After Derham Cato visited him for a second time this offseason, Evan Jacobson knew he wanted to Missouri again.
Jacobson, a Class of 2026 three-star tight end, kept his official visit date with the Tigers private for a few weeks, but this past weekend, he kicked off a busy summer with his first of five official visits in June.
"Just the constant communication, he made it very clear to me that I was the priority for them and how much they needed me," Jacobson said about Cato, the tight ends coach. "In between him and (head) coach (Eli Drinkwitz) reaching out and checking in on me each week, they made it very clear that I was needed there and wanted, and that's what went into the decision to take the official."
The people played the biggest role in Jacobson's official visit to Missouri. The Waukee (Iowa) High senior was hosted by redshirt freshman tight end Jude James. He also met Iowa transfer Gavin Hoffman among many other young pass-catchers at the position.
"There's very much so a family aspect, and that's something that really stuck out to me on this visit," Jacobson said. "You can tell every everybody there is like-minded. They want to compete, they want to get better and they want to win, which is something I want to be a part of. And they all care for one another. And I think that's something that's something that's huge."
While some recruits took to the pond to go fishing Saturday, Jacobson, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound basketball player, stayed behind with other players and coaches to shoot around at Drinkwitz's home. Special teams coordinator Erik Link, who originally offered Jacobson, has remained as one of the coaches also prominent in the tight end's recruitment.
"He's been a huge part of my recruitment," Jacobson said. "With the Iowa connections, he's a guy super easy to talk to, and we can talk a lot of Iowa stuff. It's just good to know that there's somebody there who understands where I'm from."
Those relationships will pay dividends for Missouri, a program early into a long month for Jacobson. With official visits lined up for Auburn, Florida State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M, Jacobson has eyed a commitment in July, not looking to come to a decision while on a visit.
"After all the visits are done, I've got a little grading scale that I do things on to help out a little bit," Jacobson said. "The people at Missouri made it huge for me today, and it's going to be a huge part of my decision going forward just seeing if I get the feeling I had in Missouri anywhere else."
Mizzou's family values become model for Evan Jacobson during official visit
Missouri impressed Class of 2026 three-star Evan Jacobson with the people and like-minded goals around the program.
