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FOOTBALL RECRUITING *** PROJECTED MIZZOU, UMASS STARTERS AS RECRUITS ***


I thought this one would be tougher to navigate, given UMass is a smaller program, but the Minutemen have a large number of transfers to fill up its projected starters based on the depth chat this week.

NEW STORY SAID AND UNSAID: DENNIS GATES' FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE

We're getting our basketball coverage started with a recap of Dennis Gates' press conference Wednesday as the Tigers prepare for the new season.

We'll have more coming soon, so keep an eye out.

VIDEO Former Mizzou offensive lineman, current Missouri Rep Kurtis Gregory talks NIL with KC Tigers

Kurtis Gregory -- a Blackburn, Mo native who now resides in Marshall, Mo -- was an offensive lineman for Mizzou from 2006-2009. He started out on the defensive line, switched to left tackle, then finished as a right guard. In 2009 he was selected as 2nd team All-Big 12 offensive lineman. He was also a 1st team academic All-Big 12 for a couple years as well. He attended camp with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. He is now a Missouri Representative for District 51 covering Johnson, Pettis and Saline counties. He has been instrumental in championing a bill that updated Missouri's Name, Image and Likeness law.

Kurtis was the Tiger Club of KC guest speaker on Tues., October 8, 2024. The Club meets each Tuesday during the football season. Buffet lunch starts at 11:30 am with the program starting at noon. Our October 15 guests will be Blair Kerkhoff and Sam McDowell from the Kansas City Star.

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING *** RECRUITING RUMOR MILL ***


@Adam Gorney provided updates on Preston Ashley, Tobi Haastrup, Anthony Kennedy Jr., Maxwell Riley and Tyson Robinson.

I'm heading out this afternoon to see Haastrup.

Here's more on Kennedy's upcoming visit to Missouri:

FOOTBALL RECRUITING *** FOUR-STAR SAFETY PLANS MIZZOU VISIT ***


Class of 2026 defensive back Preston Ashley took an unofficial visit to Texas A&M on Saturday, when the Aggies defeated Missouri, but the four-star is now expecting to take a trip in November to Columbia.

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING *** FOUR-STAR PREVIEWS OFFICIAL VISIT TO MIZZOU ***


I took a trip to Mayde Creek yesterday to watch and talk to four-star defensive end Tobi Haastrup. A newcomer to football, Haastrup has piled up offers through six weeks. He’s now set to take an official visit to Mizzou.

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Constructive question for Kenny&Kev

I have been lurking on other boards here on Rivals and it seems to me that the ones that have the most traffic also seem to have a decent Podcast/Youtube presence. Are there any plans in the future for you to add a POD or video features to the site? RebelGrove has ties with MPW Digital and it is an amazing combination... was wondering if something like that may be in the works for over here. We have shown a great appetite and strong support for that kind of thing in the past and if done right could be a great addition to the MizzouToday offering. (don't just focus on Mizzou, but the whole SEC as well as the national landscape.. multiple shows.. call in shows.. etc)

FOOTBALL RECRUITING Cantwell ranks new No. 1 in 2026 class

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Following the reclassification of five-star defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart, Jackson Cantwell moved into the No. 1 spot for the Class of 2026.


Cantwell -- who is currently on an unofficial visit to Georgia -- recently talked with Rivals about his recruitment:

FOOTBALL DRINKWITZ AT PRESS CONFERENCE

Here's some quick notes about what Eli Drinkwitz talked about at media day:

Recapping Saturday: disappointed in performance and preparation. We all take full responsibility for not playing to our full capability.

Slow start on both sides of the ball, third downs, inability to run the ball or stop the run. Got to correct those

Begins with playing complementary football

"I take full responsibility for everything that happens in this building"

Clear and direct message to the team: one bad day doesn't define the season, the response will.

"How we respond will define who we are as a team"

The focus the rest of the week is how to improve and how to beat UMass

UMass is better than its record

They've led late and they're clearing learning what coach is trying to instill in them

Very multiple in the way they attack, multiple fronts, multiple coverages, multiple blitz schemes

OC is an NC State grade, Drink knows him from his time there

Gonna need to play better defensively, more simplistic and better tackling

Will have hands full in a unique environment

Shouldn't have mattered who was playing quarterback, we should have been better

We haven't had to face this challenge yet this year (rebounding from a loss). It's a chance to see how this team steps up

"We all have a perfection dream, but that's not reality"

Obviously, a lot lacking (pass rush), there's a lot of different things we can do and will challenge ourselves to do better this week

Really hitting on everyone accepting responsibility for lack of execution

We were unable to get into a rhythm, unable to run the football, unable to get a back-and-forth game because of how we opened

They were able to pressure the quarterback because they had no fear of the run game

