PETE SCANTLEBURY ON FOOTBALL RECRUITING
As Missouri heads into the home stretch for recruiting in the 2013 class, a few things are clear. For one, Missouri appears to be focused on three position groups -- defensive back, defensive line and tight end. That's been somewhat clear for a few weeks, but it's even more so now with a few new offers and the visits being scheduled.
We also know that the weekend of Jan. 25 seems to be the next "big" recruiting weekend. Tampa (FL) Jesuit tight end http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Travis-Johnson-127082>Travis Johnson[/URL] is coming to town then, but it looks like Missouri is trying to make the following weekend its big January weekend. Fresno (CA) Fresno City C.C. safety Duron Singleton[/URL] is confirmed as a visitor. In addition, Missouri is looking to bring in Los Angeles (CA) Pierce cornerback Howard Wilder[/URL] that weekend.
Another visitor for the Jan. 25 weekend is Sarasota (FL) Booker defensive end http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Eric-Mayes-140756>Eric Mayes[/URL]. I spoke with Mayes on Friday morning while he was in his coach's office. Mayes said Missouri offered him over break, and the offer came as a big surprise.
"It was out of the blue," Mayes said. "Coach Jones said they like my size and my get-up off the ball."
Mayes has set that visit already, and it comes a week after he'll visit South Florida. For now, the Bulls and Tigers are his top two schools, but he added that there may be a third team entering the race.
"I'm looking at Iowa State, too," Mayes said. "They may be in my top three. I'm trying to visit there after I visit Missouri."
With the offer to Mayes, it's clear Missouri is after another DE in this class, and that may be because the Tigers see both Dimarya Mixon and Nate Crawford as defensive tackles. If that's the case, it mitigates some of the need for more DTs in this class, but I still expect Missouri take at least one more tackle.
There will be more names to surface, and Plantation (FL) defensive tackle http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Monty-Nelson-129387>Monty Nelson[/URL] is another player Missouri is trying to get in town for that weekend. I'll continue to track down names, but I fully expect Missouri to host at least five, perhaps more, visitors in two weeks.
--One of the biggest names left on the board is Peoria (IL) defensive tackle http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Josh-Augusta-136219>Josh Augusta[/URL]. Augusta has had Missouri as his leader for months and visited the Tigers on Dec. 7. Now, however, Augusta has visits to
Illinois (Jan. 18) and Michigan State (Jan. 25) on top before making a decision.
That in itself doesn't bode well for Missouri, but we've also heard that Illinois has made a real strong push for Augusta and seems to be gaining some momentum. Perhaps that's why Gary Pinkel is making an in-home visit with Augusta on Sunday. Either way, next weekend will go a long way in Augusta's recruitment. If he does not commit to Illinois, I don't see Michigan State making up enough ground to land him the following weekend. More and more, this is coming down to a Missouri-Illinois battle.
--There have been a lot of questions the past few days about some of the uncommitted Missouri offers, so like I did last week, I'm going to run down the list of guys and post what I know. If I don't know anything, I'll also post that:
TE http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Durham-Smythe-133181>Durham Smythe[/URL] -- Other outlets are saying Smythe is setting up a Missouri visit, but aren't quoting him. Smythe told our Texas analyst, Jason Howell, that he has not set up a Missouri visit, and the Tigers are just "showing interest." Johnson seems to be the top target here.
DE http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Tyus-Bowser-119362>Tyus Bowser[/URL] -- Bowser once again told me that he has not heard from Missouri in months. Does not seem to be on the Tigers' radar.
LB Darren Hambrick -- Still not committed to Missouri.
S http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Tyler-Foreman-129339>Tyler Foreman[/URL] -- New offer, a four-star who recently decommitted from Wisconsin. May be hard to get away from Cal and UCLA, but
Missouri is trying to get a visit. He's visiting UCLA on Jan. 25, so next weekend is the most likely slot for a trip to Columbia.
DT http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Matthew-Romar-128343>Matthew Romar[/URL] -- No new information.
DT http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Bobby-Leath-138885>Bobby Leath[/URL] -- No new information.
DT Arie Anderson -- Not being recruited by Missouri anymore.
GABE DeARMOND ON THE COACHING STAFF
As reported elsewhere and confirmed here on Friday morning, Pat Washington is set to be Missouri's new wide receivers coach. Washington served as the receivers coach and passing game coordinator for Kentucky last year. I wouldn't really pay much attention to what he did or did not do there. He was coaching for a guy that everyone knew was probably going to lose his job. Not the easiest situation into which to recruit.
