Pete Scantlebury on football recruiting
Before I move on to more information about a specific recruit, I wanted to pass along a thought I had the other day. In years past, I've always believed that Missouri stands the best chance with top-notch in-state recruits when they decide to commit early. But this year is different. Gabe has said time and time again that the first five or so games will really decide the make-up of this class, and I agree with him. With so much talent in this in-state class, that's a good thing. Many recruits, such as Roderick Johnson, seem to want to wait to commit until after the season, up until Signing Day. If that stays true, and if Missouri has a good enough year to show that this staff will be along for a while more, those recruits' decision to wait to commit could be a boon for the Tigers.
I said this on Twitter last night, after fans started freaking out on the staff because I retweeted Johnson's comment that Florida's staff stopped by his school last night: It is May. Missouri has a lot of unranked players. Missouri doesn't have a commitment with another BCS offer.
But it's May. I can guarantee the first part will change. All those guys will get ranked. That second part, that'll probably change, too. For the first time in a long time, Missouri has the opportunity to take more time in recruiting, because it has to. That's not saying that this staff is sitting on its hands -- far from it. On Tuesday, Josh Henson said that nothing has changed in how they handle the procedure for an offer. There's a line of approval, starting with the recruiting coach, then to the position coach, then the coordinator and finally Pinkel himself. More offers are out at this stage than I can ever recall. So if the staff is still doing that somewhat cumbersome approval process, it means they're hitting recruiting harder than before.
I'm not telling anyone to get excited about this class right now. But it's May. The possibility for change is there, with the current commits and future commits. We all knew this would be a "hang tight" kind of year. Nothing has changed.
-- I spoke with Powder Springs (Ga.) receiver Emanuel Bealhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Emanuel-Beal-141958 last night. Beal is one of those recruits that didn't have many offers before the Tigers pulled the trigger, and while he's still unranked, he's up to 13 now. That includes Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, NC State and South Florida, among others.
But Beal has long said Missouri is recruiting him the hardest, and on Thursday, he explained that hasn't changed. He also said he continues to have a close relationship with Alex Grinch.
"I first met him when I was at Wheeler," Beal said. "I transferred here (Powder Springs) which is far away, but he always stayed in touch. He always sends me videos and photos of what's going on at Mizzou, so I feel like I have my own personal tour guide, even down here."
Beal visited Missouri along with his seven-on-seven team (coached by Ed Printz, Sr.) during the last weekend in April. His description of the visit starts out interesting:
"We were driving there and it was late at night," Beal said. "And there was nothing around. Just nothing. Then we got there, and saw the football facilities, and I was like, "What is this?". I was really impressed. We got to go on the football field, and that was spectacular."
That's pretty big praise from a kid that's grown up in the South and taken visits to other SEC stadiums. At this point, Beal said he's planning to take more visits this summer, and is already beginning to plan official visits. He said he doesn't know where he'll take officials to, save for one school:
"I know I'll be taking one to Mizzou," Beal said.
-- One other note: Marietta (Ga.) cornerback Christopher Murphyhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Christopher-Murphy-136106 told me he's releasing a list of his top schools next week. I full expect Missouri to make that list. I'll have more when I speak to him next week.
Brian Austin on football and basketball recruiting
Basketball Recruiting
It is pretty quiet on the basketball side right now. Despite spending a weekend observing who the Mizzou coaches were watching the most, which was Larry Austin Jr., the lack of information from the players is what kind of has everything at a standstill right now. It seems even when the players talk they are not really saying much, which I can understand. They do not want to put anything out to jeopardize the opportunities that they have developed for themselves. Missouri has their hat in the ring with a lot of big time talent this year, but for this to be the great class that fans and coaches have been hoping for Mizzou is going to have to close against some of the biggest names in college basketball.
A new name surfaced earlier this week at point guard for the 2014 class after another former target committed elsewhere. Decatur (Ill.) McArthur point guard Marcus Bartley has seen interest from Mizzou increase greatly over the last few weeks according to his AAU coach Gavin Sullivan. At this point he does not have an offer, but according to Coach Sullivan one seems close. Bartley already holds offers Northwestern, Oklahoma St., and several mid-majors.
I spoke with a couple of Mizzou targets for the 2015 class this week. Michigan City (In.) Marquette shooting guard Braxton Miller told me that Rick Carter was at every one of his games during the first live weekend. He told me in addition to Coach Carter watching him they have also been in communication when allowed. Miller noticed Purdue and Northern Illinois as other schools watching him that weekend. As of right now he is focusing on AAU, but he will be in Columbia this summer for a camp. He will also attend a camp at Purdue. Definitely a name to watch going forward.
