Giving back: MU football team builds houses with Habitat for Humanity

Switzer said families pay a 0% interest rate on mortgages, and volunteers like the Missouri football team keep these mortgages affordable.

Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz said he hopes Friday’s volunteer efforts aren’t just a one-time transaction. He’d like for the team to form a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

“This is our opportunity for us to give back to the community with no expectation of anything in return,” Drinkwitz said.

The team worked on homes in the Boone Prairie Subdivision. These houses need to be completed before the 2023 Blitz Build event in September and will be finished by volunteers from other organizations, Switzer said. The Blitz Build will allow volunteers to build four homes in 10 days, according to a news release from Habitat for Humanity.

Quarterback Brady Cook, with a hammer in hand, said he hopes the team volunteering will make an impact on the lives of the incoming homeowners, who the team met Friday.

“It’s important for me, because Columbia supports me,” Cook said. “I’ve been blessed to be in a position in the city of Columbia where I can make a difference. There’s a lot of people who support Mizzou football, and this is just an opportunity for me to do something for the city.”

Before working on the projects, the team filmed a video congratulating the incoming homeowners that they were building houses for. Defensive lineman Jayden Jernigan, who added siding to the houses, said creating the video impacted him.

“I grew up in a home, so I don’t know how that really feels,” Jernigan said. “Some people are less fortunate than me, and I want to help in any way I can.”

The football team worked on framing, painting and siding and also laid grass seed. Switzer said the work they did Friday will greatly help the Blitz Build volunteers.

Defensive lineman Darius Robinson joined Jernigan in adding siding to the houses. Robinson also volunteers through his church and local elementary schools, where he reads with kids and mentors them.

“I just want to give my time back,” Robinson said. “I know football is going to end one day for me, but these connections and meeting different people in the community will last forever.”