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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Update from Jorden Edmonds

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Jorden Edmonds — who originally scheduled to be at Missouri today — said he’s still planning to make an unofficial visit to a Tigers game this season.

The Class of 2026 athlete said he doesn’t talk to cornerbacks coach Al Pogue too often, but Pogue has liked the 6-foot-3 defensive back’s length and ability to attack passes.

“My relationship with them has been good me, and Mark (Manfred) talks about it all the time,” Edmonds said.

Missouri commit Mark Manfred got back to Columbia on Saturday, while trying to get his Marietta (Ga.) Sprayberry teammate to join him.

“He just always says they make it feel like home for him, and it’s a great place,” Edmonds said.

FOOTBALL Georgia or Texas?

I HATE both programs. Having said that, I don’t want UT to come into the SEC their first year and win the conference. This is the school that destroyed the SWC and the Big 8/12. One of my best buddies went to UT and I wouldn’t be able to stand it if UT won. (As an aside, I was accepted to UT, Indiana, LSU, and Mizzou back in the day. Made the logical choice and went to Mizzou).

GAME THREAD What I want for my Birthday!!!

A huge Mizzou win against Auburn. Tomorrow is Oct 19th and it happens to be my Birthday. The last time I remember them playing on my Birthday, was in 2013 against Florida. I was there with my brother, and Mauk looked like a rising star on the field. We kicked their ass, and we were on our way to our first SEC East title.

Note: I couldn't remember playing Vandy on Oct 19th 2019. Who could blame me LOL!!! That season sucked ass, and was BO's last year as a HC at Missouri.

Drink Up Bitches!!!

FOOTBALL RECRUITING Lamont Rogers expected for visit Saturday

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Class of 2025 four-star offensive tackle Lamont Rogers is expected to be back at Missouri on Saturday for an unofficial visit. The second highest-rated Tigers commit took an unofficial visit to Texas A&M on Oct. 5, when the Tigers played against the Aggies in College Station. Rogers gained recent buzz about flipping his commitment, but for now, he'll get another opportunity to talk with coaches and fellow commits in person.

Fellow four-star offensive tackle Jack Lange said he's excited to see Rogers again and talk with other recruits ahead of the Auburn game.

GAME THREAD PRE-GAME THREAD

Wake up everybody, it's Homecoming!

Here's a little pre-game reading for you guys from all Kenny and I have done leading up to this game.

First, here's my last-minute predictions and keys

Next, here's the overall scouting report including how to watch for those not in town

Here's Kenny's look at the starters as recruits

And the deep dives:
Quarterbacks vs. Pass coverages


Running backs vs. Run defenses


Receivers vs. Pass coverages

And the offensive and defensive lines

That counts as light reading right? I'm sure you'll all want to go through the tens of thousands of words I typed for this week's deep dives again.

How is everyone feeling as kickoff gets within three hours?

FOOTBALL DRINKWITZ NAMED TO DODD MIDSEASON WATCH LIST

Eli Drinkwitz was announced as one of the 20 coaches listed on the Dodd award watchlist for best football coach in a power-4 conference or independent.
Six SEC coaches made the list.

Here's the full watchlist:
Bret Bielema (Illinois)
Matt Campbell (Iowa State)
Mario Cristobal (Miami)
Ryan Day (Ohio State)
Drinkwitz
James Franklin (Penn State)
Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame)
Josh Heupel (Tennessee)
Brian Kelly (LSU)
Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss)
Chris Klieman (Kansas State)
Dan Lanning (Oregon)
Rhett Lashlee (SMU)
Jeff Monken (Army)
Pat Narduzzi (Pitt)
Brian Newberry (Navy)
Steve Sarkisian (Texas)
Kalani Sitake (BYU)
Kirby Smart (Georgia)
Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
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NEW STORY The Friday File - October 18

In the Friday File, the MizzouToday staff opens up their notebooks before the weekend and drops the news, rumors, tidbits and speculations they have not already shared throughout the week. We start with some notes from open football practices, dip into a little hoops talk and then set the stage for a weekend of recruiting visitors.

FOOTBALL
There were a few green jerseys when I was out at practice this week - the ones I noticed most were on Luther Burden and Triston Newson - but both were fully participating in the drills I was able to see. So, even though Newson is listed as questionable, I expect him to be ready to go Saturday. I didn't catch a glimpse of Nate Noel while I was out there, but there wasn't a green jersey working in with the running backs during the periods reporters were allowed to watch.

Burden has been fully de-listed from the injury report, so no need to worry there and he looked good going through drills.

Practice was pretty upbeat and we were allowed to stick around a bit longer than the week before, or at least it felt like it in the cold.

