Meh, you recruit the solid HS players with highend potential

Posted on: August 5, 2025 at 23:04:08 CT

The high three stars and low fours that don’t command a huge amount of NIL investment. You build solid core around these players that will stay all 4 years, not demand huge money increases, etc. You save money for no-doubt day 1 starter HS players and solid and top-end portal guys. Drink knows that the teams like Mizzou without unlimited money have to be smart with it to maximize it. Those that can maximize and manage the NIL budget will reap the most success. This is all a change in strategy rather than Drink and Co. “forgetting” how to recruit. Also, a fairly high % of top end HS talent for many reasons will decide to transfer and Mizzou will be in a good position to snag them after their initial NIL deal/market value has been set. Drink and Co will be able to better gauge whether an investment into that player makes sense at that time rather than take all the risk up-front. Also, after players transfer once they mostly stay put, so your investment has time to grow and reap more rewards. Honestly it’s a smart strategy for so many reasons.