The other 2015 target I spoke with was Blue Springs (Mo.) South power forward Kevin Puryear. He also had Mizzou coaches watching him during the live period. In addition to Mizzou Puryear noticed coaches from Kansas, Kansas St., Oklahoma, and Tulsa watching his games. Puryear will also be in Columbia this summer as he is taking another unofficial visit in mid-June.
Football Recruiting
Start with a note on Mizzou commit Greg Taylor. After Kyron Watson's commit to Kansas I got a hold of Taylor to ask him if that would have any affect on him and his plans.
"It's a school I would look at now," ?said Taylor. "They were always one of my top teams, but I like Mizzou."
Also wanted to add a note on Jamal Mayo from my recent interview. First off well spoken and polite young man, but more importantly to you all is the sense that I got that it might not take as long as he was trying to make it sound for a commitment to happen. There were a couple occasions when he spoke as if he had already decided on Mizzou in fact. I think it might be a case were he waits a little while to see what happens in recruiting, but I don't think it'll take till his visit in September. Who knows, though, I could be wrong.
Last thing from me. I had a chance to talk on the phone with Florissant (MO) Hazelwood Central offensive tackle Roderick Johnson yesterday. Johnson told me right now Florida, Florida St., Texas A&M, and Alabama are some of the schools recruiting him the hardest. Florida is his most recent offer and Coach Smith was in to see Johnson at his school on Wednesday. Johnson also added this about Mizzou.
"I'm still trying to keep in touch with Mizzou. They come in to see me every now and then. I talk with [Cornell] Ford and [Josh] Henson," said the number 23 ranked tackle.
When I asked about a time frame for a decision Johnson did not mince any words.
"Oh I'm going to have fun with this process. I'm going to take all my visits the whole nine yards," he explained. "My decision will most definitely be on signing day."
Gabe DeArmond on the big picture
As I told you last week, my contributions to the Chamber are going to be more big picture stuff, focusing on a different topic or two each week.
This week, I thought it would be interesting to look back at the talent the state of Missouri has produced in the Rivals era (2003-2009 as there were no state rankings in 2002 from what I can tell and anybody signed after 2009 it is too early to determine because their careers are not over). First of all, I stated last week that I thought in-state recruiting has become more important since the move to the SEC. We broke down how much talent there is, according to the stars, in the state. So is that accurate? Or is the state's talent overrated or underrated?
A few things before we get to the actual numbers: I believe the talent is getting better. There have been more potential star players in the state, in my opinion, in the last few years than the first few I did this. Just my impression.
Next, there have been two things at Rivals since I've started that are of note here. First, there was a point (and this is not an opinion, this is fact) where what Missouri was doing on the field made Rivals look at itself and its evaluations a little bit. In other words, the Tigers weren't getting great recruiting classes, but they were big winners on the field. And that impacted the recruiting ranking a bit. Now, I'm not saying that we started slapping four stars on every kid Missouri offered. But if there was a kid who was on the fence between a couple of possible rankings and he was a Mizzou commit, he might get the benefit of the doubt because this is a staff that had proven its ability to find players that were better than we thought they were. In addition, and I wish I could remember exactly when this was, but I can't, there was a time where some discussions were had about rankings by state. And it was somewhat of a consensus that we had overrated some players from the state of Missouri over the years. I think at that point it became a little tougher for some high school in-staters to get the fourth (or fifth) star. That's more my opinion than fact.
Anyway, let's put all this to the test. I'm going to go back year-by-year and list every BCS commitment in the state. I'll give you their star ranking, their state ranking and then come to a conclusion: Overrated, Underrated, Got it Right or Incomplete (for kids who never made it to the college level mostly). This is hindsight. It's not an indictment on the star ranking. And I think grouping kids by where they're from is a bit of a gross generalization. But it might give us a decent idea of what kind of talent the state has produced over the last decade or so.