Mookie Cooper snagged a nice, one-handed catch while we were out there and got a lot of positive response from Drinkwitz on the speakers. It’s really weird hearing his voice come through those big speakers on the sideline when he’s jumping around among the players and you can’t always see where he is talking from.

After Drinkwitz said Joe Moore and Khalil Jacobs were done for the year Tuesday, I tried to get a look at who was working in with the linebackers and pass rushers most. I think Newson just jumps right back in and maybe gets even more snaps than before so the Tigers can tighten up the linebacker rotation a bit without Jacobs. But, with how well Nick Rodriguez played last week, I wouldn't be shocked if he works into the regular rotation starting this week, just to take a look at how he handles higher-level competition. It's easy enough to rack up the tackles against UMass; Auburn is a different challenge.

Drinkwitz was very complimentary of Rodriguez during the press conference, but started his answer talking up Newson coming back. He also said there were a number of young guys who had earned their way onto the field, so there might be a totally new look to the linebacker and defensive line rotation soon. Not at the top, but who comes in to give them a breather.

For replacing Moore, I know Williams Nwaneri got the start in his place, and it was nice to see him get that first sack of his career. I think he'll start being a small part of the rotation going forward, but even starting against UMass, he was splitting snaps with Jhakai Lang. I think Lang is the one we'll see more of going forward, though this week will probably give a very good indication the same way it will with Rodriguez.

HOOPS
The vibe at the basketball media day last week was good. Seems like the guys are very excited to move on from last season and get going on bringing excitement back to Mizzou Arena.

Peyton Marshall looks like he’s slimmed down a little from the videos of his high school games. Getting in the gym with a college strength program should be great for him. Though, part of what makes him so imposing is the weight on the 7-foot frame, so I doubt the Tigers want him slimming down too much.

I talked about it a little in my Fresh Faces feature about him, but I think people are going to love Annor Boateng on and off the court. He’s one of the smartest, most well-spoken 18-year olds I’ve talked to, and he impressed me a lot with his interests outside of basketball. I expect him to quickly become a fan favorite.

RECRUITING
With the impending decommitment of three-star safety Dyllon Williams last week, Missouri planned for its next course of action. The Tigers offered two committed safeties in the Class of 2025 in Zack Harden (Minnesota) and Rylon Dillard-Allen (Washington).

As we reported earlier in the week, Harden won't be on campus for the Auburn game due to his high school team having a makeup game Saturday due to Hurricane Helene. However, look for him to reschedule that official visit to Columbia in the coming weeks.

Dillard-Allen is in a different boat. There's a connection on staff in defensive assistant Christopher Ball, who coached in Dillard-Allen's home state of Arizona, and there was some early Missouri interest, but it feels like that ship has sailed. Dillard-Allen said he would discuss a potential Missouri official visit with his parents and the Washington coaches, but that does not sound too promising.

The Tigers are also in pursuit of four-star cornerback Byron Baldwin, while only having two committed defensive backs -- Charles Bass and Mark Manfred -- in the Class of 2025. Baldwin recently decommitted from Indiana and has expressed interest in Missouri, Penn State and UCLA, but sounds like Colorado is the team to beat after an official visit this past month. Key will be getting Baldwin in Columbia if the Tigers are going to have a shot in this one.

Also on flip watch is three-star wide receiver Jamar Browder, who set official visits to three schools, including one to Missouri on Nov. 9. Browder is a North Carolina State commit, but recent interest from the Tigers as well as Kentucky and Michigan has gotten his attention.

Lebron Hill -- a former Purdue commit -- has been in contact with the Tigers since he backed off his pledge to the Boilermakers on Sept. 30. He still doesn’t have an offer, but the Class of 2025 three-star wide receiver scheduled an official visit to Missouri for Nov. 9.

The Tigers are set for their first home game since Week 4 against Vanderbilt. Multiple official visitors will be on hand, including three-star athlete commit Dakotah Terrell -- who will play tight end when he arrives in Columbia -- and four-star weakside defensive end Tobi Haastrup, who is now playing catch-up in recruiting after only lining up in his first high school football game seven weeks ago.

Missouri can make positive impacts on these upcoming visits with pitches about playing time. The Tigers have thrived in recent recruiting classes by getting underclassmen on the field in multiple capacities. The defensive staff is doing just that with its safety and defensive back targets, while the 2025 class only has two commits for the secondary and question marks about upperclassmen with Joseph Charleston graduating and Tre’Vez Johnson, Sidney Williams and Daylan Carnell entering their final years of eligibility.

Multiple visitors have spoken about learning about the facilities and NIL, but relationships with coaches will also take precedent this weekend. Director of recruiting communications and strategy Maurey Bland has been a name that pops up as well when recruits talk about those relationships with staff.

Here is a look at some of the unofficial visitors expected on campus Saturday:

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