If you had told Mizzou fans that their team would be in the top 5 in the SEC in recruiting, they might be slightly shocked.

But if things go well during the Early Signing Period that ends Wednesday, that may be the case. So let’s see where the Tigers rank among other SEC schools.

By the numbers

Overall rank: 14th
SEC rank: 5th
5-stars: 1
4-stars: 6

Offensive firepower

The Tigers’ quarterback room for the Tigers just got bigger with the addition of 4-star Sam Horn out of Suwanee, Ga.

Horn is the 9th-best quarterback in the country, according to 247Sports. How good is he? He chose Mizzou over teams like Florida State, Florida and Duke. He looks like the real deal, and he was one of the first recruits of 2021 to commit to Mizzou early in the process.

To help the new potential starting quarterback, the Tigers got 5-star wideout Luther Burden out of East St. Louis.

Burden, the only 5-star in this class, is a big get for Eli Drinkwitz. Burden turned down schools like Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma just to come to Mizzou. If he and Horn are able to be on the field for the Tigers next year, the rest of the SEC East may be in trouble.

Defense

Where the Tigers needed the most help was on defense, and they seem to have recruited 2 of the best defensive players in the country in lineman Marquis Gracial out of Saint Charles, Mo., and safety Isaac Thompson out of St. Louis. Both are 4-star recruits who decided to stick close to home and play for the Tigers. Both had offers from several SEC schools, including Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas.

They would be good additions to a defense that needs all the help it can get.

The wide receiving corps is stacked

Drinkwitz did a really nice job recruiting wide receivers. To be able to land one of the best in the country and convince him to stay close to home is impressive, especially considering the fact that the Mizzou offense struggled a lot at times this season.

The Tigers also landed 4-star wide receiver Ja’Marion Wayne out of Ballwin, Mo. If they can get it together at quarterback, this wide receiving corps with these freshmen and veterans could be special.

Where are the running backs?

Surprisingly, the Tigers didn’t recruit a lot of running backs. They did land 4-star Tavorus Jones out of El Paso, Texas, but he is the only running back in this loaded class.

Now, that may change come Wednesday. But as of now, Jones is the only running back in this class.

Home sweet home

Maybe the most impressive thing Coach Drink did was to keep homegrown talent in the state. That’s hard to do, especially when you have bigger and better SEC teams coming into your state. But Drinkwitz managed to hold his own against the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Arkansas.

Six of the 16 commits in this class are from in-state, and Burden is from just over the border in East St. Louis, Ill. This might be Drinkwitz’s best recruiting job ever.

Best recruiting class ever?

Overall, Drinkwitz has done an excellent job in recruiting this season. He managed to pick up 1 of the top wide receivers in the country. who was in his own backyard, and he got 1 of the best quarterbacks in the country out of Kirby Smart’s backyard in Georgia.

If things hold together, and if the Tigers can add 1 or 2 more players, don’t be shocked if this turns out to be the best recruiting class Mizzou has ever had.