Mizzou defeated Kansas State in dramatic fashion on Saturday, and then had 1 of the state’s top recruits commit to play for the Tigers.

Julian “Juju” Marks is the first commitment for Mizzou’s 2025 recruiting class. The blue-chip defensive lineman made the big announcement Saturday evening.

“First off, I’d like to thank God for making any of these blessings possible and continuing to power me through all the hardships,” Marks wrote in a note posted on social media. “Secondly, I’d like to thank my dad for making all this possible for me, my mom for supporting me, my brother and sister for being there for me every step of the way, my best friend Nic for sticking by me, and my brothers I call 10 tales for keeping me in line.

“I’d like to thank my high school coaches at St. Thomas Aquinas and my teammates, middle school coaches, elementary coaches, AAU coaches all throughout my career for helping me leading up to this point and being positive influences in my life. I’d also like to thank all the coaches and universities for recruiting me and extending offers to me and believing me. With that being said, I will be closing my recruitment to play against the best and with the best in the best conference in college football and committing to the University of Missouri.”

A standout of St. Thomas Aquinas in Lenexa, Kansas, Marks is listed as measuring 6-7 and 260 pounds. On the 247Sports Composite, Marks is rated 4-stars, the No. 4 Kansas player, No. 26 defensive lineman and No. 226 prospect overall in the Class of 2025.

Tiger fans can get a preview of what Marks will bring to MU by checking out his Hudl highlights below:

HOME??#committed pic.twitter.com/ikmXSUMvZH

— Julian (Juju) Marks (@juju45738) September 17, 2023

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.