It's all Pete all the time today. Not much going on with hoops recruiting with the early signing period closed. And we don't have to talk about conference realignment. So it's Pete's show this week:
On Thursday evening, after the news of Gary Pinkel's punishment became official, I started to give some of Missouri's 2012 recruits a call to get their reaction and to see whether his arrest would have any impact on their decisions. At that point, it was obvious that the recruits new about it -- Will Hines and Torey Boozer, for instance, were tweeting about how shocked they were.
I didn't reach all of Missouri's recruits, but from talking with the ones I did, I can tell you the support for Pinkel appears to be widespread and unconditional.
Maty Mauk, Morgan Steward, Michael Scherer, Chaston Cuffee and Torey Boozer all said that Pinkel's arrest would have no impact on their decision. Scherer, easily this class's most talkative and eloquent recruit, summed up his feelings in a great way:
"It doesn't change a thing with my commitment," Scherer said. "He's only human and he made a mistake and, knowing him, he is going to do everything he can and more to make up for it."
The reputation Pinkel has built over the last 11 seasons took a hit with Wednesday night's arrest, but it appears Missouri's commitments realize that it doesn't change everything he's built or stood for while in Columbia. I can't say how it will affect some of the top uncommitted guys, but the fact that recruits like four-star Whiteland (IN) offensive tackle Jake Meadorhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Jake-Meador-118383 are still visiting this weekend shows that one (very) bad decision won't destroy all the work Pinkel has done in his time as Missouri's coach.
-- As I said above, Meador is still visiting this weekend. Brandon Joggerst, the coach at O'Fallon, said O'Fallon (IL) athlete Ka'Ra Stewarthttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Ka'Ra-Stewart-132659 is visiting this weekend, as well. He also said that Stewart visited LAST weekend, as a last-minute trip. I apologize for letting that one slip through the cracks; when I checked visitors at the end of the game, I didn't see Stewart.
Anyway, Joggerst said Stewart had a good first trip to Columbia, and Missouri is in the thick of things.
"I think it went really well," Joggerst said. "It was an exciting win, and that helped. We talked about it when he got back, and he likes the fact that a lot of people from O'Fallon go to Mizzou. So he could get away from home, but still see a lot of familiar faces."
Joggerst said Missouri is in the process of scheduling an official visit with Stewart, but it hasn't been set up yet. Right now, the only other visit on his docket is a Dec. 9 trip to Iowa. So, if he does take an official to Mizzou, it would have to be the weekend following that. Joggerst said Stewart wants to make a decision before Christmas. If he takes an official visit to Mizzou, that'll be three trips in around six weeks. Odds are, that puts Mizzou in fantastic shape to land one of the fastest-rising athletes in the nation.
Joining them is one of the top 2013 prospects in the state, Springfield (MO) Glendale defensive tackle Dakota Brakehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Dakota-Brake-133391. Brake's support for Pinkel was made evident on Twitter last night, when he announced his visits and ended it by saying, in Twitter-speak, "Pinkel Rocks." As a poster pointed out on this board yesterday, Brake's mother posted on Facebook that the family supports Gary Pinkel. So, at least with one top 2013 recruit, Pinkel's mistake won't change things.
Brake, for those who don't know, is a 6-foot-2, 265-pound athlete. He's a champion powerlifter, and has won national competitions for his age group. He also gave Evan Boehm all he could handle in the first-round of the playoffs, and appears set for a big senior year. Brake and his family are unabashed Missouri fans, but were also very impressed with last week's unofficial trip to Arkansas. It's still a long time before Brake has to make a decision, but Missouri is in great shape early on.
-- Another new name to enter the fold is South Bend (IN) athlete David Perkinshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-David-Perkins-116914. Perkins is a four-star athlete, the No. 166-player in the nation. He was a Notre Dame commit, but de-committed recently and appears set to play college ball elsewhere. Missouri is making a push for Perkins, but he's a little quiet on recruiting because of bad publicity from de-committing from the hometown school. Our Midwest analyst, Josh Helmholdt, is going to cover Perkins' game tonight, and told me he would find out any info he can about Perkins and Mizzou. At this point, however, it appears that LSU is in the lead.
-- One of Missouri's more recent offers is Angleton (TX) athlete Ryan Jacksonhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Ryan-Jackson-110757. I haven't been able to reach Jackson, a Houston commitment, but I've heard that while he's committed to the Cougars, he's going to explore Missouri's offer. I take that to mean that a visit could be set up for the near future.
