The recruiting heater hasn’t shown any signs of stopping as the Tigers flipped another recruit, three star cornerback Jaxson Gates, to add a 21st piece to their Class of 2026.
The news came on Halloween,
and safe to say BYU is spooked. Gates was committed to the Cougars for almost two weeks before flipping his decision.
Gates was another name that had his eyes on Mizzou for a while, even with his commitment to BYU. He took a visit to Columbia during the Tigers’ matchup against Massachusetts on Homecoming, and he’s expected to be back against Mississippi State.
The move to Missouri marks Gates’ second flip as he already flipped to BYU following an early commitment to Syracuse.
Stewart joins 20 other Tigers as Mizzou’s 2026 recruiting class is officially turn around. The Tigers’ class was ranked outside of the top 80 in 247Sport’s team rankings and is now ranked 24th with the new additions. He joins Tony Forney, Brody Jones, Carter Stewart, and Ahmod Billins as the fifth defensive back in the rapidly-growing recruiting class.
Get to know: Jaxson Gates
Hometown: La Verne, California
High School: Damien High School
Position: Cornerback
Ht/Wt: 6’1, 170 lbs.
247Composite Ranking: Three-Star, 0.8789
Rivals Industry Ranking: Three-Star, 87.84
Total announced offers: 14
Offers to note: BYU, Syracuse, Michigan State, Utah
Gates is a lock down cornerback who plays with major energy. He’s a breakup first, rather than interception, corner and he seems to be quite efficient at getting his hand in between the ball and the receiver. He showed solid speed and good tackling ability in his few non-pass breakup clips. Overall, very solid.
What they’re saying:
