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***Been a lot of questions surrounding OL target Valen Erickson, a recruitment that seems to be a two-way race between Nebraska and Missouri. The three-star prospect took an official to Nebraska and Missouri was an unofficial visit.
Tim O'Halloran, who covers Illinois high school football over at EdgyTim.com had this update on Erickson:
"Valen Erickson sure seemed like he was getting close to wrapping things up earlier this summer after adding an offer and made his first official visit to Nebraska. Yet somewhere along the way, Erickson has had a change of heart and is now pushing back his time frame for a college choice. Erickson, who has also made unofficial visits to Tennessee, Missouri, Louisville and Illinois while Ohio State has also gotten more involved this summer."
***Another OL target that is getting closer to narrowing things down is Cass Tech (Mich.) product Deone Walker, who announced his Top 5 on Wednesday. The finalists include Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia, Arizona State, and Missouri. All schools he visited over the summer with the exception of Arizona State. Walker camped at Missouri with some of his Cass Tech teammates in June, among that group was Jackson Pruitt, who picked up an offer from the Tigers off his camp performance.
It's an angle to keep an eye on, but there are a lot of FutureCast picks in towards Michigan for Walker. We'll see how that plays out. In a recent story with UGASports.com, Walker said he's hoping to make a decision by September.
***Boonville (Mo.) defensive end DJ Wesolak talked with UGASports.com earlier this week and gave more of an indication on the top teams he's considering. They include Georgia, Southern Cal, and North Carolina. He also took an official to Florida and Southern Cal during the month of June. He also reiterated in the interview that he wants to get out of the Midwest, which matches up with what we've been saying for a few weeks now.
***Another target that has been brought up sparingly in the last few months is Oaks Christian (Calif.) defensive end Sterling Lane. The four-star lived in the St. Louis area for 10 years before moving out west and picked up an offer from the Tigers last year. However, he is someone Missouri is no longer pursuing as he recently talked with Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney about his Top 5 which includes - Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, Oregon, and Michigan.
***In talking with new Missouri commit Jalen Marshall, he told us he is planning to return to Columbia on July 31st where the coaching staff will be hosting an unofficial visit event for current commitments.
***Moving over to some 2023 target talk, we chatted a bit with Pleasant Valley (Iowa) defensive end target Andrew Depaepe. He was originally on the guest list for the underclassmen Night at the Zou event in June, but was unable to make it. He told us that he intends to visit Missouri later this month when the dead period ends. Assistant coach Erik Link is heading up the four-star's recruiting process.
***Alleman (Ill.) OL Charlie Jagusah is another 2023 target to keep an eye on. He picked up an offer from Missouri back on June 8th after an unofficial visit and camp. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound prospect recently had this to say about his trip to Columbia.
"There were a lot of players down there. It felt good to be back down there for a second time and I felt like I knew my way around the place. There was a lot to do and see."
"Coach Johnson is the coach that I talk to a lot. He’s an honest guy who likes to see his guys put in the work."
"I talked to him a couple times. He is a real high energy guy. He is always running around doing everything. I like him. The coaches were very personable and they really want to get to know you at Missouri. I could see myself there."
Jagusah said he plans to return for a Missouri game in the fall.
**At this point, all eyes are on defensive tackle Jadon Scarlett, who took an official visit to Missouri on June 25th. He has named a top three of Mizzou, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. The general consensus seems to be that A&M is the leader, but it's tough to tell whether that's based on any real information or more intuition from people. Scarlett has been involved with A&M for a long time, but also told us after his trip to Mizzou that staying closer to home was of no importance (that doesn't mean it's true, but he said it). Our A&M and Oklahoma publishers have both put in Future Casts for Scarlett to the Aggies in the last three days, though, so it's probably not a great sign. If Mizzou could somehow pull this one out, it would be right up there with the most impressive recruiting wins Eli Drinkwitz has had here.
**Outside of Scarlett, there's nobody out there that appears to be on the verge of a decision really. That's not a surprise at this time of year. In the last two classes combined, Missouri has had only two commitments in July or August. Because of the way the calendar was set up this year, there were a ton of commitments in June across the country and then a flood right around July 4th. Now, both coaches and players are getting set for the season. You may have a stray kid here or there deciding, but for the most part, it's likely on hold for a little bit. Almost everyone who took June visits and had a commitment in mind has probably already made it. Those who want to take more visits won't really be doing so until the season starts. So while we can't rule out something happening with someone other than Scarlett in the next six weeks or so, we really aren't expecting anything at this point in time.
**Missouri has probably eight to ten spots left in the class. They need a couple more defensive linemen, a linebacker, a wide receiver, maybe an offensive lineman, maybe a tight end and then can fill out the rest of the class with the best players available. The only position we KNOW they won't take anyone else is at quarterback.
