FOOTBALL AND HOOPS NEWS:
Freshmen are on campus working out now. From what we understand everyone is qualified. There is a player or two on the football side finishing up some things in June, but everyone is expected to be enrolled for their freshman season.
Haven't heard a lot about football workouts just yet, but I was told that Sci Martin is a guy the coaches are expected to be a contributor from day one. Obviously he's a juco guy who has already spent a little time in the SEC and he is at a position of need, so that's not a huge shock.
Had someone tell me about running back commitment Dominique Johnson "We stole one!" Now, coaches always tend to say things like that because they wouldn't sign guys they didn't think were good, but Missouri's track record with underrecruited running backs is pretty good.
On the hoops side, you continue to hear things about Dru Smith. One surprising thing, I've heard that Smith and Xavier Pinson could actually both be in the starting lineup and both will play a lot. We know Torrence Watson, Mark Smith, Javon Pickett, Tray Jackson and Jeremiah Tilmon are going to be in the rotation. I expect Mitchell Smith to be as well and I've heard some good things about Kobe Brown and I believe he's a relatively significant contributor as a freshman. That's nine guys and those would be my top nine entering the season.
Now, a lot of people got caught up on Cuonzo Martin saying he's really only going to play nine guys. But those nine could be different night by night. SOmeone could get hurt, someone could get in foul trouble (looking at you No. 23), someone could have a good week of practice and someone could have a bad week. So just because he only plays nine doesn't mean they're the same nine every night. So Reed Nikko, Parker Braun and Mario McKinney could absolutely work their way in over the next few months. But if you ask me who the top nine would be today, those would be the guys I'd list.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING:
WEEKEND OFFICIAL VISITORS:
- A couple of Texas targets will join the already expected in-state targets in Columbia this weekend for official visits.
Floyd is being recruited as a defensive back and has other notable offers from Texas Tech, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and others.
Wooten recently released a Top 8 that included the Tigers, Arizona, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Arizona State, Texas Tech, and SMU.
Doyle is one of the higher-profile, in-state targets on the Tigers wish list. The four-star prospect also has official visits scheduled for Texas A&M and Illinois at the moment.
Wilson has been at Missouri multiple times already. While Wilson told us that Iowa State was his top school back in the spring, the Tigers will get a chance to overtake the Cyclones this weekend. Wilson has previously took an official to Kansas and Iowa State will get his last official on June 21st.
TIGERS MAKE TOP LISTS FOR MULTIPLE TARGETS:
Benson named a Top 7: Mizzou, Florida State, Oregon, Miss. State, Louisville, Penn State, and Vanderbilt. The three-star prospect has taken an official visit and has one scheduled for Oregon this month. He hasn't visited Missouri yet.
Billingsley released a Top 6 that included Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, LSU, and Arkansas. The East. St. Louis product told us at the recent Rivals Camp that he plans to take officials to Alabama and Missouri this summer, however, no dates have been set yet.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Wren committed to La Tech out of Mesquite (Tex.) Horn out of high school before eventually going the JUCO route. Missouri and Oregon State have offered so far, he has an official visit scheduled with Mizzou on June 14th. He recently camped at Alabama as a LB/DE, but didn't receive an offer from the Crimson tide. The Tigers are recruiting Wren as a receiver.
Young is a target we haven't talked much about so far, but he recently released a Top 5 that included Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Miss. State, and Missouri. He told us this week that he has a good relationship with Coach Ford is planning to take an official visit to Mizzou this summer.
Garcia is a quarterback that Missouri offered back in April and we've been told he is expected to be in Columbia for an official visit the weekend of June 21st. Syracuse, Pitt, Cincinnati, and East Carolina are other programs in the mix for the four-star prospect.
Freshmen are on campus working out now. From what we understand everyone is qualified. There is a player or two on the football side finishing up some things in June, but everyone is expected to be enrolled for their freshman season.
Haven't heard a lot about football workouts just yet, but I was told that Sci Martin is a guy the coaches are expected to be a contributor from day one. Obviously he's a juco guy who has already spent a little time in the SEC and he is at a position of need, so that's not a huge shock.
Had someone tell me about running back commitment Dominique Johnson "We stole one!" Now, coaches always tend to say things like that because they wouldn't sign guys they didn't think were good, but Missouri's track record with underrecruited running backs is pretty good.
On the hoops side, you continue to hear things about Dru Smith. One surprising thing, I've heard that Smith and Xavier Pinson could actually both be in the starting lineup and both will play a lot. We know Torrence Watson, Mark Smith, Javon Pickett, Tray Jackson and Jeremiah Tilmon are going to be in the rotation. I expect Mitchell Smith to be as well and I've heard some good things about Kobe Brown and I believe he's a relatively significant contributor as a freshman. That's nine guys and those would be my top nine entering the season.
Now, a lot of people got caught up on Cuonzo Martin saying he's really only going to play nine guys. But those nine could be different night by night. SOmeone could get hurt, someone could get in foul trouble (looking at you No. 23), someone could have a good week of practice and someone could have a bad week. So just because he only plays nine doesn't mean they're the same nine every night. So Reed Nikko, Parker Braun and Mario McKinney could absolutely work their way in over the next few months. But if you ask me who the top nine would be today, those would be the guys I'd list.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING:
WEEKEND OFFICIAL VISITORS:
- A couple of Texas targets will join the already expected in-state targets in Columbia this weekend for official visits.
Floyd is being recruited as a defensive back and has other notable offers from Texas Tech, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and others.
Wooten recently released a Top 8 that included the Tigers, Arizona, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Arizona State, Texas Tech, and SMU.
Doyle is one of the higher-profile, in-state targets on the Tigers wish list. The four-star prospect also has official visits scheduled for Texas A&M and Illinois at the moment.
Wilson has been at Missouri multiple times already. While Wilson told us that Iowa State was his top school back in the spring, the Tigers will get a chance to overtake the Cyclones this weekend. Wilson has previously took an official to Kansas and Iowa State will get his last official on June 21st.
TIGERS MAKE TOP LISTS FOR MULTIPLE TARGETS:
Benson named a Top 7: Mizzou, Florida State, Oregon, Miss. State, Louisville, Penn State, and Vanderbilt. The three-star prospect has taken an official visit and has one scheduled for Oregon this month. He hasn't visited Missouri yet.
Billingsley released a Top 6 that included Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, LSU, and Arkansas. The East. St. Louis product told us at the recent Rivals Camp that he plans to take officials to Alabama and Missouri this summer, however, no dates have been set yet.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Wren committed to La Tech out of Mesquite (Tex.) Horn out of high school before eventually going the JUCO route. Missouri and Oregon State have offered so far, he has an official visit scheduled with Mizzou on June 14th. He recently camped at Alabama as a LB/DE, but didn't receive an offer from the Crimson tide. The Tigers are recruiting Wren as a receiver.
Young is a target we haven't talked much about so far, but he recently released a Top 5 that included Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Miss. State, and Missouri. He told us this week that he has a good relationship with Coach Ford is planning to take an official visit to Mizzou this summer.
Garcia is a quarterback that Missouri offered back in April and we've been told he is expected to be in Columbia for an official visit the weekend of June 21st. Syracuse, Pitt, Cincinnati, and East Carolina are other programs in the mix for the four-star prospect.
