Early signing day in Columbia was wrapped up by noon.
Missouri football signed 19 players in the Class of 2026, losing a trio of commitments to late-cycle flips but still putting together what 247Sports' composite rankings consider the nation's No. 32 signing class.
Mizzou entered signing day with the country's No. 25-rated class, but a couple late developments mean the Tigers didn't quite end up with a top-25 class for the fourth time in the past five years.
The two significant pieces of breaking news came as three-star safety Tony Forney and four-star defensive end flipped their commitments and signed with Pittsburgh and Mississippi State , respectively. Earlier this week, four-star running back Terry Hodges flipped from Mizzou to Arkansas .
With the changes, Mizzou has signed the nation's No. 13-ranked class in the SEC.
Johnnie 'DJ' Jones is the headliner in the group as a top-100 offensive tackle out of Venice, Florida.
The Tigers ' quarterback in this cycle is Gavin Sidwar, becoming the latest Pennsylvania QB recruit to join the program. He's a three-star prospect who was the first player to verbally commit to Mizzou back in April.
"I think Gavin is an extremely talented thrower," Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "I think he's got unbelievable arm strength. Obviously, he is a winner and a leader, leading his team to the state championship appearance this week. He's got really good anticipation, throws the ball really well, and he's just the right fit for us."
On defense, Missouri landed top-200 prospects in cornerback Jaxson Gates out of unfamiliar recruiting grounds in California , and defensive lineman Tajh Overton joins from far closer to home from Owasso, Oklahoma .
Mizzou brought in the nation's No. 1 junior college recruit in Demarcus Johnson from Hutchinson CC, adding some intriguing depth at defensive end.
The Tigers' in-state recruits were Keean Harris (linebacker, St. Louis High University), Brysen Wessell (defensive line, Jackson, Mo.) and Braylon Ellison (offensive line, Boonville, Mo.).
Of course, the shine has come off of signing day. Drinkwitz alluded to it at the end of his opening remarks of his Wednesday signing day press conference.
"This used to be a really big day, man," Drinkwitz joked. "What happened?"
But the Tigers still put in some late work to assemble this class. More than half of the 19 players who signed Wednesday committed to Mizzou in the past three months. That's quite a bit later than in previous years in Columbia. A significant number of those players were flips or recent decommitments from other schools, several of whom were pledged to programs who fired their coaches.
This was the first early signing day since revenue sharing came into effect.
The college football transfer portal dates have changed this year and will now open for a shortened, two-period from Jan. 2-16. There will be no spring portal window.
Regular signing day, an increasingly less popular date on the recruiting calendar, is Feb. 4, 2026.
Gavin Sidwar, quarterback
Jabari Brady , wide receiver
Brandon Anderson , offensive lineman
Braylon Ellison, offensive lineman
Maxwell Warner, running back
Isaac Jensen, tight end
Khalief Canty , offensive lineman
Keenan Harris, linebacker/safety
Brody Jones, safety
Tajh Overton, defensive lineman
Jayden McGregory, safety/ATH
Brysen Wessell, defensive lineman
Devyon Hill-Lomax, wide receiver
Ahmod Billins, cornerback
DeMarcus Johnson, defensive end
Jaxson Gates, cornerback
JJ Bush, linebacker
Johnnie Jones, offensive tackle
Carter Stewart, safety
247Sports national ranking:No. 139
Position ranking:No. 13 (OT)
Height, weight:6-6, 305
Jones is Mizzou's top-ranked commitment in the Class of 2026 on 247Sports' board. The Venice, Florida, native was a UCLA commit until the Bruins fired DeShaun Foster in September. He visited Mizzou one week later and was verbally committed by Oct. 11.
Mizzou could lose both of its starting offensive tackles this offseason, should Cayden Green opt to head to the NFL.
247Sports national ranking:No. 2,116
Position ranking:No. 203
Height, weight:6-1, 170
Missouri flipped Stewart from Utah in October. The safety plays for Shadow Creek High in Pearland, Texas , who also visited SMU and UNLV in his recruitment.
247Sports national ranking:No. 374
Position ranking:No. 25 (LB)
Height, weight:6-3, 210
Bush was committed to Arkansas until the Razorbacks fired Sam Pittman midseason. The Tigers, who were heavily involved in his original recruitment, got the Theodore, Alabama , native on board shortly after.
247Sports national ranking:No. 398
Position ranking:No. 34 (CB)
Height, weight:6-1, 170
Mizzou flipped the La Verne, California, product from BYU in late October. The Tigers have an immediate need at cornerback, as their top three contributors each are expected to run out of eligibility after the bowl game. Mizzou seemingly had to stave off a late push from USC to sign Gates.
Mizzou has lost a commitment from Micah Nickerson, a four-star defensive end, to Mississippi State. Nickerson is from Magnolia, Mississippi, and was originally committed to the Bulldogs before flipping to Mizzou in September. On signing day, he flipped back to his home state school. He has Columbia ties, as he spent his freshman year at Hickman High.
