Remember the days when we used to worry about local boys going elsewhere to play their college football? I do. And they sucked.
Eli Drinkwitz’s success at recruiting in-state football players since he arrived has been so good that it’s become a given. Whereas we would spend many a day hemming and hawing about whether or not Gary Pinkel could reel in the guys in between the spectrum of the DGBs and Charles Harrises of the world – or whether Barry Odom could get any of them at all – Drinkwitz has made
a regular habit of landing the best talent out of Missouri and eastern Illinois. Jabarri Lofton is no exception.
On Saturday, Lofton became the second commitment in Mizzou’s still burgeoning 2027 high school class, joining QB Braylen Warren. He’s Mizzou’s first real local kid in ’27, and he’s a good one. Don’t let the three-star rating scare you away. When you watch his tape, Lofton pops off the screen. A little raw? Sure. But when you get the chance to work with kids his size and with his speed, you don’t over-worry about the fundamentals just yet. That’s what coaches are for, am I right?
Where He Fits
Lofton is listed as a safety, and that should surprise no one given how much Eli Drinkwitz loves a safety who stands above 6’ and packs some muscle on his frame. What makes stand out about Lofton is that his stature goes far beyond to 6’3”. And he can run. Boy howdy, can he run.
Lofton has long, graceful strides that make him not only majestic in the open field, but nearly impossible to bring down once he gets a head of steam going. His athleticism was especially on display before he moved to East St. Louis – he played quarterback and punt returner during his days at Hazelwood West.
Lofton probably won’t be the hard-hitting safety that you’d see in the likes of Daylan Carnell, but having a freakish athlete of that size in the secondary can only mean good things, especially if you coach him up a bit.
When He Plays
I wouldn’t expect Lofton playing meaningful snaps at safety when he arrives for the 2027 season, but if there’s one thing I know about college football, it’s that you don’t keep special athletes off the field for long. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Lofton jockeying for punt returner duties right away, with probable special teams snaps and early season rotational reps all on his development plan. Ultimately a guy like Lofton needs to see the field to understand the game. He’s got the tools, and he needs to develop them.
What It Means
It’s always good to continue Mizzou’s strong connection to East St. Louis, and Lofton represents yet another brick in that wall. Like many of the great Flyers before him, he’s got the eye-popping talent to join the lineague of great ESL Tiger alumni.
