Missouri football lands first commitment in 2024 recruiting class from in-state tight end
Missouri football landed its first commitment of the 2024 recruiting class on Saturday, and it came from in-state. Joplin tight end Whit Hafer announced his decision on social media.
“Thankful and blessed to announce my commitment to The University of Missouri,” Hafer said in a Tweet.
Hafer was rated as a three-star prospect at tight end by 247Sports. He chose the Tigers over offers from Kansas, Kansas State and UNLV.
He is listed in his Twitter bio as standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 235 pounds. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 32 tight end nationally in his class, and the No. 15 best prospect in the state of Missouri.
The 2024 class became Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz’s second in a row to have an in-state tight end as its first commitment. The class of 2023 started out with Brett Norfleet committing to the Tigers.
Residing in the Show Me State wasn’t Hafer’s only connection to the MU program. His father, Jeff Hafer, played four years of basketball for the Tigers from 1996-2000, when he bridged the head coaching tenures of Norm Stewart and Quin Snyder.
The elder Hafer was later a basketball assistant coach at Pittsburg State, and head coach of Joplin, before stepping down in 2021. His son also played basketball, as a forward for Joplin.
Whit Hafer became the first part of a class that is still coming together for the Tigers. According to 247Sports, Missouri’s 2024 class is currently ranked No. 66 nationally, but that ranking is impacted by sheer number of commitments, and is likely to change greatly as more prospects pledge to join MU.
According to 247Sports, Drinkwitz and company have offers out to more 2024 tight ends, including four-star undecided prospects Jaden Reddell (Peculiar, Missouri) and Max LeBlanc (Chattanooga, Tennessee).
Players in the class of 2024 will not be allowed to sign officially until the early signing period begins in December.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football gets first commitment in 2024 recruiting class
