Long-time local radio personality – and long-time friend of the Tiger Club – Steven St. John was our luncheon guest yesterday. SSJ is the co-host of “The Border Patron” on Sports Radio 810 WHB.

The Club meets each Tuesday during the school year at Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill. We’ll be off for the holidays, resuming meetings on Jan. 10 with Kathy Nelson, President and CEO of KC Sports Commission, and Dave Borchardt, the Commission’s Vice President of Corporate & Community Relationships.


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Figured it would be a good time to run down what's going on in a kind of mini-Chamber for you all. The early signing period opens tomorrow. @JHamilton23 will have a full rundown of what to watch later this morning. We expect everyone on the current commit list to sign plus Oklahoma transfer WR Theo Wease Jr.

There are a couple guys that there has been a little bit of doubt about:

Florida DB Shamar McNeil visited North Carolina State over the weekend. He has a high school teammate committed to the Wolfpack. We have not been able to talk to McNeil since the visit, but the indication we've gotten from Mizzou sources is that the Tigers fully expect him to sign with them.

There has been some speculation about Gabarri Johnson after Bush Hamdan left. We have no reason to believe there is anything to that. A source told us last week that there was no concern Johnson would look around after Hamdan's departure. He has tweeted about his signing ceremony on Wednesday.

What you guys really want to know is if there will be any additions to the commitment list between now and the end of Wednesday. I will predict there will be. I think we'll see at least one high school prospect we haven't been talking about pop for the Tigers tomorrow.

I do not expect that high school prospect to be four-star Taderius Collins. Nick Harris of Rivals reported on Monday night that it looked like an Auburn/Mizzou battle for Collins. Our information at the time of that report was that Mizzou isn't expecting to sign Collins at this point in time.

Safety CJ Johnson could be a signing day addition, though. He told Jarod Hamilton on Sunday night coming off his Mizzou visit that he will likely sign somewhere tomorrow. Mizzou, Auburn and UT-San Antonio are in the running here.

As far as the portal goes, the emerging target is Northwestern DE Austin Firestone. Sean Williams talked to Firestone on Monday night after news came out he had visited Columbia this weekend. It sounds like the Tigers are in good shape here and have a shot, but we aren't expecting an announcement tomorrow.

As far as the rest of the portal, it's been quieter than I expected. I thought Missouri would have a few more transfer visits over the first couple of weekends (and, yes, it's possible there are a couple we haven't uncovered yet). It's not a reason to panic because the portal is open for another month and guys are still going in every day. But I've still been surprised the news has been a little slower than I expected. The latest follows on Twitter for Eli Drinkwitz are:

Chris Mayo, OL, West Virginia: Mayo has been in Morgantown for three seasons, but has played in just one game. He did not see action during the COVID year, then he redshirted in 2021 and did not play. He appeared in one game in 2022 as a redshirt freshman. He has three years left to play.

Clark Barrington, OL, BYU: I think the link is for the right guy. He signed with BYU in 2016. He then served a Mormon mission in Uganda (I believe those last for two years). He redshirted in 2018, then started 40 games and appeared in 46 over the next four years for the Cougars. Because 2020 did not count toward eligibility, he still has a COVID year remaining. By my count, he's got to be at least 24 years old and possibly older.

Duce Chestnut, DB, Syracuse: Chestnut was a freshman all-American for the Orange in 2021 with three interceptions. Over two years he's played 24 games with 83 tackles, 13 pass breakups, four interceptions and a touchdown.

We don't know if there's mutual interest with any of these three. We only know that Drink has started following them on Twitter over the last couple of days.

As always, we'll keep you updated.

Article on TOS makes very positive comments about Mizzou. No rating, no idea why..Wants to commit to a school soon

“I haven’t taken any officials this year but I’ll be taking those right after the break,” he said. “Nothing is set yet but I think I’ll definitely take an official to Missouri.”
“Other than Missouri I’ll be visiting Vanderbilt unofficially starting Wednesday to watch a game. I may take one to South Carolina, and I’ve been talking to schools like Oklahoma, Virginia and a couple more.”

Pierce broke down Missouri, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina with 247Sports.

Missouri: “I have a really good relationship with coach Nutt. Also a couple weeks ago they had me take a zoom call with the whole staff and coach Gates is coming to see me right after break.”

I reached out to the number we had for Leary. Turns out it was his high school coach. The coach said he has not heard from Drinkwitz. That obviously does not mean Devin hasn't. Will keep trying to see what we can find out.

Recruiting expert Danny Heitert zoomed with the KC Tiger Club last week. We held the interview until today to avoid a conflict with Danny's appearance at the Tiger Club in StL.

Based in St. Louis, Heitert formerly served as the proprietor of STC Grid Reports, which provided football scouting services to Division 1, 2 and 3 football programs in the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, Sun Belt, and PAC 12 Conferences.


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Ben Sternberg has a YouTube channel called Benny Buckets. It’s vlogs showing the whole tigers basketball team. It’s pretty funny and cool to see the whole team. Check it out

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Just flipped to Alabama. Wonder if that will have any effect on Miles McVay?

