COLUMBIA, Mo. — The college football offseason means a lot of on-campus action, at least in recruiting circles.
With most academic years just about wrapped up, the next few weekends are a prime time for high school prospects to make their official visits to various programs, and Missouri has a full slate of attendees lined up.
There will be some players who are already verbally committed to the Tigers and some who still have open recruitment. Coach Eli Drinkwitz and his staff are looking to solidify all of the visitors as members of a 2025 recruiting class already off to a hot start.
Here are five players to keep an eye on as they take their official visits, from nearby talents to nationally touted prospects:
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DL Iose Epenesa, Edwardsville
The natural inclination for Iose Epenesa, a Post-Dispatch first-team All-Metro selection as a junior at Edwardsville, is that he would follow in his dad and brother’s footsteps by going to Iowa. And while the Hawkeyes certainly are in the mix for the edge rusher, Mizzou seems to have a real shot at securing his commitment.
Epenesa is tabbed a four-star by most recruiting services, though 247Sports likes his game enough to pin him as a five-star and the No. 15 player in the nation, regardless of position. All recruiting services agree he’s one of the four best prospects in Illinois and one of the best defensive ends in his class.
Injuries limited Epenesa during his junior football season, but he still managed to fill up the stat sheet. His signature performance came against De Smet, when he recorded 11 tackles and three sacks in a 29-12 win.
At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Epenesa already has the build of a modern lean, physical edge rusher. If he winds up at Missouri, he’d mark a trend of top defensive ends committing to the Tigers after Williams Nwaneri — a five-star whom some recruiting services tabbed the best defensive prospect at any position — signed with MU last cycle.
WR Corey Simms, 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ
The Tigers might well be in pole position in the chase for CBC’s Corey Simms. The four-star wideout was a Post-Dispatch second-team All-Metro pick during his junior season.
That campaign saw him post 79 catches for 1,049 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He was particularly electric at the start of the year, recording 27 catches, 371 yards and four touchdowns in the Cadets’ first three games.
In terms of high school production, Simms’ stock stands to rise as he enters his senior year, since he was sharing the ball with Oregon-bound wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan last season.
Rivals lists Simms as the best prospect at any position in Missouri and the No. 19 wideout in his class, though other recruiting services are slightly cooler.
Simms has Mizzou, Mississippi, Nebraska and Southern California as his final four schools.
OL Michael Fasusi, Lewisville, Texas
Mizzou is up against stiff competition for the services of Michael Fasusi, a five-star offensive lineman whose frame and athleticism have quite a few Southeastern Conference programs seeking his services.
A quick look at his highlight reel shows that his 6-5, 300-pound frame stands out among high school players, and that he’s fully capable of pancaking defenders to the ground. He is mobile enough to potentially play tackle at the next level and has played as a defensive lineman in high school too.
Fasusi has also announced official visits to Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, pitting some schools closer to his hometown against MU. Most recruiting services agree that he’s one of the five best tackles in the 2025 class.
OL Andrew Babalola, Overland Park, Kansas
Mizzou has more of a home-field advantage with Andrew Babalola, an offensive lineman from the Kansas City area who is close to five-star status. Most recruiting services agree he’s the best player in Kansas, which would make quite the cross-border recruiting win for Drinkwitz.
Babalola only recently switched his focus from basketball to football but quickly found results at Blue Valley Northwest. At 6-5, 295 pounds, he also has the build of an offensive tackle.
He has a wide range of official visits scheduled, including stops at Auburn, Stanford, Michigan and Oklahoma around his weekend in Columbia. MU is by far the closest to home for him, though, and has a handful of Kansas City-area offensive linemen on the roster, including Armand Membou, Cayden Green and Logan Reichert.
WR Jayvan Boggs, Cocoa, Florida
Should Missouri land wideout Jayvan Boggs, the Tigers would mirror a result from the 2023 Cotton Bowl with another win over Ohio State — Boggs decommitted from the Buckeyes in March to find another school.
Boggs recorded 93 catches for 1,504 yards and 24 touchdowns during his junior year, earning four-star status from most recruiting services. Quarterback Matt Zollers, who verbally committed to MU earlier this year and stands to wind up as the cornerstone of the 2025 class, has pushed on social media for Boggs to join the Tigers.
Boggs will also take official visits to Georgia, Southern California and Central Florida, but has scheduled his stop in Columbia for later in June, giving Missouri the final word. He plans to make his commitment July 4.