Mizzou continues to stay hot on the recruiting trail as the team added four star offensive lineman Johnnie Jones, following his decommitment to UCLA. Jones becomes the highest rated recruit in the Tigers’ 2026 class according to 247Sports.
The news came just hours after Mizzou lost its first game of the season against Alabama. During the game, three star in-state lineman Brysen Wessel, making Jones part of a 1-2 game day commitment punch.
This is big news for the Tigers, as they’ve turned around an extremely underwhelming 2026 recruiting class. What was once a recruiting class outside of the top 80 in the country, is now ranked 31st.
At the behinning of September, UCLA fired head coach Deshaun Foster, opening a window for the offensive lineman to look elsewhere. Jones, a Venice, Florida product, took an official visit to Mizzou during the Tigers’ Mayor’s Cup victory against South Carolina.
From Sammy’s commitment post:
Nationally, Jones ranks as a Top 150 player in the country per multiple recruiting outlets. He’s now the 16th commitment in Missouri’s 2026 recruting class.
The 6’6 offensive lineman joins a loaded offensive recruiting room, with 11 of the 16 commits playing on the offensive side of the ball. Jones joins four offensive lineman in Brysen Wessel, Braylon Ellison, Khalief Canty and Brandon Anderson; two wide receivers in Jabari Brady and Devyon Hill-Lomax; one tight end in Isaac Jensen; two running backs in Maxwell Warner and TJ Hodges; and one quarterback in Gavin Sidwar.
Please take a look at this Hudl. As dominant as it is, it’s a bit hysterical how much bigger Jones is than everybody else. He is big and strong, and in a lot of his clips, defensive lineman just give up. If you’re lined up against the Venice, Florida product, you’re not touching the quarterback. If he’s able to translate any of this over to Missouri, he’s going to be a trademark linemen on the team for at least a couple years.
Where He Fits
Johnnie Jones is expected to play offensive tackle for the Tigers, with Cayden Green and Keagan Trost currently filling the roles. Jones currently plays at left tackle for Venice High School but should be able to fluctuate to the right side if needed. He’s a 6-6, 305 lbs. senior that should fit right in with a traditionally strong offensive line from Missouri.
When He Plays
While offensive lineman typically transition into college football, Jones as the size and strength to instantly impact the Tigers. Offensive linemen Keagan Trost, Connor Tollison and potentially Cayden Green (to the NFL draft) are all last-year Tigers and the team will need to play with some first-year starters next season. If Jones can be as dominant at the college level as he is at the prep level, he’ll have an instant impact next season at Missouri. That being said, he’ll likely have to adjust to playing against fairly-sized defensive linemen.
What It Means
This is the strongest addition of Mizzou’s 2026 recruiting class. This is a big get, especially with the lack-of commitments coming into October. Jones stabilizes the recruiting class and opens the doors for more big-name recruits to flip to Missouri. Tigers fans should be very happy about this one. Not to mention that Mizzou’s continuous production of offensive lineman is really starting to make the Tigers’ a offensive linemen magnet.