For all of us watchers out here that have opinions about the motivation and wisdom of players opting out of bowl game appearances, there is this ...

Sec 121, Row JJ Seats 1-3

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Don't miss our annual recruiting luncheon Tuesday December 20th as we discuss Mizzou sports and recruiting with our special guest and recruiting guru Danny Heitert. An annual event that packs them in to hear the latest on the eve of National Signing Day. Danny will provide an in depth look at all the recruits expected to sign with Mizzou Football.

We meet at Llywelyn's Pub on 17 W Moody Avenue in Webster Groves. Doors open at 11am with the guest speaker presentation at noon. Lunch is $25, which includes a sandwich, side and soda/water/tea. Although walk-ins are welcome, this annual luncheon always fills every seat. To reserve a seat please email Curt Sawyer at curt@sawcap.com. We strongly suggest that you secure a seat.

Video now posted. First 15 minutes is our interview with Dre Gholston

Just lost to northern Alabama 66-65 at home

National FCS DPOY

per FB…

#JacksonState #Football took home three national honors on the @boxtorow BOXTOROW #HBCU All-American Team.



@aubreymiller45 made 103 tackles (56 solo) with two sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, four quarterback hits, five pass breakups, and one touchdown. Miller, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist as FCS Defensive Player of the Year, recorded eight+ tackles in a game seven times, including four 10+ tackle games. Miller tied a career-high with 19 tackles against Texas Southern (Nov. 5), made 17 tackles against Alabama A&M (Nov. 12), and 11 tackles at Alcorn (Nov. 19).

Newson’s JuCO sent my newsroom a press release this morning. I can't find a link so here's the copy-and-paste version.

Forgive me if we already knew about this.

===

ELITE DEFENDER NEWSON NABS PRESTIGIOUS NJCAA ALL-AMERICAN HONORS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Triston Newson has officially joined an elite group of defensive standouts that have recently suited up for the Northeast Mississippi Community College football program.

Newson, who was one of the top tacklers in the entire country this fall, was the recipient of first-team All-American recognition by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

“I want to thank all the guys and the coaches that were with me,” said Newson. “I stayed dialed in on each play. I run to the ball to make sure I might have a chance at it. I’m very happy with myself, but I’ve gotta keep working.”

The Independence High School graduate earned this distinction following his third year with the Tigers. Newson received an additional season of eligibility after the worldwide coronavirus pandemic shortened his true freshman campaign.

He is the first NJCAA All-American at Northeast since Sam Williams, who is currently a rookie for the Dallas Cowboys after being taken earlier this year in the second round of the National Football League (NFL) Draft, in 2018.

“Triston has not been given anything. He’s earned it,” Tigers head coach Greg Davis said. “There’s something special about that young man. He came to me back in the spring and said, ‘Coach, I’m about to have a breakout year.’ Obviously, he did.”

Newson is the third player on record in school history to produce more than 100 tackles in a single season. His 107 stops are the second most at Northeast behind only LP Spence’s 116 takedowns in 2000.

He posted double-digit tackles during all nine regular season games for the Tigers. Newson had a career-high 15 stops during Northeast’s victory over nationally ranked East Mississippi Community College inside Tiger Stadium.

The 6-2, 210-pound linebacker added nine tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass break ups, four forced fumbles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries during his phenomenal campaign.

Newson won national and state player of the week honors after recovering a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, forcing two other fumbles and grabbing an interception in a triumph at Coahoma Community College.

His inaugural Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Player of the Week award came after the Tigers’ week three matchup at Itawamba Community College. Newson accounted for 13 takedowns, a fumble recovery and an interception versus the Indians.

Newson was also sensational during Northeast’s homecoming win over Mississippi Delta Community College. He had 10 stops, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception to help the Tigers preserve their first shutout in 11 years.

He was one of only eight players at all levels of two-year college football, including the independent California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), to rack up triple-digits in total tackles this season.

Newson will become the fourth consecutive NJCAA All-American defender from Northeast to advance to the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He follows in the footsteps of Deion Belue at the University of Alabama plus Lavon Hooks and Williams at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).

The University of Missouri commit amassed 163 takedowns, 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, five pass break ups, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries during 23 appearances with the Tigers.

Newson is a consensus three-star athlete according to recruiting services 247 Sports, Rivals and ESPN. He was tabbed as the No. 33 overall prospect among all positions in the 2023 ESPN Junior College 50 ratings.

He is the fifteenth All-American selection from the NJCAA in program history and the seventh in the last 12 full seasons. Newson has also obtained academic all-conference accolades as a result of his hard work in the classroom.

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there's Firestone. We can't do FutureCasts for transfers. But if we could, I'd put one in.

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Honestly don’t know if he was any good at Arkansas or not

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Taylor Powell playing for Eastern Michigan

Loses to Wofford at home 67-62

Mizzou checks in at #64 overall, good for 8th place in the SEC...

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