Missouri used its coaching connections to offer Jake Hildebrand.
Tigers assistant linebackers coach Christopher Ball extended a scholarship to the Gilbert (Ariz.) Basha offensive tackle Tuesday. Ball, the former head coach at Northern Arizona, discussed his connections to the state with Hildebrand.
"You don't hear a lot of coaches that really know Arizona," Hildebrand said. "He also knows my head coach at my high school, coach (Chris) McDonald, which was also really great to hear as well. It's truly a blessing to be offered by someone that knows about Arizona talent. But, Arizona, I feel like is getting looked at more and more, which is really good for the kids in our state to get seen."
Hildebrand, the No. 27 recruit in the Rivals250 for the Class of 2027, has received over 20 offers so far in his recruitment. But the four-star offensive tackle will look into Missouri more, given a connection to the school through a family member.
"Well, any offer is truly a blessing to get," Hildebrand said, "but Mizzou is definitely a really good school. I don't know too much about them yet, but I did have a family member go there for undergrad. So it's more of me needing to do more research about the program, which I normally do for every program, because it’s so early in my process that I want to keep every door open right now."
The No. 3 offensive tackle in the 2027 class, Hildebrand impressed the Tigers with his aggressiveness and ability to finish blocks.
"I definitely want to connect with (Ball) more to see what I can also improve on as well," Hildebrand said.
Mizzou uses Arizona connections to offer Rivals250 OT Jake Hildebrand
Four-star Jake Hildebrand dove into his offer from Missouri and the importance of a connection to his home state.