FOOTBALL RECRUITING
More from our visit with Missouri tight end commit Ryan Hoerstkamp on Wednesday:
- He told me that if things open up, he would like to take official visits to Missouri, Alabama, and maybe Arkansas. Keep in mind, he's only taken two visits to Michigan and Missouri before COVID shut things down, so he'd like to take advantage of the full recruiting experience when he can. It's going to take a lot to pull the three-star prospect off his commitment to Missouri, but Alabama is still showing a lot of interest and is a team to keep an eye on moving forward.
- Hoerstkamp also mentioned that the commits talk with two targets that we've talked about a lot on the site - Kyran Montgomery and Dominic Lovett. He didn't seem to have a sense of which way either target is leaning at the moment.
- The Washington product also said he's been working out with East St. Louis' wide receiver coach Terry Fenton and learning how to use his feet better as a receiver in terms of lining up and releasing. Washington's offense is very run-heavy, so Hoerstkamp is normally used as an extra offensive lineman that occasionally catches some passes. So, he's learning all he can to make an immediate impact once he steps foot on campus.
- Hoerstkamp worked out at defensive end throughout the portion of Wednesday's practice I stayed for, which was over an hour. He was very disruptive when the defense went up against the offense. He deflected two passes, nearly intercepting one, and made a couple of tackles for loss in the backfield on running plays.
- Some FutureCasts have been handed out in favor of the Sun Devils of Arizona State in regards to four-star wide receiver target Dominic Lovett. If that ends up being the case, and we may or may not find out on September 11th, that will be the second straight priority target the Tigers have lost to Arizona State (Ezra Oyetade). It would also be the third they would have lost to a PAC-12 team when you include Keontez Lewis. Our impression is that Missouri's chances aren't completely dead with either Lovett or Lewis, but things are not trending in the right direction.
- One position group that could see some more positive news in recruiting is the defensive line. We expect a commitment from Kyran Montgomery at any time. We are hearing September 1st, but noticed he tweeted out September 5th on Wednesday morning but deleted the tweet quickly. So, who knows the exact date, but there is a time frame to be on the lookout. We haven't heard anything new regarding the four-star prospect, so all indications and momentum seem to be pointing towards Missouri.
- Same thing can be said about Patrick Tukes - he's another defensive line target that could pop at any time and has Missouri momentum.
- The latest Rivals 2021 rankings release is ongoing this week and two things to note from the updates so far. Travion Ford dropped just two spots in the Rivals250, he's now ranked 231. And after an impressive Elite 11 performance in July, quarterback commit Tyler Macon got his much anticipated 4-star ranking
- Missouri offered two underclassmen in Laude 2023 athlete Samuel M'Pemba and Lutheran North 2022 cornerback Caldra Williford.
M'Pemba is already emerging on the national scene as he's picked up offers from Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and others already extending offers to the 2023 prospect.
Williford has an impressive offer list of his own that includes Oregon, Minnesota, West Virginia, and others. He plays opposite of another highly touted Missouri 2022 target at Lutheran North in Toriano Pride.
Speaking of Pride, he's had a big week by picking up new offers from Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Clemson.
- Staying on the 2022 theme, Cardinal Ritter five-star wide receiver Luther Burden is expected to announce his Top 12 today and we would expect Missouri to make it.
BASKETBALL RECRUITING
It was a big week for Cuonzo Martin and Missouri on the recruiting trail. The Tigers got two commitments in the 2021 class, equaling the number of high school commitments the team had landed in the past 15 months. In case you missed it, Kaleb Brown, younger brother of Kobe, and Sean Durugordon, both detailed why they chose Missouri. An athletic scorer and willing defender, Durugordon, in particular, feels like the type of recruit that fits with what Martin wants to do at Missouri.
The two commitments bring Mizzou to three in the 2021 class. We do not believe they are done. The team has five players set to graduate after this season, plus at least one additional open scholarship right now. You have to expect at least one other player is likely to leave either for the NBA Draft or transfer portal, as well, because that happens pretty much every year these days. We think the staff wants to leave at least one, if not multiple spots open for transfer additions, but we also think there will be at least one high school kid added to the class, and possibly two.
One name stands out as the most likely to join the class:
Yaya Keita
Keita has always felt like someone who the staff should be able to get to Columbia if they want him, and nothing has really changed that. Missouri was one of the first high-major schools to offer the St. Louis product, who originally hails from Mali, and his coach at DeSmet, Kent Williams, is a former Martin assistant. We don't really know what kind of timetable Keita is looking at to make his decision, but if we had to tab one player as most likely to commit next, it would be him.
The other player many have followed closely is Tamar Bates. He just announced his commitment to Texas moments ago.
Aside from those two, there are a few more names to at least keep an eye on, although we don't have as good of an idea where Missouri stands in their recruitment, either because they just got offered, haven't gotten back to us or both.
Blake Wesley
The Indiana guard picked up a Mizzou offer a few weeks ago and included the Tigers in his top 12 yesterday.
Shane Dezonie
Mizzou offered early in the summer but we've never been able to get in touch with him to gauge his interest.
Miles Kelly
One of the most recent offers, he's seen his recruitment blow up this month. We talked to him last weekend.
One last thing: you may have noticed that we omitted a couple guys from this list who at one point seemed to me priority targets in Zach Hicks and Legend Geeter. We were told that after the commitment of Durugordon, Missouri is no longer pursuing Hicks, which leads us to believe the staff is done taking wings in this class. At this point, it looks like adding guard depth will be the top priority, with a post addition possible.