Washington has coached all over the place. The bulk of his career was 11 years at Tennessee during which time he worked with three NFL first round picks (Donte Stallworth, Robert Meachem and Peerless Price) along with three more NFL wideouts. He was at Kansas State for a year and coached Jordy Nelson. He's coached at Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette, Baylor, TCU, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.
On the surface, I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't like this hire. It's what most people have been asking for. Missouri is the fourth SEC school Washington has coached at, plus he played quarterback at Auburn (he was Bo Jackson's QB). He's not a real young guy, but he's only about 50, about two or three years younger than Andy Hill, so it's not like he's on the downside of his career either.
We'll spend some time the next couple of weeks seeing if there is any chance that Washington has any recruits lined up that may be interested in visiting Missouri or following him here. I know when the Tigers hired Josh Henson, he was instrumental in getting L'Damian Washington to Mizzou. Perhaps Washington has a prospect or two like that, but we don't know that at this point in time.
I expect an official announcement from Missouri next week, perhaps as early as Monday. With this move, the staff is set. I don't see any other changes coming. I'll be interested to see where they have Washington recruiting. I would assume Mississippi and elsewhere in the Southeast, perhaps Florida or Alabama.
BRIAN AUSTIN ON BASKETBALL RECRUITING
With the recent commit of 2013 four-star JUCO center http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/basketball/recruiting/player-Torren-Jones-115489>Torren Jones[/URL], who all signed during the early signing period, giving the Tigers three four-stars and one three-star with all players nationally ranked.
This group of players will most likely give Missouri their first ranked class since http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=910&CID=297763>2004[/URL] to find Mizzou's most recent ranked class. For those that don't remember the 2004 class was made up of Marshall Brown, Jason Horton, Kalen Grimes, and Glen Dandridge.
Next week I will be in Springfield for the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions. The tournament runs from the 17th - 19th and the field is loaded. I'll mainly be there to watch Montverde Academy shooting guard http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/basketball/recruiting/player-Mickey-Mitchell-133317>Mickey Mitchell[/URL], and several other big name prospects.
As Missouri heads into the home stretch for recruiting in the 2013 class, a few things are clear. For one, Missouri appears to be focused on three position groups -- defensive back, defensive line and tight end. That's been somewhat clear for a few weeks, but it's even more so now with a few new offers and the visits being scheduled.
We also know that the weekend of Jan. 25 seems to be the next "big" recruiting weekend. Tampa (FL) Jesuit tight end http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Travis-Johnson-127082>Travis Johnson[/URL] is coming to town then, but it looks like Missouri is trying to make the following weekend its big January weekend. Fresno (CA) Fresno City C.C. safety Duron Singleton[/URL] is confirmed as a visitor. In addition, Missouri is looking to bring in Los Angeles (CA) Pierce cornerback Howard Wilder[/URL] that weekend.
Another visitor for the Jan. 25 weekend is Sarasota (FL) Booker defensive end http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Eric-Mayes-140756>Eric Mayes[/URL]. I spoke with Mayes on Friday morning while he was in his coach's office. Mayes said Missouri offered him over break, and the offer came as a big surprise.
"It was out of the blue," Mayes said. "Coach Jones said they like my size and my get-up off the ball."
Mayes has set that visit already, and it comes a week after he'll visit South Florida. For now, the Bulls and Tigers are his top two schools, but he added that there may be a third team entering the race.
"I'm looking at Iowa State, too," Mayes said. "They may be in my top three. I'm trying to visit there after I visit Missouri."
With the offer to Mayes, it's clear Missouri is after another DE in this class, and that may be because the Tigers see both Dimarya Mixon and Nate Crawford as defensive tackles. If that's the case, it mitigates some of the need for more DTs in this class, but I still expect Missouri take at least one more tackle.
There will be more names to surface, and Plantation (FL) defensive tackle http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Monty-Nelson-129387>Monty Nelson[/URL] is another player Missouri is trying to get in town for that weekend. I'll continue to track down names, but I fully expect Missouri to host at least five, perhaps more, visitors in two weeks.
