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FOOTBALL RECRUITING
First and foremost, today is decision day for Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick.
The final four are Mizzou, Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn. Nobody's talking about Auburn or Arkansas. They don't seem to be factors. It's a Mizzou/Alabama discussion. There has been some conflicting information here.
Earlier this week, we put in a Futurecast for Kirkpatrick to Mizzou with a high level of confidence. Over the next couple of days we had a colleague saying he believed it was going to be Alabama. But after doing more research, pretty much everyone else disagrees with that one person. We've got one guy saying Bama and everyone else saying Mizzou.
The immediate question is whether Kirkpatrick's Alabama offer is committable. Ultimately we don't know. We were told as of last week it was. That may have changed. We've had some people indicate it has. It really doesn't matter either way. The bottom line is Missouri has been on this kid a long time, wants him and we believe will get him. We've got someone covering the announcement at 5 p.m. in Gadsden and we'll go live a few minutes before that from Kirkpatrick's high school (technology permitting, obviously). Subscribe and get alerts when we go live. Obviously, if the announcement goes Mizzou's way, we'll have continuing coverage.
*There are two other priority targets we know of right now:
Williams is set to announce on September 1st. His final four are Mizzou, UCF, Indiana and Florida State. We aren't at all sure the FSU offer is committable. We see this as a Mizzou/UCF conversation.
Wingo is still, for now, announcing on December 20. But there's been a lot of chatter that is going to move up. Wingo's father told us earlier this week that wasn't in the plans right now, but Ryan told Chad Simmons of on3 that he's considering it. If he moves the decision up, the only real reason is to begin collecting NIL money prior to December 20. The only school that can offer him that is Mizzou. In other words, if a decision comes prior to December 20, it would be pretty surprising if it wasn't Missouri.
We've talked to Texas people this week about Wingo. There are people around UT that feel confident (we know, breaking news). People around Missouri are confident too; probably more so than they were before the Williams Nwaneri announcement became official. There are others (Tennessee, maybe Michigan and Texas A&M) who aren't out of this conversation. But right now we'd go about 55% Mizzou, 35% Texas, 10% someone else. We're at the ready here for a change in the commitment timeline. It wouldn't be shocking to see it happen in September.
*Speaking of Nwaneri, there was a bit of buzz Thursday night when he showed up at a jamboree in Tulsa wearing Oklahoma gloves and cleats (yes, this is the type of thing you talk about with a top five player in the country). Then there was this quote
However, the context of the quote changes quite a bit when you see the actual interview
He was asked "They're still recruiting you and you're still thinking about OU?" It's not an unfair question, but it's a leading question. If he's just asked "Why were you wearing the Oklahoma gloves tonight?" the answer might be different. As we said on Monday, anything's possible and the other schools involved here are not giving up just because he committed to Missouri. But he really doesn't seem like a kid too infatuated with the spotlight and the recruiting process. The strong likelihood is that he signs with Missouri in December. But we can guarantee this isn't the last time people are concerned about it.
*Many have asked if there are other in-state prospects who could be swayed by Nwaneri's decision and the NIL law in Missouri. There are. Missouri is going to take some shots. Here are some quick thoughts on the likely targets:
Mizzou made a late run. If they can get Wingo, the chances with McClellan increase. Ohio State is definitely the favorite for his signature because he's already committed there, but Mizzou isn't out of the conversation yet.
We are told there has at least been some contact here. Honestly, it seems unlikely. Reddell is committed to the best program in college football that has turned out some damn good tight ends lately. We'd put this one as the lowest probability of the guys we're talking about.
There's some chatter that the commitment to Notre Dame (on both sides) is a bit tenuous. Definitely keep an eye out here.
We don't have any real information on this one at all. He was already committed to Mizzou and flipped. And as attractive as the NIL law is in Missouri, the overall pockets are as deep at Oregon as anywhere in the country. We'd put this one as doubtful for now until we hear something different.
Missouri was considered a leader for quite a while here. It surprised us a little bit when Michigan landed him early. We don't think this one is dead at all. He's right up there with Williams for the most likely flip on this list in our opinion.
If Mizzou can get Kirkpatrick and Wingo, that puts the commitment list at 14. Add Williams and you're at 15. Then you hope to get 2-3 flips off those in-state kids and save 2-3 spots for the best available to finish the class of approximately 20 commitments. Again, that's the ideal scenario, not necessarily what will unfold.
BASKETBALL RECRUITING
All eyes on Arkansas.
Boateng is visiting on August 25th. Most have pegged this as a Mizzou/Arkansas battle and there's been some chatter out of Arkansas this week that he may be headed to Columbia ultimately. There's a darkhorse contender here in Georgia Tech, which is now coached by former Arizona and NBA guard Damon Stoudamire. But in talking with someone close to Tech earlier this week, it seems they're in line to get a commitment from shooting guard Jaeden Mustaf, which would likely take them out of the running for Boateng.
There's quite a bit of reason to feel good here. We've told you for months that Missouri feels good about its position. When you talk to people who cover other non-Arkansas schools, the most common thought is that he'll end up at Mizzou. But we want to let this visit happen and gauge some feelings afterwards before we get too far down the road on this one. If he was set on Arkansas, he wouldn't be taking that visit. But he is. That can only be a positive for Mizzou.
If they add Boateng, they take one more high school player max. And even taking one would be dependent on who that one is. So we wait to see what happens with Boateng before we really go any further on the rest of the class. No timeline or decision date has been put out there at this point. It is possible he takes more visits in December. Again, it all comes back to what the word is after his visit to Columbia next weekend.
Stay tuned, we'll update as necessary
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