More from our visit with Missouri tight end commit Ryan Hoerstkamp on Wednesday:
- He told me that if things open up, he would like to take official visits to Missouri, Alabama, and maybe Arkansas. Keep in mind, he's only taken two visits to Michigan and Missouri before COVID shut things down, so he'd like to take advantage of the full recruiting experience when he can. It's going to take a lot to pull the three-star prospect off his commitment to Missouri, but Alabama is still showing a lot of interest and is a team to keep an eye on moving forward.
- Hoerstkamp also mentioned that the commits talk with two targets that we've talked about a lot on the site - Kyran Montgomery and Dominic Lovett. He didn't seem to have a sense of which way either target is leaning at the moment.
- The Washington product also said he's been working out with East St. Louis' wide receiver coach Terry Fenton and learning how to use his feet better as a receiver in terms of lining up and releasing. Washington's offense is very run-heavy, so Hoerstkamp is normally used as an extra offensive lineman that occasionally catches some passes. So, he's learning all he can to make an immediate impact once he steps foot on campus.
- Hoerstkamp worked out at defensive end throughout the portion of Wednesday's practice I stayed for, which was over an hour. He was very disruptive when the defense went up against the offense. He deflected two passes, nearly intercepting one, and made a couple of tackles for loss in the backfield on running plays.
- Some FutureCasts have been handed out in favor of the Sun Devils of Arizona State in regards to four-star wide receiver target Dominic Lovett. If that ends up being the case, and we may or may not find out on September 11th, that will be the second straight priority target the Tigers have lost to Arizona State (Ezra Oyetade). It would also be the third they would have lost to a PAC-12 team when you include Keontez Lewis. Our impression is that Missouri's chances aren't completely dead with either Lovett or Lewis, but things are not trending in the right direction.
- One position group that could see some more positive news in recruiting is the defensive line. We expect a commitment from Kyran Montgomery at any time. We are hearing September 1st, but noticed he tweeted out September 5th on Wednesday morning but deleted the tweet quickly. So, who knows the exact date, but there is a time frame to be on the lookout. We haven't heard anything new regarding the four-star prospect, so all indications and momentum seem to be pointing towards Missouri.
- Same thing can be said about Patrick Tukes - he's another defensive line target that could pop at any time and has Missouri momentum.
- The latest Rivals 2021 rankings release is ongoing this week and two things to note from the updates so far. Travion Ford dropped just two spots in the Rivals250, he's now ranked 231. And after an impressive Elite 11 performance in July, quarterback commit Tyler Macon got his much anticipated 4-star ranking
- Missouri offered two underclassmen in Laude 2023 athlete Samuel M'Pemba and Lutheran North 2022 cornerback Caldra Williford.
M'Pemba is already emerging on the national scene as he's picked up offers from Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and others already extending offers to the 2023 prospect.
Williford has an impressive offer list of his own that includes Oregon, Minnesota, West Virginia, and others. He plays opposite of another highly touted Missouri 2022 target at Lutheran North in Toriano Pride.
Speaking of Pride, he's had a big week by picking up new offers from Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Clemson.
- Staying on the 2022 theme, Cardinal Ritter five-star wide receiver Luther Burden is expected to announce his Top 12 today and we would expect Missouri to make it.
BASKETBALL RECRUITING
It was a big week for Cuonzo Martin and Missouri on the recruiting trail. The Tigers got two commitments in the 2021 class, equaling the number of high school commitments the team had landed in the past 15 months. In case you missed it, Kaleb Brown, younger brother of Kobe, and Sean Durugordon, both detailed why they chose Missouri. An athletic scorer and willing defender, Durugordon, in particular, feels like the type of recruit that fits with what Martin wants to do at Missouri.
The two commitments bring Mizzou to three in the 2021 class. We do not believe they are done. The team has five players set to graduate after this season, plus at least one additional open scholarship right now. You have to expect at least one other player is likely to leave either for the NBA Draft or transfer portal, as well, because that happens pretty much every year these days. We think the staff wants to leave at least one, if not multiple spots open for transfer additions, but we also think there will be at least one high school kid added to the class, and possibly two.
One name stands out as the most likely to join the class:
Yaya Keita
Keita has always felt like someone who the staff should be able to get to Columbia if they want him, and nothing has really changed that. Missouri was one of the first high-major schools to offer the St. Louis product, who originally hails from Mali, and his coach at DeSmet, Kent Williams, is a former Martin assistant. We don't really know what kind of timetable Keita is looking at to make his decision, but if we had to tab one player as most likely to commit next, it would be him.
The other player many have followed closely is Tamar Bates. He just announced his commitment to Texas moments ago.
Aside from those two, there are a few more names to at least keep an eye on, although we don't have as good of an idea where Missouri stands in their recruitment, either because they just got offered, haven't gotten back to us or both.
Blake Wesley
The Indiana guard picked up a Mizzou offer a few weeks ago and included the Tigers in his top 12 yesterday.
Shane Dezonie
Mizzou offered early in the summer but we've never been able to get in touch with him to gauge his interest.
Miles Kelly
One of the most recent offers, he's seen his recruitment blow up this month. We talked to him last weekend.
One last thing: you may have noticed that we omitted a couple guys from this list who at one point seemed to me priority targets in Zach Hicks and Legend Geeter. We were told that after the commitment of Durugordon, Missouri is no longer pursuing Hicks, which leads us to believe the staff is done taking wings in this class. At this point, it looks like adding guard depth will be the top priority, with a post addition possible.
Last edited by a moderator:
