Missouri recruiting notebook: February 23

It has been a busy stretch of recruiting attention for football players in the Show Me State as Class of 2022 prospects finalize their college commitments and prospects from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes continue to add scholarship offers or receive their first offers. <strong>SLUH STANDOUT ORTWERTH BLOWS UP</strong> We already knew the Class of 2023 tight end group in Missouri was a talented bunch with guys like [player_tooltip player_id="37655" first="Mac" last="Markway"] and [player_tooltip player_id="37661" first="Brett" last="Norfleet"] (Missouri commit) leading the way as contenders for the top overall prospect in the state. We expected good things from St. Louis University High tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103409" first="Zach" last="Ortwerth"]</strong> during his junior campaign and he didn’t disappoint as the team’s third-leading receiver. But it seemed to take a little longer than we expected for college coaches to see the potential in the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder. That is no longer the case as Ortwerth has been one of the most popular prospects in Missouri over the past month. He received his first scholarship offer, from Nebraska, on January 24. Since then he’s received offers from Indiana, Iowa, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Minnesota. Ortwerth, who has shown his athleticism during the basketball season, is no longer a secret. Now he’s a certified Division I Power-5 prospect who will garner considerable attention until he’s able to sign with a school. <strong>PARK HILL SOUTH’S BJORN COMMITS</strong> Big Park Hill South 2022 tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172619" first="Jack" last="Bjorn"]</strong> ended his recruiting on Wednesday when he announced he was committing to Iowa State as a preferred walk-on. Bjorn, a 6-7, 245-pounder who didn’t play football until his senior year, attracted opportunities from several schools, including Kansas State, Missouri, Kansas and Toledo, as well as interest from several more schools. <strong>MICDS’ MOORE GARNERS ATTENTION</strong> MICDS Class of 2023 standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37668" first="Winston" last="Moore"]</strong> had one of the more unique stat lines during his junior campaign when he recorded 755 receiving yards and 713 rushing yards to go along with his 18 total touchdowns. Moore, a 5-11, 180-pounder, lists himself as a wide receiver and running back on <a href="https://twitter.com/Winstonmoore02">his Twitter account</a> and that versatility can only help him as a college prospect. His recruitment has started to take off over the past month as he’s received offers from Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Western Illinois and Southeast Missouri State. Moore will be a player to watch this offseason as he hits the camp and combine circuit. Moore’s MICDS teammate, Class of 2023 running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37656" first="Steve" last="Hall"]</strong>, is another prospect to watch after racking up 1,641 total yards and 21 touchdowns and earning first-team all-state honors during his junior season. Hall received his first offer, from Eastern Michigan, on February 2. He recently posted video of a school-record 255-pound power clean <a href="https://twitter.com/Hall9Steve/status/1496278250678542338?s=20&amp;t=JVGqjvi-2FBOb73qQSwcVA">on his Twitter account</a>. <strong>CBC JUNIORS PICK UP OFFERS</strong> We knew CBC had a deep and talented squad as the Cadets won their final 13 consecutive games to capture the Missouri Class 6 championship last fall. The squad was led by strong senior leadership and bolstered by talented juniors and sophomores. The junior class, headlined by defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37675" first="Tyler" last="Gant"]</strong> and running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103779" first="Jeremiyah" last="Love"]</strong>, is already attracting a ton of attention and has seen a few prospects recently receive their first offers. Gant, a 6-3, 270-pounder, has offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas State, Minnesota and Nebraska, among others. Love, a 6-1, 195-pounder who won the Missouri 100-meter dash (10.76 seconds) championship as a sophomore before his breakout junior campaign, has offers from Michigan, Oregon, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Washington, Wisconsin and Utah among others. Offensive tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171840" first="Josh" last="Gregory"]</strong>, a 6-7, 260-pounder whose junior season was his first full season of high school football, recently added offers from Kansas, Southern Illinois and Howard after earlier offers from  Arkansas State, Miami-Ohio, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Kent State and Tulane. Speedy wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99471" first="Dakotah" last="Mayo"]</strong> received offers from Kansas and Arkansas State last offseason and has added offers from Miami-Ohio, Toledo and Eastern Michigan so far this offseason. Linebacker/safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103780" first="Michael" last="Teason"]</strong>, a versatile 6-3, 215-pounder, recently picked up his first offers from Southeast Missouri State and Western Illinois. Safety/linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="237184" first="Lucas" last="McAllister"]</strong>, a 6-1, 205-pounder, picked up his first offers from Western Illinois, Indiana State and Northern Iowa. Running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171841" first="Dylan" last="Van"]</strong> picked up his first offer from Northern Iowa on February 18. Other 2023 prospects to watch who could end up getting D-1/FCS offers are interior offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37708" first="Levi" last="McGee"]</strong>, linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103437" first="Kyan" last="Franklin"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37698" first="Wyatt" last="Haverstick"]</strong>, running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37738" first="Ralph" last="Dixon"]</strong> and cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="218450" first="DeShaun" last="Richmond"]</strong>. <strong>REEDS SPRING’S WIEST IS A BEAST</strong> Reeds Spring 2023 standout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101690" first="Caden" last="Wiest"]</strong> is garnering much-deserved attention from colleges this offseason. A 6-4, 250-pound tight end-defensive end, Wiest has received offers from Missouri State, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State and, most recently, Central Michigan. Wiest is big and strong and will excel at camps and combines this offseason. He should have plenty of options by the time the 2022 season starts. <strong>WEST PLAINS SPEEDSTER GETS FIRST D-1 OFFER</strong> West Plains 2023 wide receiver-athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="172411" first="Heston" last="Miller"]</strong> is a player we have liked for more than a year. The 6-2, 200-pounder is a big-play machine and a track standout. Miller received his first offer from Missouri S&amp;T earlier this month and on Tuesday picked up his first Division I offer from Southeast Missouri State. He is a player with size and speed who could end up playing wide receiver or safety in college. Miller should really impress on the camp and combine circuit this offseason, though he will stay busy with the track season. &nbsp;