"Brady did a really good job of scrambling and creating first downs, one was called back, we haven't been hyper-focused on the quarterback run game," but might in the future

Haven't seen anything or asked him. Says "He is fully healthy" about Cook

You look at everything, the preparation, the travel, the practice plans. A slight adjustment can change the direction of a football team

We have officials here on Wednesday's and we need to do a better job of handling it when those guys point out issues (on key penalties)

There needs to be a more concerted effort to find an offensive rhythm

"I didn't see anything on the film that told me we had a lack of effort"

Did not respond on either side of the ball with making the plays necessary

Have to respond better

"I expect more competition from every position on our football team"

"We need to compete to get the best out of our team"

Defensively, got some challenges to bounce back from. Got to get back to being an attacking team

Offensively, figure out how to continue to run the ball effectively to help create explosive plays vertically

Asked about Luther's body language "There's nobody on the team questioning Luther's drive, competitiveness or want to win. Everyone saw him competing for catches at the end of the game."

UMass does an excellent job taking RPOs, and they do a lot of double moves

"We want to play aggressive, but we can't bite on double moves"

FOOTBALL RECRUITING *** RISING 2026 RB TALKS MIZZOU OFFER ***


Jae Lamar is one of three Class of 2026 running backs to receive a Missouri offer in the past few days. The junior is starting to see an uptick in his recruitment, as SEC programs are getting him on campus and extending offers.

FOOTBALL Which would you rather have

A coach (Drink) that recruits players to Mizzou at a rate Mizzou has never seen before... Have some seasons where the team wins in-spite of the coaching because of sheer talent.. But otherwise a lot of 7-9 win seasons. Wishing for more and knowing there is more juice but just can't extract it because the lack of coaching.

Or have a mediocre recruiter with occasional top 25-20 classes... But is a whizz with the X's and O's And every 3-4 years with a shot of something special.. Which is it?

I honestly don't know what is the better route?
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NEW STORY THE DEEP DIVE: MISSOURI RB'S VS. UMASS RUN DEFENSE

Now that we've looked at the quarterbacks and how they match up with the secondaries, let's take a look at the run game.

First up is Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll against the main big boys in UMass' run defense.

NEW STORY THE DEEP DIVE: MISSOURI DB's VS. TAISUN PHOMMACHANH

Writing out Phommachanh a bunch of times was real fun.

Yesterday we looked at how Brady Cook matched up with the UMass pass coverage, let's flip it around today with Missouri's defensive backs vs. UMass QB Taisun Phommachanh.


FOOTBALL COOK NAMED TO WATCHLIST TOP-25

Brady Cook has been announced as one of the top-25 on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watchlist for the best quarterback set to graduate.

Here’s the top-25

Drew Allar, Penn State
Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Rocco Becht, Iowa State
Carson Beck, Georgia
Brady Cook, Missouri
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Billy Edwards Jr., Maryland
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Noah Fifita, Arizona
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Seth Henigan, Memphis
Will Howard, Ohio State
Haynes King, Georgia Tech
Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
Kyle McCord, Syracuse
Fernando Mendoza, Cal
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Behren Morton, Texas Tech
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Tyler Shough, Louisville
Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati
Cam Ward, Miami

FOOTBALL RECRUITING UPDATED: Mizzou interest in 2026 four-star center

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Updated post on Grant Wise receiving an offer from Missouri:

The four-star center received a Missouri offer on his Rivals profile Oct. 7. Wise -- who never posted an offer from the Tigers to his social media accounts -- talked with offensive graduate assistant Cooper Williams on July 18 about visiting for the Buffalo game. Talking with Wise's coach about the reality of getting the recruit up to Columbia, Williams said he didn't want to offer Wise to just offer him, but he said if there was legit interest in the Tigers, then he would officially offer him.

Wise told Williams he was interested and wanted to fit Missouri into his schedule this fall, looking at his school's bye week (Week 2) as the best opportunity. Nothing materialized there, and the conversations have gone quiet. Wise still receives weekly mail and game graphics from director of player personnel Ryan Trichel.

Wise said he interpreted Williams' initial message as an offer, but he felt it was "inappropriate" to ask for confirmation, leading him to not officially announce it. As of right now, though, there doesn't seem to be interest from both parties.

The Pace (Fla.) recruit recently visited Clemson while Alabama, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas A&M are also on his list.

FOOTBALL RECRUITING *** BOISE STATE COMMIT DISCUSSES MIZZOU OFFER ***


Missouri running back coach Curtis Luper offered Class of 2025 three-star Brendon Haygood on Sunday. Haygood -- who committed to Boise State on Sept. 22 -- is considering a visit to Columbia, as he learns more from the Tigers staff.

The Tigers have one 2025 running back commit: Jamarion Morrow -- who has a similar build to Haygood.
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