Mizzou football gains commitment from Aleu, adds Russell to staff

Missouri football gained its third commit from the Class of 2027 on Monday, with offensive lineman Lual Aleu saying he’ll join the Tigers. The commitment was was first reported by On3 and was later confirmed by Aleu through X.

He joins three-star quarterback Braylen Warren, who committed back in December, and three-star safety Jabarri Lofton, who committed on Saturday.

A three-star prospect himself, Aleu ranks No. 621 among all players in the country and No. 57 among those in his position group. He attends Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he is listed as the No. 27 player in the state by 247Sports.

Aleu visited Mizzou twice before committing. He had also visited Louisville and Virginia Tech, and he received offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and more.

Mizzou adds Russell to coach tight ends

The Tigers have officially hired Travis Russell as an assistant tight-ends coach and offensive analyst. He will work alongside Alex Atkins, who also joined Missouri in 2026.

The former Michigan and Michigan State staffer joins Mizzou at an ideal time, as the Tigers recently lost their pass-game specialist, Brendan Boylan. Boylan is set to take over as SEMO’s new offensive coordinator.

Russell will reunite with Mizzou offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, as both coaches worked together at Michigan in 2025. Russel’s other coaching stints were as an analyst at UMass, a slot receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Ferris State and a quarterbacks coach at Grand Rapids Union High School. He graduated from Ferris State in 2019.