JUCO product Pearl commits to Mizzou, for a second time, igniting a weekend surge for the Tigers

Mizzou Football

Garden City (KS) Community College defensive end Shemar Pearl has given a verbal commitment to Eliah Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers, choosing to enter the SEC after one season with the Broncbusters.  Pearl, a native of Plano, Texas, had been committed to MU for three months in his senior year in high school before taking the junior college route through southwestern Kansas.

Pearl becomes the 12th commit for Missouri, and second at defensive end, joining four-star St. Louis native Travion Ford at that position.  Pearl, during this recruiting cycle, chose the Tigers over Baylor, Texas Tech, and South Carolina.  In high school, he had offers from SEC heavyweights Alabama and Georgia, among others.  He was a three-star recruit coming out of Plano.

Last season at GCCC, Pearl had two sacks and seven tackles for loss as Garden City, a perennial power in JUCO football, went 8-3.

The recruiting success for Missouri continued right into the weekend, as on Friday, three-star linebacker Zachary Lovett of Rockledge, Florida committed to the Tiger program, becoming the 13th commitment, choosing MU over Miami, West Virginia, and Kansas.

The 230 pound senior had 93 tackles, 15 for loss, four sacks, and a fumble recovery in his junior season, according to 247Sports.  Rivals, as of the Lovett commitment, pushed Missouri’s ’21 class for #32 nationally, and eighth in the 14-school SEC.

Through the transfer market, Missouri added a wide receiver on Saturday, as Angelo State senior Torrian “Keke” Chism announced a move to Missouri, where he will have one year of eligibility as a graduate transfer in Columbia.  With D-2 Angelo State, Chism had accumulated 2,221 receiving yards over the past three schools, sixth best all-time at the Division Two institution.

He is expected to be immediately eligible for the 2020 season, and was a first-team All-Lone Star Conference selection last fall.  Coming out of Daingerfield, Texas, Chism was a standout athlete on both the football field and basketball hardwood.  He is the third grad transfer added by Mizzou this offseason, and the second wide receiver, following Virginia Tech’s Damon Hazelton Jr.

On Saturday afternoon, Missouri added commitment #14 to its 2021 class, with Kings Mountain, North Carolina linebacker Dameon Wilson choosing the Tigers over offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, North Carolina State, and Michigan, among others, pushing Missouri’s class to #30 nationally.

As a junior, Wilson, ranked as the #10 linebacker in the country by 247Sports, racked up 123 tackles, 16 for loss.