer Portal
The Missouri Tigers landed former Alabama defensive lineman Isaiah Hastings from the transfer portal on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-4, 290-pounder out of Clearwater Academy International (Clearwater, Fla.) is the 10th incoming Missouri transfer and joins Chris McClellan (Florida) and Sterling Webb (New Mexico State) as the third defensive lineman. He has three more years of eligibility.
The 2022 four-star recruit was ranked as the consensus No. 151 prospect nationally, the No. 20 defensive lineman and the No. 20 player in the state of Florida.
“I just feel like they’re the best fit for me and are going to put me in a position to be great,” Hastings said.
Hastings committed to Alabama on Nov. 9, 2021, but only appeared in one game in 2022 and never saw the field this past season. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 7, 2023, and narrowed his options to Illinois, Syracuse, Cal, and of course, Missouri.
The Tigers have had 12 players enter the transfer portal thus far, but none of them were defensive linemen. Hastings will have to battle the remaining members of the position plus the incoming transfers and recruits for a higher placement on the depth chart. That said, Missouri lost starting defensive lineman Darius Robinson to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Like the rest of the internal competition, Hastings will have to further his football career with a new defensive coordinator, as Blake Baker was hired by LSU on Jan. 5. despite signing an extension with the Tigers on Dec. 21.
Nevertheless, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company seem to have an eye for talent when spotting new staff members.
