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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Quick hitters from St. Louis

A few late-night takeaways (just pulled in the driveway) from St. Louis

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- Video interview will drop later (checks clock) this morning. There wasn't a whole lot to take away from De Smet's practice, but King can cover a lot of ground at linebacker, a sideline-to-sideline type of player that can do some damage as a pass-rusher too. A commit in the "unheralded" category of this class in terms of rankings, but could be the MVP of the class in 2-3 years.

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- Talked with him today at his school. You all are going to love his interview. It lasted over 12 minutes. Kid is full of energy and enthusiasm. He's stoked to be a part of Mizzou's class.

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- Everything you want to see when you go watch an SEC-caliber OL. He was the tallest, most physically imposing guy on the field at Eureka's Jamboree on Friday. Held the edge and created some holes for his running backs in his brief action. I'll have video of that at some point in the next few days. Really solid 8 minute interview with him. Up to 295 weight wise currently. Lange told me he talked to Andrew Babalola yesterday (Thursday) and is still doing his part in recruiting him to Missouri. If the Tigers can land Babalola, this 2025 OL class is IMPRESSIVE

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- Davis was a total disruptor, specifically along the edge, during De Smet's offense vs. defense portion of practice. Can play inside and outside. He was at "Night at the Zou" during the summer and talked mostly with Al Davis with a sprinkle of Brian Early as well. Missouri seems to be in good shape early on, so we'll see it plays out. Wisconsin and Oklahoma also received summer visits.

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- Harris has seen his recruiting stock pick up quite a bit over the summer. He camped at Ohio State and picked up an offer from the Buckeyes. He was recently at Nebraska in July. His list of suitors are plentiful, but he said Missouri is one of the schools he hears from the most and they were the school to give him his first offer. He talks frequently with LB coach DJ Smith and was in CoMo over the summer for his most recent visit with the Tigers. Harris didn't play a ton, but I saw him make about three tackles when he was in on defense. He's also playing a little wide receiver this year for SLUH as well.

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- Not exactly Missouri related with Pace, but someone asked about him recently in a thread. I talked to him after SLUH's portion of the Jamboree was over and he said he's planning to take fall officials with Iowa, Arkansas, Wyoming, and Memphis. Everyone is recruiting him as a TE with the exception of Iowa, who likes him as a defensive end. Really good kid and gave a really solid interview as well. So, there is your update with Pace for those interested.

Good night...or good morning

  • Poll
FOOTBALL Drinkwitz Opener Sellout Comment a Misstep?

Was Drink's Comment Tone Deaf?

  • No, he was just trying to get butts in seats

    Votes: 646 86.9%
  • Yes, he shouldn't call out fans publicly like that

    Votes: 97 13.1%

I'm sure we all heard the comment that we need to be a "1-0 fanbase" and sell out the Murray State game. On the surface it didn't seem like a huge deal, but it seems to have opened the floodgates for other teams to bash Mizzou's fanbase online.

Seeing a lot of people mocking us for it and saying it's evidence Drink isn't happy here and will jump ship for broader horizons to a better fanbase.

I honestly wasn't even going to post here until I heard the guys on 101espn in St Louis calling Drink tone deaf for it. Seems like it is drawing Drink criticism internally and Mizzou fans criticism externally.

I really wasn't too upset by the comment initially but seeing the reaction it feels like it may have been a bit of a miscue on his part.

NEW STORY TOP 25 OF THE LAST 25: NUMBER 5

Our countdown of the top 25 Mizzou players of the last 25 years has reached the final five. The top player will be revealed the day before Mizzou kicks off the 2024 season against Murray State.

Number 5: Sean Weatherspoon, LB, 2006-09

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They weren't booing. They were saying "SPOOOOON." One of the most charismatic and popular players at Mizzou in the last quarter century, he was also unequivocally one of the best.

Weatherspoon was committed to Houston, but very few people even knew it. In the infant days of recruiting coverage, Spoon was a two-star prospect who just didn't get all that much attention. He took his first official visit to Missouri and famously flipped his commitment when he was walking through a mall in Jasper, TX and saw a Mizzou sweatshirt left out on a rack. He took it as a sign.

Weatherspoon saw limited action as a true freshman. He played in 11 games and made 13 tackles, mostly on special teams. Gary Pinkel had a track record of getting young guys in whom he saw big time potential some seasoning on special teams before they stepped into a bigger role in the next year. Spoon's 2006 season wasn't even an inkling of what was to come.

In Missouri's breakout 2007 season, no player was more of a breakout than Weatherspoon. While the team was led by upperclassmen who were turning into stars, nobody was talking about the sophomore linebacker before the year. They would be afterwards. He was a first-team all-conference selection after leading Mizzou with 127 tackles. He added 9.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 8 passes defended (5th in the Big 12) and two forced fumbles.

While 2008 was a bit of a disappointment for the Tigers, it was Spoon's best year. He led the Big 12 and all of FBS with 155 tackles (2nd in Mizzou history) and solo stops with 76. He added 18.5 TFL, 5 sacks, and three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns (#1 in FBS). He was second in the conference in tackles and once again the leader in solo tackles with 79. He was named a second-team all-American by the Walter Camp Foundation.

With most of the other big names from the 2007 team gone, Spoon was Mizzou's anchor in 2009. He helped the Tigers transition to the next round of stars with 111 tackles, 15 TFL, 4 sacks and an interception. He was named all-Big 12 for the third consecutive season. He is the only three-time first-team all-conference selection in the time period we're covering with this list.

Spoon was drafted 19th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2009. He played 67 games over seven seasons for the Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. He finished his pro career with 330 tackles, 25 TFL, 8 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and a touchdown. Many making guesses at the top of this list did not put him in the top five, but that has a lot to do with offensive positions getting more of the headlines. Spoon is one of the top two defensive players of the last 25 years and one of the most decorated individuals regardless of position. He was inducted to the Mizzou Hall of Fame in 2017.

Up Next: No. 4

Previously


6 Chase Coffman
7 Danario Alexander
8 Markus Golden
9 Shane Ray
10 Justin Gage
11 Martin Rucker
12 Henry Josey
13 Aldon Smith
14 Nick Bolton
15 William Moore
16 Cody Schrader
17 Justin Britt
18 James Franklin
19 Jeff Wolfert
20 Michael Sam
21 Ziggy Hood
22 Drew Lock
23 Tyler Badie
24 Mitch Morse
25 Michael Egnew
Five that just missed the cut
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