Before officially entering the transfer portal, Gavin Hoffman returned to a familiar domain. He stepped through the doors of TopSpeed Sports Performance, began his warmup and instantly received a quick question on his future.
"I looked at him, and I was like, 'So heading to Mizzou, huh?'" Joseph Potts said. "And he kind of chuckled."
Hoffman, a Class of 2024 three-star from Overland Park (Kans.) Blue Valley Northwest, announced his intentions of entering the portal April 3 from Iowa. By the time he officially entered this past Wednesday, he received an "overwhelming" amount of interest, but one school separated itself: Missouri.
During his high school recruiting process, Hoffman picked up his first Power Five offer from the Tigers. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz extended the scholarship after a camp in June 2023, and from there, Hoffman's recruitment surged rapidly ahead of official visits.
Potts, the founder of TopSpeed Sports Performance, knew Hoffman's potential. He saw it develop first hand in his own facility, fielding interest from top schools across the region, and once Hoffman posted his skills training results at a Missouri camp, he received high praise from his trainer.
"This is NFL caliber athleticism," Potts wrote June 1, 2023. "So for you coaches I've spoken to the last few weeks that kept saying 'we can't offer till see see him in camp' - here's the type of athlete you'd be offering."
Collegiate coaches got the message.
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Arkansas, Arizona State, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Texas Tech all offered the rising talent within the week. Before the end of the month, Hoffman took official visits to see the Tigers, Sun Devils and Hawkeyes, ultimately committing to Iowa.
"Iowa, with their recent history of success developing tight ends, really stood out," Potts said. "And then obviously Abdul Hodge, their new tight end coach, he and I go way back. ... He reached out several times and was like, 'Hey, man, I really, really like this Hoffman guy.' And as the conversation evolved, it just became a good fit."
In his one season with the Hawkeyes, Hoffman learned under NFL Draft prospect Luke Lachey. Although not appearing in any games, Hoffman, who entered the portal with four years of eligibility, didn't lose a step.
"He's come back recently and trained during the breaks," Potts said. "He's continued to add a lot of mass. I think he was 245-248 pounds, still fast, still explosive, maybe not quite as much as he had been there in high school, but the fact that it was there period, it tells you that that quality still exists. And it's probably just a matter of he maybe put on a bit too much too fast."
In a basketball family, one that features 2025 Mizzou Hall of Famer Sophie Cunningham, Hoffman naturally gravitated to the hardwood, but he received advice that he could be either undersized in basketball or be a fantastic tight end his junior year.
But when Hoffman first signed up for training, giving his primary attention to football, he received worries about his size. Potts spoke to national recruiting analysts, and Hoffman's 207 pouns didn't bode well in their minds.
"He needed that hypertrophy element," Potts said. "We had to do everything under the sun. We had to do high volume, low volume, to stimulate the different muscle fiber types, because we were looking for a lot of mass in a short amount of time."
Out of the gate, he didn't have much high profile interest because of his lack of weight in his 6-foot-5 frame, but he responded well to his speed of movement training, showing his weight gain while camping at Missouri.
"But once he popped off with that size, explosion, speed combination," Potts said, "things really took off for him."
Hoffman entered the spring transfer window after a realization he might not provide much impact this upcoming season. Hodge and other Iowa staffers weren't happy to see him leave.
Now a redshirt freshman, Hoffman will enter a position group at Missouri with three returners -- Jordon Harris, Jude James and Brett Norfleet -- and two additions -- transfer Vince Brown II and freshman Dakotah Terrell.
"They've got that history as well," Potts said about tight ends at Missouri, "maybe not as regally as Iowa, but it's still something in the minds of NFL personnel. I think NIL might have played a role as well. With him being a bit more local to the KC metro, that might be something that appeals more to opportunity there in Columbia than it might have in Iowa City."
"I looked at him, and I was like, 'So heading to Mizzou, huh?'" Joseph Potts said. "And he kind of chuckled."
Hoffman, a Class of 2024 three-star from Overland Park (Kans.) Blue Valley Northwest, announced his intentions of entering the portal April 3 from Iowa. By the time he officially entered this past Wednesday, he received an "overwhelming" amount of interest, but one school separated itself: Missouri.
During his high school recruiting process, Hoffman picked up his first Power Five offer from the Tigers. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz extended the scholarship after a camp in June 2023, and from there, Hoffman's recruitment surged rapidly ahead of official visits.
Potts, the founder of TopSpeed Sports Performance, knew Hoffman's potential. He saw it develop first hand in his own facility, fielding interest from top schools across the region, and once Hoffman posted his skills training results at a Missouri camp, he received high praise from his trainer.
"This is NFL caliber athleticism," Potts wrote June 1, 2023. "So for you coaches I've spoken to the last few weeks that kept saying 'we can't offer till see see him in camp' - here's the type of athlete you'd be offering."
Collegiate coaches got the message.
Tight end Gavin Hoffman comes full circle in transfer to Mizzou
Iowa transfer tight end Gavin Hoffman saw his recruitment take off during a camp at Missouri two summers ago.
Arkansas, Arizona State, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Texas Tech all offered the rising talent within the week. Before the end of the month, Hoffman took official visits to see the Tigers, Sun Devils and Hawkeyes, ultimately committing to Iowa.
"Iowa, with their recent history of success developing tight ends, really stood out," Potts said. "And then obviously Abdul Hodge, their new tight end coach, he and I go way back. ... He reached out several times and was like, 'Hey, man, I really, really like this Hoffman guy.' And as the conversation evolved, it just became a good fit."
In his one season with the Hawkeyes, Hoffman learned under NFL Draft prospect Luke Lachey. Although not appearing in any games, Hoffman, who entered the portal with four years of eligibility, didn't lose a step.
"He's come back recently and trained during the breaks," Potts said. "He's continued to add a lot of mass. I think he was 245-248 pounds, still fast, still explosive, maybe not quite as much as he had been there in high school, but the fact that it was there period, it tells you that that quality still exists. And it's probably just a matter of he maybe put on a bit too much too fast."
In a basketball family, one that features 2025 Mizzou Hall of Famer Sophie Cunningham, Hoffman naturally gravitated to the hardwood, but he received advice that he could be either undersized in basketball or be a fantastic tight end his junior year.
But when Hoffman first signed up for training, giving his primary attention to football, he received worries about his size. Potts spoke to national recruiting analysts, and Hoffman's 207 pouns didn't bode well in their minds.
"He needed that hypertrophy element," Potts said. "We had to do everything under the sun. We had to do high volume, low volume, to stimulate the different muscle fiber types, because we were looking for a lot of mass in a short amount of time."
Out of the gate, he didn't have much high profile interest because of his lack of weight in his 6-foot-5 frame, but he responded well to his speed of movement training, showing his weight gain while camping at Missouri.
"But once he popped off with that size, explosion, speed combination," Potts said, "things really took off for him."
Hoffman entered the spring transfer window after a realization he might not provide much impact this upcoming season. Hodge and other Iowa staffers weren't happy to see him leave.
Now a redshirt freshman, Hoffman will enter a position group at Missouri with three returners -- Jordon Harris, Jude James and Brett Norfleet -- and two additions -- transfer Vince Brown II and freshman Dakotah Terrell.
"They've got that history as well," Potts said about tight ends at Missouri, "maybe not as regally as Iowa, but it's still something in the minds of NFL personnel. I think NIL might have played a role as well. With him being a bit more local to the KC metro, that might be something that appeals more to opportunity there in Columbia than it might have in Iowa City."
