Eli Drinkwitz Risks Everything To Land Star QB

Braylen Warren's decision to join Missouri leaves Nebraska wondering what could have been after the young quarterback's impressive performances turned heads across college football.

Braylen Warren’s rise kept Nebraska interested, but it’s Missouri that now has the in-state quarterback fully locked in.

Warren told On3’s Hayes Fawcett that he is shutting down his recruitment, ending any lingering drama after his name had started to pick up more steam. Penn State had been working to pull him away from the Tigers, but Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz went to Omaha to see Warren in person against Nebraska commit Trae Taylor, and Warren responded with another big outing as Westside beat Millard South.

The 4-star quarterback in the 2027 class is listed at 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds and plays for Omaha Westside. He committed to Missouri on December 4, 2025, becoming the Tigers’ first commitment in the 2027 class. Warren is also the son of former Nebraska defensive tackle Steve Warren.

According to the latest Rivals Industry Rankings, Warren is the No. 219 player in the 2027 class, the No. 17 quarterback and the No. 3 player in Nebraska.

Warren’s list of suitors has been long. He has nearly 20 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, California, Cincinnati, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, South Florida, Toledo, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, among others. Penn State entered the mix when head coach Matt Campbell traveled to Omaha and offered Warren on October 21, 2026.

“After a lot of thought and consideration, I’ve decided to shut down my recruitment and fully focus on my commitment to the University of Missouri. I’m grateful for every coach, program, and opportunity that has been part of this journey, and I’m excited for what’s ahead at… https://t.co/vGuJaTy2ol”

On the field, Warren has backed up the attention with production. As a junior in 2025, he went 125 of 202 for 1,847 yards, 27 touchdowns and six interceptions, while adding 68 carries for 288 yards and three touchdowns. That came out to 2,135 total yards and 30 total touchdowns, and it helped Westside finish 10-2 and reach the Nebraska Class A state semifinals.

His sophomore season was strong, too. In 2024, Warren completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 2,105 yards, 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he ran for 175 yards and two scores.

Through Westside’s unbeaten 2026 regular season, Warren has kept piling up numbers, throwing for 1,773 yards and 23 touchdowns with two interceptions while rushing for more than 550 yards and five touchdowns. In the first eight games, he had completed 86 of 135 passes for 1,522 yards, 19 touchdowns and two interceptions, and he had also rushed for 493 yards and four scores.

Then came his best game yet this season. In Westside’s 41-17 win over previously unbeaten Millard South on October 23, Warren completed 11 of 24 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns, and he added 15 carries for 66 yards and another score.

The most notable wrinkle in all of this is that Nebraska never gave Warren an offer. Matt Rhule and his staff moved quickly on Taylor and landed their top quarterback target early, leaving Warren to build his future elsewhere. For now, Missouri has him secured.

In Other News...

Cardinals Face One Key Outfield Decision As Bloom Stays Patient

Entering his second full season running baseball operations, Chaim Bloom is sticking with the Cardinals broader plan to keep building the starting pitching pipeline while making a few calculated calls elsewhere on the roster. There is already one contract extension on the books, and the club could still look for help on the pitching staff or a move at third base, but the outfield is where the immediate spotlight sits as St. Louis weighs how long to keep giving rookie Joshua Bez an extended look in left field.

Nathan Church and Victor Scott II are expected to handle center field in the short term, giving the Cardinals a stopgap answer while they wait on more depth to arrive. Tai Peete and Josiah Ragsdale are part of that longer-range picture, which leaves the front office balancing patience with the need to get the current alignment right now. [Read more 🡒]

Yadier Molina Brings One Clear Risk To Cardinals Manager Talk

Yadier Molinas first stint in the dugout overseas has already offered a reminder that managing is a different kind of test than catching ever was. Working with Navegantes del Magallanes, he has been tossed twice within three days, and the club has opened its season 2-10, a rough start that puts his early handling of adversity under the microscope.

For the Cardinals, the appeal is obvious because of what Molina means to the organization, but so is the concern. Any conversation about him as a future manager has to account for temperament as much as pedigree, and for St. Louis there would be another layer too: expectations would be enormous, and the front office would have to be comfortable navigating the pressure that comes with making such a popular former player the face of the dugout. [Read more 🡒]

Cardinals Third Base Search Is Starting To Point Toward A Veteran Stopgap

The Cardinals are already thinking ahead to third base for 2027, and the early picture looks more practical than flashy. One name that has surfaced as a possible fit is J.P. Crawford, a veteran who made the move from shortstop to third base in 2026 and settled in as an average contributor on both sides of the ball. For a club that has spent plenty of time mapping out the infield beyond the immediate future, that kind of steady presence has some appeal.

Alec Bohm and Teruaki Sato are also in the mix as possible answers, but the broader sense is that St. Louis may not be looking for a long-term fixture there just yet. The organization could be treating the spot as a bridge until Jesus Baez is ready to take hold, which makes the coming search a little different from a normal free-agent hunt. In other words, the Cardinals may be shopping for the kind of veteran who can keep the position stable without blocking what they hope comes next. [Read more 🡒]