Storylines, Names and More to Follow for Mizzou During the Early Signing Period

Everything you need to keep an eye on as the early signing period starts for college football across the country.

Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz answers questions during a postgame interview after a college football game at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 18, 2023, in Columbia, Mo. | © Abigail Landwehr/Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

The early signing period of National Signing Day starts on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and the Missouri Tigers currently have 21 players committed in their 2026 class. That number has the potential to go both up and down over the next few days, but as things stand, Eli Drinkwitz and his staff are set to bring in another top-25 overall recruiting class.

There are always some fireworks when National Signing Day rolls around and that could very possibly be the case for the Tigers, both in a positive and negative light. There are certainly players Missouri could add to its group before the early period is over, but it's also possible that it misses on a few guys.

Here's everything you need to know about the early signing period and what to follow with the Missouri Tigers.

Tigers set to sign (at least) five composite four-star recruits

At the moment, the Tigers are set to bring along four composite four-star recruits. Offensive tackle Johnnie Jones is the highest-ranked of the bunch, followed by defensive tackle Tajh Overton, cornerback Jaxson Gates, linebacker JJ Bush and safety Jayden McGregory.

Jones is the No. 139 composite-ranked player in the country and No. 13 at his position. Coming from Venice, Florida, Jones is also the No. 18 player in the state.

Overton, hailing from Owasso, Oklahoma, is the No. 305 player in the class. The Tigers earned his pledge after Overton backed out of his commitment with Oklahoma State. Overton is the No. 37 defensive tackle and the third-best player in Oklahoma.

Bush was a player the Tigers were long interested in, managing to flip his commitment from Arkansas following a head coach firing. Bush is the No. 374 player in the country.

McGregory is the most recent of the commitments for the Tigers, being ranked No. 384 in the country. He was previously committed to Louisville, picking the Cardinals over the Tigers when he made his initial decision.

Gates is the lowest-ranked of this bunch, but he's rising up recruiting rankings rapidly. He now has a top-200 grade in 247Sports rankings and is No. 398 in composite rankings.

Retaining Micah Nickerson

After flipping three-star EDGE Micah Nickerson from Mississippi State to Missouri in late September, the Tigers felt good about where things stood with the ridiculously athletic Mississippi native. Now, after visits to Ole Miss and Mississippi State once again, things may not be looking as good.

An On3 prediction, filed on Tuesday morning, predicted that the Bulldogs would regain the pledge and this time, a signature, of Nickerson. Nickerson played a short stint of high school football in Columbia before moving to his current hometown of Magnolia, Mississippi.

At the moment, the Tigers only have three-star JUCO commit DeMarcus Johnson set to come off the edge. There's no doubt that the Tigers would like to have more than one, so losing Nickerson would be quite a brutal loss.

Outside of Nickerson, it doesn't look like the Tigers could lose out on any other players. If they do, it would certainly be a surprise.

Potential new additions

With the chances of Nickerson leaving slowly increasing as Wednesday inches closer, the Tigers have shifted focus to three-star Wake Forest EDGE commit Sefa Sackey. The Tigers offered Sackey on the evening of Dec. 2.

Mizzou offers Wake Forest defensive end commit:https://t.co/sRxi34SBa2 @PowerMizzoucom @SeanW_247Sports https://t.co/bTlZ6kjfK8

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) December 2, 2025

Sackey is the No. 857 player in the country, according to composite rankings. He's a native of Cincinnati and stands at 6-foot-7, 205 pounds. He committed to the Demon Deacons on Nov. 14.

It's also become clear that the Tigers are looking to add a third receiver in this class to join four-star Jabari Brady and three-star Devyon Hill-Lomax. At the moment, it looks like they have two options, one being a player they expressed interest in a while ago.

Four-star Washington commit Mason James once again finds himself atop the recruiting board for the Tigers. Missouri is also focusing on three-star JUCO wide receiver Keon Hutchins from Northwest Mississippi C.C. He's the top-ranked junior college wide receiver in the country.

The Tigers offered Hutchins on Nov. 12. He backed out of his commitment with West Virginia on Nov. 30.

Mizzou offered🔥🔥@stanhill_4 @AllenTrieu @JuCoFootballACE pic.twitter.com/sdbHtcxAtG

— KEON “HEADBALL” HUTCHINS 🎚️ (@HutchinsKeon) November 13, 2025

Missouri never turned away from four-star defensive tackle Jae'Lin Battle, who's currently committed to Baylor. Landing Battle would be a huge win after missing out on Danny Beale and Anthony Kennedy Jr., both of whom are now headed to Arkansas.

2026 Football Commitments

1. QB Gavin Sidwar, 6-foot-3, 190 lbs. - Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania (Committed 04/18/2025)
2. LB Keenan Harris, 6-foot-1, 210 lbs. - St. Louis (Committed 05/23/25)
3. WR Jabari Brady, 6-foot-1, 205 lbs - Pompano Beach, Florida (Committed 06/07/2025)
4. TE Isaac Jensen, 6-foot-6, 230 lbs - Omaha, Nebraska (Committed 06/09/2025)
5. RB Maxwell Warner, 5-foot-10, 185 lbs - Chicago (Committed 06/23/2025)
6. OL Khalief Canty, 6-foot-5, 305 lbs - Detroit (Committed 6/24/2025)
7. WR Devyon Hill-Lomax, 6-foot-4, 180 lbs. - Edwardsville, Illinois (Committed 06/25/2025)
8. OL Brandon Anderson, 6-foot-3, 326 lbs, - Kennesaw, Georgia (Committed 06/29/2025)
9. IOL Braylon Ellison, 6-foot-4, 285 lbs. - Boonville, Missouri (Committed 07/01/25)
10. S Tony Forney Jr., 5-foot-11, 180 lbs. - Marietta, Georgia (Committed 07/04/25)
11. EDGE Micah Nickerson, 6-foot-5, 215 lbs. - Magnolia, Mississippi (Committed 09/28/2025)
12. DL DeMarcus Johnson, 6-foot-7, 260 lbs. - Missouri City, Texas (Committed 09/25/2025)
13. LB JJ Bush, 6-foot-3, 210 lbs. - Theodore, Alabama (Committed 10/03/2025)
14. IOL Brysen Wessell, 6-foot-5, 260 lbs. - Jackson, Missouri (Committed 10/11/2025)
15. OT Johnnie Jones, 6-foot-7, 305 lbs. - Venice, Florida (Committed 10/11/2025)
16. S Carter Stewart, 6-foot-1, 170 lbs. - Pearland, Texas (Committed 10/13/2025)
17. S Brody Jones, 6-foot-3, 175 lbs. - Fayetteville, Arkansas (Committed 10/13/2025)
18. DT Tajh Overton, 6-foot-3, 275 lbs. - Owasso, Oklahoma (Committed 10/17/2025)
19. CB Ahmod Billins, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs. - Abbeville, Alabama (Committed 10/25/2025)
20. CB Jaxson Gates, 6-foot-1, 170 lbs. - La Verne, California (Committed 10/31/2025)
21. S Jayden McGregory, 6-foot-2, 195 lbs. - Des Moines, Iowa (Committed 11/19/2025)