On Thursday evening, after the news of Gary Pinkel's punishment became official, I started to give some of Missouri's 2012 recruits a call to get their reaction and to see whether his arrest would have any impact on their decisions. At that point, it was obvious that the recruits new about it -- Will Hines and Torey Boozer, for instance, were tweeting about how shocked they were.
I didn't reach all of Missouri's recruits, but from talking with the ones I did, I can tell you the support for Pinkel appears to be widespread and unconditional.
Maty Mauk, Morgan Steward, Michael Scherer, Chaston Cuffee and Torey Boozer all said that Pinkel's arrest would have no impact on their decision. Scherer, easily this class's most talkative and eloquent recruit, summed up his feelings in a great way:
"It doesn't change a thing with my commitment," Scherer said. "He's only human and he made a mistake and, knowing him, he is going to do everything he can and more to make up for it."
The reputation Pinkel has built over the last 11 seasons took a hit with Wednesday night's arrest, but it appears Missouri's commitments realize that it doesn't change everything he's built or stood for while in Columbia. I can't say how it will affect some of the top uncommitted guys, but the fact that recruits like four-star Whiteland (IN) offensive tackle Jake Meadorhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Jake-Meador-118383 are still visiting this weekend shows that one (very) bad decision won't destroy all the work Pinkel has done in his time as Missouri's coach.
-- As I said above, Meador is still visiting this weekend. Brandon Joggerst, the coach at O'Fallon, said O'Fallon (IL) athlete Ka'Ra Stewarthttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Ka'Ra-Stewart-132659 is visiting this weekend, as well. He also said that Stewart visited LAST weekend, as a last-minute trip. I apologize for letting that one slip through the cracks; when I checked visitors at the end of the game, I didn't see Stewart.
Anyway, Joggerst said Stewart had a good first trip to Columbia, and Missouri is in the thick of things.
"I think it went really well," Joggerst said. "It was an exciting win, and that helped. We talked about it when he got back, and he likes the fact that a lot of people from O'Fallon go to Mizzou. So he could get away from home, but still see a lot of familiar faces."
Joggerst said Missouri is in the process of scheduling an official visit with Stewart, but it hasn't been set up yet. Right now, the only other visit on his docket is a Dec. 9 trip to Iowa. So, if he does take an official to Mizzou, it would have to be the weekend following that. Joggerst said Stewart wants to make a decision before Christmas. If he takes an official visit to Mizzou, that'll be three trips in around six weeks. Odds are, that puts Mizzou in fantastic shape to land one of the fastest-rising athletes in the nation.
Joining them is one of the top 2013 prospects in the state, Springfield (MO) Glendale defensive tackle Dakota Brakehttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Dakota-Brake-133391. Brake's support for Pinkel was made evident on Twitter last night, when he announced his visits and ended it by saying, in Twitter-speak, "Pinkel Rocks." As a poster pointed out on this board yesterday, Brake's mother posted on Facebook that the family supports Gary Pinkel. So, at least with one top 2013 recruit, Pinkel's mistake won't change things.
Brake, for those who don't know, is a 6-foot-2, 265-pound athlete. He's a champion powerlifter, and has won national competitions for his age group. He also gave Evan Boehm all he could handle in the first-round of the playoffs, and appears set for a big senior year. Brake and his family are unabashed Missouri fans, but were also very impressed with last week's unofficial trip to Arkansas. It's still a long time before Brake has to make a decision, but Missouri is in great shape early on.
-- Another new name to enter the fold is South Bend (IN) athlete David Perkinshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-David-Perkins-116914. Perkins is a four-star athlete, the No. 166-player in the nation. He was a Notre Dame commit, but de-committed recently and appears set to play college ball elsewhere. Missouri is making a push for Perkins, but he's a little quiet on recruiting because of bad publicity from de-committing from the hometown school. Our Midwest analyst, Josh Helmholdt, is going to cover Perkins' game tonight, and told me he would find out any info he can about Perkins and Mizzou. At this point, however, it appears that LSU is in the lead.
-- One of Missouri's more recent offers is Angleton (TX) athlete Ryan Jacksonhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Ryan-Jackson-110757. I haven't been able to reach Jackson, a Houston commitment, but I've heard that while he's committed to the Cougars, he's going to explore Missouri's offer. I take that to mean that a visit could be set up for the near future.
