*Caleb Grill wrapped up his visit to Missouri last night. There has been no commitment at this point in time. There was optimism all week long that Grill and Tamar Bates would both announce over the weekend. Bates did so on Friday night, but Grill did not before he left campus. It's still possible, I suppose, he could decide to do so this morning before he heads to West Virginia for a visit today through some time Tuesday. That seems unlikely. From what we hear, everything went very well with Grill this weekend, but he wants to have another visit to compare. I'd put Mizzou as a leader going into the visit. West Virginia is going to have to catch them. The Mountaineers have been VERY active in the portal and are one of the early potential winners with Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa already committed and Syracuse big man Jesse Edwards on campus this weekend. The NIL money appears to be flowing in Morgantown (that's not a shot at WVU, it's legal and it's the way you get big names out of the transfer portal). Grill hasn't spoken at all since entering the portal. The next thing we hear from him is almost certainly going to be a commitment announcement. I would anticipate that happens sometime this week after the visit to Morgantown. The only question is whether it will be Missouri or West Virginia.
*If the Tigers land Grill, all they need out of the portal is a big man. You could argue it's all they need even if they don't land him. I'm not sure at this point if Grill goes to West Virginia if Missouri would pursue another shooter. My guess would be yes, but I'm not positive on that. As far as the big man, we're trying to figure out what's going on with Virginia's Kadin Shedrick. He was scheduled to visit on Wednesday after a visit to Texas on Tuesday. Those visit plans have supposedly been rearranged, but there has been no information on what the new plans are. If we can get some clarity, we'll pass that on.
*By a week from today, Kobe Brown has to announce his intentions to enter the NBA Draft. At least we think he would do that. Dennis Gates talked earlier this week all about the process. It's a foregone conclusion Kobe is going to go through it. We're so used to seeing kids tweet out graphics saying they're testing the draft waters that we're waiting for that. But technically Kobe wouldn't have to do that. All he has to do is file the requisite paperwork with the NBA. I guess it's possible that's already been done and he just isn't the type of kid that needs to make a big deal tweeting out the graphic on social media. I don't know. If we haven't seen a public announcement out of him by about Friday, I'll check if he's already done it and just didn't publicize it. Either way, he's going to test those waters.
*On the football side, the transfer portal opened again yesterday. It remains open until two weeks from today. Taj Butts entered the portal, we've reported Marcus Scott II and Ian Matthews will. That gets the Tigers to 83 scholarship players for the fall.
The two spots right now are prioritized for an interior offensive lineman and a defensive end. On the OL Cam'Ron Johnson visited yesterday and Sean Williams communicated with him after the trip. All reviews of the visit were good (they usually are). Missouri feels confident about its chances with Johnson. He is taking a visit to USC next weekend (there's also been some talk of Cal). We understand most are thinking "if he's visiting USC and he didn't commit this weekend, Missouri is screwed." He could go to USC. But from what we're hearing there's no reason to just throw in the towel. Yes, USC has a team that could compete for a national title and it's in LA and they have NIL money they can throw around like cheap candy. But Johnson knows he's a day one starter at Missouri. Does he know that at USC? Doubtful. That, and the presence of Brandon Jones, who coached Johnson at Houston, are Mizzou's two big selling points.
If Johnson goes elsewhere, there are a couple possibilities. The Tigers offered Troy Everett from Appalachian State yesterday. So did Illinois, Oklahoma, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Louisville. Mizzou is also interested in Wyoming OL Emmanuel Pregnon. He hasn't yet announced an offer from Mizzou, but did get offers from Arizona, Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon, UCLA and Indiana on his first day in the portal. Competition will be stiff for both of these players.
*The options are multiple depending on which (if any) of these guys pick Mizzou. Johnson told us Missouri talked to him about playing center. Another possibility we heard is having him at guard and moving Xavier Delgado over to center for his final year. Everett is a natural center and would slide in and compete for the job. Pregnon doesn't seem like a center at 6-6, 318, but again, Missouri could move someone if it felt that to be necessary. They would also be willing to add at least two of these three players if two of them wanted to come.