--One of the biggest names left on the board is Peoria (IL) defensive tackle http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Josh-Augusta-136219>Josh Augusta[/URL]. Augusta has had Missouri as his leader for months and visited the Tigers on Dec. 7. Now, however, Augusta has visits to
Illinois (Jan. 18) and Michigan State (Jan. 25) on top before making a decision.
That in itself doesn't bode well for Missouri, but we've also heard that Illinois has made a real strong push for Augusta and seems to be gaining some momentum. Perhaps that's why Gary Pinkel is making an in-home visit with Augusta on Sunday. Either way, next weekend will go a long way in Augusta's recruitment. If he does not commit to Illinois, I don't see Michigan State making up enough ground to land him the following weekend. More and more, this is coming down to a Missouri-Illinois battle.
--There have been a lot of questions the past few days about some of the uncommitted Missouri offers, so like I did last week, I'm going to run down the list of guys and post what I know. If I don't know anything, I'll also post that:
TE http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Durham-Smythe-133181>Durham Smythe[/URL] -- Other outlets are saying Smythe is setting up a Missouri visit, but aren't quoting him. Smythe told our Texas analyst, Jason Howell, that he has not set up a Missouri visit, and the Tigers are just "showing interest." Johnson seems to be the top target here.
DE http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Tyus-Bowser-119362>Tyus Bowser[/URL] -- Bowser once again told me that he has not heard from Missouri in months. Does not seem to be on the Tigers' radar.
LB Darren Hambrick -- Still not committed to Missouri.
S http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Tyler-Foreman-129339>Tyler Foreman[/URL] -- New offer, a four-star who recently decommitted from Wisconsin. May be hard to get away from Cal and UCLA, but
Missouri is trying to get a visit. He's visiting UCLA on Jan. 25, so next weekend is the most likely slot for a trip to Columbia.
DT http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Matthew-Romar-128343>Matthew Romar[/URL] -- No new information.
DT http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Bobby-Leath-138885>Bobby Leath[/URL] -- No new information.
DT Arie Anderson -- Not being recruited by Missouri anymore.
GABE DeARMOND ON THE COACHING STAFF
As reported elsewhere and confirmed here on Friday morning, Pat Washington is set to be Missouri's new wide receivers coach. Washington served as the receivers coach and passing game coordinator for Kentucky last year. I wouldn't really pay much attention to what he did or did not do there. He was coaching for a guy that everyone knew was probably going to lose his job. Not the easiest situation into which to recruit.
Washington has coached all over the place. The bulk of his career was 11 years at Tennessee during which time he worked with three NFL first round picks (Donte Stallworth, Robert Meachem and Peerless Price) along with three more NFL wideouts. He was at Kansas State for a year and coached Jordy Nelson. He's coached at Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette, Baylor, TCU, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.
On the surface, I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't like this hire. It's what most people have been asking for. Missouri is the fourth SEC school Washington has coached at, plus he played quarterback at Auburn (he was Bo Jackson's QB). He's not a real young guy, but he's only about 50, about two or three years younger than Andy Hill, so it's not like he's on the downside of his career either.
We'll spend some time the next couple of weeks seeing if there is any chance that Washington has any recruits lined up that may be interested in visiting Missouri or following him here. I know when the Tigers hired Josh Henson, he was instrumental in getting L'Damian Washington to Mizzou. Perhaps Washington has a prospect or two like that, but we don't know that at this point in time.
I expect an official announcement from Missouri next week, perhaps as early as Monday. With this move, the staff is set. I don't see any other changes coming. I'll be interested to see where they have Washington recruiting. I would assume Mississippi and elsewhere in the Southeast, perhaps Florida or Alabama.
BRIAN AUSTIN ON BASKETBALL RECRUITING
With the recent commit of 2013 four-star JUCO center http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/basketball/recruiting/player-Torren-Jones-115489>Torren Jones[/URL], who all signed during the early signing period, giving the Tigers three four-stars and one three-star with all players nationally ranked.
This group of players will most likely give Missouri their first ranked class since http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=910&CID=297763>2004[/URL] to find Mizzou's most recent ranked class. For those that don't remember the 2004 class was made up of Marshall Brown, Jason Horton, Kalen Grimes, and Glen Dandridge.
Next week I will be in Springfield for the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions. The tournament runs from the 17th - 19th and the field is loaded. I'll mainly be there to watch Montverde Academy shooting guard http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/basketball/recruiting/player-Mickey-Mitchell-133317>Mickey Mitchell[/URL], and several other big name prospects.
