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Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz responds after 5-star recruiting target picks Texas

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by: Keegan Pope10/25/23bykeeganpope

Missouri football fans and coaches were on pins and needles Wednesday afternoon as St. Louis (Mo.) University High five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo announced his college decision.

After weeks of the Tigers being considered the leaders to land him, Wingo chose the Texas Longhorns in what he called “the hardest decision of his life.”

After the announcement, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz took to Twitter and responded with “STP!” The acronym stands for ‘something to prove’ and has been the Tigers’ rallying cry this season en route to a 7-1 start and a top-20 ranking in the latest polls.

Tigers and Longhorns had a back and forth battle to land Wingo

According to On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, the race to land Wingo came down to the final hours before his announcement.

“Multiple sources were pointing toward Missouri, and that’s the way it was until two or three days before his announcement. Things started to pick back up with Texas, and by the final hours, it was pretty split. Sources close to it said it was 60/40 Missouri with two days out, then shifted to 55/45 Texas the morning of his decision. By the time he got to a few hours from commitment time, it seemed 50/50 for each program.

… He spoke multiple times with each program in the final days, and he ultimately had to decide where the best overall fit for him was on and off the field. Texas checked a lot of boxes for different reasons, namely the opportunity to play alongside elite quarterback talent and a chance to see the field early.”

Wingo is ranked as the No. 26 overall prospect, the No. 7 wide receiver, and the No. 2 football player in Missouri in the 2024 class in the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

The Tigers currently hold the nation’s No. 33 recruiting class, which includes Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman and On3 No. 1 overall recruit Williams Nwaneri out of Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North High.