*The top option at defensive end remains Florida State transfer Derrick McLendon. He visited South Carolina and Missouri last week. Not sure if he was anywhere this weekend at this time.
*Beyond that, if any more spots open up (and that's certainly possible), tight end and running back are where Missouri would look. Tight end is more pressing than running back. Missouri kind of needs a tight end. They don't need a running back, but if the right guy was there they'd be willing to take one.
Just trying to get everything in one place periodically for those who aren't keeping up with every post every day (shame on you). Will update as we get information.
*If the Tigers land Grill, all they need out of the portal is a big man. You could argue it's all they need even if they don't land him. I'm not sure at this point if Grill goes to West Virginia if Missouri would pursue another shooter. My guess would be yes, but I'm not positive on that. As far as the big man, we're trying to figure out what's going on with Virginia's Kadin Shedrick. He was scheduled to visit on Wednesday after a visit to Texas on Tuesday. Those visit plans have supposedly been rearranged, but there has been no information on what the new plans are. If we can get some clarity, we'll pass that on.
*By a week from today, Kobe Brown has to announce his intentions to enter the NBA Draft. At least we think he would do that. Dennis Gates talked earlier this week all about the process. It's a foregone conclusion Kobe is going to go through it. We're so used to seeing kids tweet out graphics saying they're testing the draft waters that we're waiting for that. But technically Kobe wouldn't have to do that. All he has to do is file the requisite paperwork with the NBA. I guess it's possible that's already been done and he just isn't the type of kid that needs to make a big deal tweeting out the graphic on social media. I don't know. If we haven't seen a public announcement out of him by about Friday, I'll check if he's already done it and just didn't publicize it. Either way, he's going to test those waters.
*On the football side, the transfer portal opened again yesterday. It remains open until two weeks from today. Taj Butts entered the portal, we've reported Marcus Scott II and Ian Matthews will. That gets the Tigers to 83 scholarship players for the fall.
The two spots right now are prioritized for an interior offensive lineman and a defensive end. On the OL Cam'Ron Johnson visited yesterday and Sean Williams communicated with him after the trip. All reviews of the visit were good (they usually are). Missouri feels confident about its chances with Johnson. He is taking a visit to USC next weekend (there's also been some talk of Cal). We understand most are thinking "if he's visiting USC and he didn't commit this weekend, Missouri is screwed." He could go to USC. But from what we're hearing there's no reason to just throw in the towel. Yes, USC has a team that could compete for a national title and it's in LA and they have NIL money they can throw around like cheap candy. But Johnson knows he's a day one starter at Missouri. Does he know that at USC? Doubtful. That, and the presence of Brandon Jones, who coached Johnson at Houston, are Mizzou's two big selling points.
If Johnson goes elsewhere, there are a couple possibilities. The Tigers offered Troy Everett from Appalachian State yesterday. So did Illinois, Oklahoma, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Louisville. Mizzou is also interested in Wyoming OL Emmanuel Pregnon. He hasn't yet announced an offer from Mizzou, but did get offers from Arizona, Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon, UCLA and Indiana on his first day in the portal. Competition will be stiff for both of these players.
*The options are multiple depending on which (if any) of these guys pick Mizzou. Johnson told us Missouri talked to him about playing center. Another possibility we heard is having him at guard and moving Xavier Delgado over to center for his final year. Everett is a natural center and would slide in and compete for the job. Pregnon doesn't seem like a center at 6-6, 318, but again, Missouri could move someone if it felt that to be necessary. They would also be willing to add at least two of these three players if two of them wanted to come.
*The top option at defensive end remains Florida State transfer Derrick McLendon. He visited South Carolina and Missouri last week. Not sure if he was anywhere this weekend at this time.
*Beyond that, if any more spots open up (and that's certainly possible), tight end and running back are where Missouri would look. Tight end is more pressing than running back. Missouri kind of needs a tight end. They don't need a running back, but if the right guy was there they'd be willing to take one.
Just trying to get everything in one place periodically for those who aren't keeping up with every post every day (shame on you). Will update as we get information.
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