The wins keep on coming in Columbia.
Missouri football landed a commitment out of four-star, in-state defensive end Daeden Hopkins on Tuesday. Hopkins — a Hermann, Missouri, native — announced his decision via X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He is the seventh player to commit to Eli Drinkwitz’s Class of 2025.
Oh, and all seven of those players pledged during the month of April, as the Tigers have caught a heater on the recruiting trail.
Hopkins is the No. 5-ranked player in Missouri, meaning Mizzou now has two of the top-five ranked players from within the state’s borders pledged to its next class. Since No. 1 overall Missouri prospect Jack Lange committed last Wednesday, the Tigers have landed three straight from the Show-Me State. On Saturday, three-star De Smet High linebacker and St. Louis native Jason King verbally committed to MU.
Matt Zollers, a four-star quarterback out of Pennsylvania, kicked off MU’s lightning run on the recruiting trail by announcing his commitment April 4. In the 26 days since, Missouri has picked up six more high school pledges, all three-star prospects or better.
Hopkins is listed at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds ahead of his senior season in Hermann. He held offers from the likes of Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas and more.
It’s been quite a month for Drinkwitz and the Tigers. In the middle of a scorching recruiting run, Missouri approved a $250-million renovation to the north concourse of Memorial Stadium; had six players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, including the team's first first-rounder in seven years; hired an athletic director who made it clear that football will be the athletic department’s priority; and secured a commitment out of SMU and All-AAC first-team transfer offensive tackle Marcus Bryant.
With seven players now verbally committed, Missouri has the No. 24-ranked Class of 2025 on 247Sports’ leaderboard, which ranks 10th in the expanded SEC. The Tigers check in at No. 18 in the nation for average star rating. All of those rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, as it is still incredibly early in the recruiting cycle, with more than seven months remaining until early signing day.
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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football keeps up hot recruiting run, lands 4-star defensive end from Hermann
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