That's the second flip from the Tigers of the day. Tony Forney signed with Pittsburgh earlier.
247Sports national ranking:No. 1 (JUCO)
Position ranking:No. 1 (DL)
Height, weight:6-7, 260
Mizzou has landed the nation's No. 1-ranked junior college prospect with Johnson.
The Missouri City, Texas, native will arrive at the Tigers after a couple seasons at JUCO powerhouse Hutchinson CC in Kansas .
247Sports national ranking:No. 1,002
Position ranking:No. 64 (ATH)
Height, weight:6-2, 175
Missouri is one of just a handful of Power-conference programs who offered Billins, an Abbeville, Alabama, product who committed to the Tigers in late-October. He is currently listed as an athlete but is expected to play cornerback.
247Sports national ranking:No. 899
Position ranking:No. 127 (WR)
Height, weight:6-4, 180
Hill-Lomax has great size for an outside receiver. He'll arrive in Columbia from the greater St. Louis area as an Edwardsville, Illinois, native.
247Sports national ranking:No. 677
Position ranking:No. 77 (DL)
Height, weight:6-5, 260
Wessell is a Jackson, Missouri, native who Mizzou flipped from Iowa State this fall. He plays at the same high school as current Mizzou center Connor Tollison .
Missouri will not sign three-star safety Tony Forney on Wednesday, because of a late, early signing day flip from Pittsburgh.
Call that getback for last year, when Mizzou flipped wideout DaMarion Fowlkes two days before signing day.
Forney is a 5-11, 180-pound safety who was ranked No. 899 in his class.
247Sports national ranking:No. 384
Position ranking:No. 21 (ATH)
Height, weight:6-2, 195
McGregory was a late-cycle flip from Louisville . He is a Des Moines, Iowa, native and is the No. 4-ranked player coming out of the state in this cycle. McGregory is listed as an athlete but is expected to play safety in college.
247Sports national ranking:No. 305
Position ranking:No. 37 (DL)
Height, weight:6-3, 275
Overton was an Oklahoma State commit before Mike Gundy was fired midseason. The Tigers flipped the Owasso product's commitment with a week of the coaching change. Overton had interest from Oklahoma and Ole Miss in the SEC. He is from the same high school as current MU defensive tackle Chris McClellan.
247Sports national ranking:No. 899
Position ranking:No. 80
Height, weight:6-3, 175
Jones flipped from Cincinnati to Mizzou after visiting the Tigers in October. He is a Fayetteville, Arkansas, product with a 6-3 frame.
247Sports national ranking:No. 572
Position ranking:No. 47 (S)
Height, weight:6-1, 210
Harris was the first player from the state of Missouri to commit to the Tigers' Class of 2026. The St. Louis University High product has some position versatility at linebacker and safety, which could make him a prime candidate for reps at Mizzou's 'star' safety spot, which Daylan Carnell has played for the past few seasons.
247Sports national ranking:No. 718
Position ranking:No. 59 (IOL) Height, weight:6-5, 305
247Sports national ranking:No. 1,124
Position ranking:No. 69
Height, weight:6-6, 230
Jensen is the only tight end in this class for Mizzou. He's an Omaha native who officially visited Texas A&M and Iowa State during his recruiting process, but has been committed to the Tigers since June 9.
247Sports national ranking:No. 1,308
Position ranking:No. 85 (RB)
Height, weight:5-10, 185
After Terry Hodges flipped to Arkansas, Warner is the lone running back expected to sign with Mizzou. He is a Whitney Young Magnet prospect out of Chicago, and Bears rookie and Mizzou grad Luther Burden III made a video for the live news broadcast on which Warner announced his pledge to the Tigers.
247Sports national ranking:No. 768
Position ranking:No. 63 (IOL)
Height, weight:6-4, 285
Ellison is a Boonville, Missouri, product and the son of former Mizzou lineman and current staffer Atiyyah Ellison. He is the No. 10-ranked player out of Missouri in this class.
247Sports national ranking:No. 492
Position ranking:No. 39 (IOL)
Height, weight:6-3.5, 326
Mizzou went toe-to-toe with Tennessee and North Carolina to land Anderson, a Kennesaw, Georgia, product who already has great size for his position. Georgia, Florida and Alabama all offered Anderson during his recruiting process.
247Sports national ranking:No. 516
Position ranking:No. 71 (WR)
Height, weight:6-1.5, 205
The Pompano Beach, Florida, native committed to the Tigers back in June, making him one of the original members of Mizzou's 2026 signing class.
247Sports national ranking:No. 474
Position ranking:No. 30 (QB)
Height, weight:6-3, 190
Mizzou's quarterback in the Class of 2026, like the two he is expected to join on the roster, is from Pennsylvania. The La Salle College product and Wyndmoor, Pa., native is the No. 30-ranked QB in his class was the first player to commit to the Tigers in this cycle.
His tape shows a live arm and a willingness to leave the pocket to find throwing angles. His other Power-conference offers included Ole Miss, Indiana and Penn State .
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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football signs 19-player 2026 class on early signing day
