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Missouri Football: 3 2022 Signees Who’ll Have an Instant Impacts

By Jackson Caudell

Nov 13, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz watches play on the sidelines against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz watches play on the sidelines against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Missouri Football signed one of its best recruiting classes ever in 2022. Who is going to be the instant impact players for the Tigers next season?

Missouri Football was a team that some thought was going to take a step forward in 2021. The Tigers could not overcome a bad defense and finished the season with a 6-7 record. It might have been a disappointing season on the field for Missouri, but the Tigers made up for it by bringing in a top-12 recruiting class.

It is not often that Missouri is in a position to bring in a top-five class in the SEC. The Tigers share a division with Georgia and are in the same conference as recruiting powerhouses like Alabama and Texas A&M. Chances to nab elite prospects and bring in highly-rated talent does not come around often and it was a great job by head coach Elijah Drinkwitz to get some of these prospects to come to Columbia.

Things are going to look a little different for the Missouri offense than originally thought for 2022. Quarterback Connor Bazelak decided to transfer to Indiana after seemingly losing his job to Brady Cook this season. Star running back Tyler Badie is also gone, but he is going to the NFL.

With those guys leaving, it was important for Missouri to find impact guys on the recruiting trail. The other point of emphasis for the Tigers was finding guys to help fix the defense. This was one of the worst defenses in the SEC and the Tigers need to fix that if they want a better record in 2022.

Here are the three instant impact early signees for Missouri in 2022.

3. DJ Wesolak (Edge)

As previously mentioned, Missouri football was dreadful on defense this past season and is going to need to be much better in 2022.

One area specifically where Missouri struggled was getting pressure on the quarterback. This was a reason why the Tigers passing defense struggled so much. The Tigers went and tried to sign a talented defensive class and they have a few guys that can make an instant impact.

The most talented of those guys is DJ Wesolak.

Wesolak is a 6-4/235-pound edge player from Booneville, Missouri. It was critical that the Tigers get one of the most talented in-state prospects to stay home.

Wesolak has the athleticism and the frame to get bigger. He is probably just a pass rusher at this stage, but he will be a more complete player soon. The four-star has a high upside and Missouri fans should expect to see him on the field this season.

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