It’s funny how quickly tables turn in the SEC. A couple of years back, Eliah Drinkwitz was the guy some fans thought might be coaching for his job. Fast forward to June 2025, he’s winning back the confidence and support by addressing the key concern that’s plaguing Missouri. “Offensively, we were not what we wanted to be from an explosive standpoint, or scoring standpoint, and so that’s something that we’ve got to really re-establish,” he said. “It starts with adding good players.” And yeah, he’s doing that and in the process, the Tigers had to steal one of Josh Heupel’s star commitments away from Tennessee.
Say hello to Brandon Anderson, a 4-star interior OL out of North Cobb High School, Georgia who ditched the Vols for Eliah Drinkwitz’s program. On June 29, Hayes Fawcett reported on Instagram that “Class of 2026 IOL Brandon Anderson has Committed to Missouri.” The caption read, “The 6’4 315 IOL from Kennesaw, GA chose the Tigers over Tennessee and North Carolina.” He gave each school a shot to make an impression, and clearly the Tigers won it. “I’m ready to work, I’m home Mizzou” And of course, it’s a bruising L for Josh Heupel.
Brandon Anderson has no shortage of options. We’re talking 31 offers from powerhouses like Alabama, LSU, FSU, and in state Georgia. He committed to Tennessee back on October 20, but the romance fizzled and on January 27, he decommitted from the Vols. Still, Rocky Top kept swinging and even hosted him this month. UNC got their shot too. But after his June 6 weekend at Columbia, he made up his mind that Missouri is home.
Brandon Anderson is no fringe prospect. He’s ranked the No. 29 OL and a top 45 player in the state of GA on the 247Sports Composite. So, for a Mizzou program desperately trying to reload an offense that’s losing Brady Cook, Luther Burden III, and Theo Wease Jr., his commitment is a stabilizer up front, a foundation block. And this wasn’t a one-off win for Eliah Drinkwitz. The Tigers are really stacking bodies on offense.
Eliah Drinkwitz is serious about Missouri’s offensive reload
Less than a week before Brandon Anderson’s announcement, Eliah Drinkwitz snagged another key IOL in 3-star Detroit native Khalief Canty Jr. At 6’5, 305-pound and ranked No. 434 nationally, he brings raw size and toughness from Cass Technical, a program that’s produced plenty of Power Five talent. He picked Mizzou over Michigan State and Pitt, adding more Midwest muscle to a unit being rebuilt with intent.
These two commits give the Tigers two legit interior OL commitments in the 2026 class, which now ranks No. 76 nationally ahead of Auburn. And it’s an offensive-heavy group with 7 of 8 commits playing on that side of the ball. That includes QB Gavin Sidwar, WRs Jabari Brady and Devyon Hill-Lomax, RB Maxwell Warner, and TE Isaac Jensen. There’s also Gavin Hoffman, the 6’5 TE transfer from Iowa who joined in April, and former Illinois State WR Xavier Loyd, who tallied 912 yards and six TDs last season. So it’s clear that Eliah Drinkwitz is building a new-look offense from every angle.
Missouri is losing 85% of its offensive yardage from 2024. That’s a crater alongside an unfair advantage. But if Eliah Drinkwitz can keep luring studs like Brandon Anderson, he might just build something scarier than anyone expected in Columbia.
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