Class of 2003
Darnell Terrell: 4-star, #1, OVERRATED---solid player, but probably a three-star based on college performance
Will Paul: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Laurence Maroney: 4-star, #3, GOT IT RIGHT--You could make the argument he should have been a 5-star and he definitely should have been #1 in the state, but I think the ranking is about right
Tyler Luellen: 4-star, #4, GOT IT RIGHT--Multi-year starter, you could argue high three-star, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt
Shaun Richardson: 3-star, #5, INCOMPLETE--Never made it
Anton Campbell: 3-star, #6, OVERRATED
Jamal Cooper: 3-star, #7, OVERRATED--Twice suspended for academics. Not for on-field reasons really, but didn't live up to a top ten player
Adam Spieker: 3-star, #8, UNDERRATED--Probably had a four-star career and definitely was better than quite a few in front of him
M.J. Norman: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED
Aaron Whittington: 3-star, #10, GOT IT RIGHT--You could argue underrated for a guy that made more than 20 starts, but he was never a true star at UCLA so while the state ranking should have been higher, the star ranking is right
Marty Raab: 3-star, #11, OVERRATED
Martin Rucker: 3-star, #12, UNDERRATED--No explanation needed
Bryan Baldwin: 3-star, #13, OVERRATED
Will Meyers: 3-star, #14, UNDERRATED--Very solid career at Indiana. Star ranking may be right, but should have been more highly regarded
Adam Barmann: 3-star, #15, GOT IT RIGHT--He had a decent career at Kansas
Terry Washington: 3-star, #16, GOT IT RIGHT--Had to go juco, but played in all 25 games in his two years at Colorado and was a solid player.
Scott Carroll: 3-star, #17, OVERRATED--Transferred to Missouri State and ended up playing baseball after a year as the Bears QB
Bruce Ringwood: 3-star, #18, OVERRATED--As far as I can tell, he never contributed at Kansas
Reid Kirby: 2-star, #19, OVERRATED--Transferred to Northwest Missouri State
Lareno Seymour: 2-star, #20, INCOMPLETE--Did not finish his career at Mizzou
Final Tally: 3 underrated, 10 overrated, 5 got it right, 2 incomplete
Class of 2004
Chase Patton: 4-star, #1, OVERRATED--Never started at Mizzou
Tony Temple: 4-star, #2, GOT IT RIGHT--Very good career for the Tigers
Kyle Riggs: 4-star, #3, INCOMPLETE--Krohn's Disease cut his career way short
Brett Gallimore: 4-star, #4, OVERRATED
Jerrill Humphrey: 4-star, #5, OVERRATED--Left Mizzou early on, but the fact Rivals said that college coaches compared him to Randy Moss make him overrated instead of incomplete
Van Alexander: 4-star, #6, OVERRATED--Toughest one to do here. He was solid at Missouri, but he was hurt a lot. Maybe this is unfair, but he probably should have been a three-star
Darrell Jackson: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE--Never made it through fall camp with legal trouble
William Franklin: 3-star, #8, UNDERRATED--Franklin had a four-star career
Michael Keenan: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED--As far as I can tell, he never contributed at Nebraska
Nick Patterson: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED--Made 11 career tackles at Ohio State and one interception
Arthur Miller: 3-star, #11, INCOMPLETE--Never made it to a college campus
William Moore: 3-star, #12, UNDERRATED--By a ton
Steve Redmond: 2-star, #13, GOT IT RIGHT--Contributor, never really a starter
Edgar Givens: 3-star, #14, INCOMPLETE--Don't know how a three-star was ranked below a two-star, but he never got to campus
Remond Willis: 2-star, #15, UNDERRATED--Unsure how his college career finished, but was a freshman all-Big Ten and all-America choice
J.R. Kraemer: 2-star, #16, GOT IT RIGHT--Transferred to East Carolina from Illinois and was a contributor
Brian Barmann: 2-star, #17, GOT IT RIGHT--Ended up transferring, but he contributed for a while at Mizzou
Sam Scroggins: 2-star, #18, OVERRATED--Transferred from Minnesota to SEMO after a year
Taylor Bennett: 2-star, #19, GOT IT RIGHT--Started some games at Georgia Tech before transferring to Louisiana Tech where he won and then lost the starting QB job
Mack Kimble: 2-star, #20, OVERRATED--Ended up at Northern Iowa
Final Tally: 3 underrated, 8 overrated, 5 got it right, 4 incomplete
Class of 2005
D.J. Hord: 4-star, #1, OVERRATED
Chris Brooks: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Chase Coffman: 3-star, #3, UNDERRATED--By a lot
Tarell Corby: 3-star, #4, OVERRATED
Allan Smith: 3-star, #5, GOT IT RIGHT--Can't find out what happened in his final two seasons, but he played in all 27 games in 2006-07 for Boston College
James Stigall: 3-star, #6, OVERRATED
Brock Christopher: 3-star, #7, UNDERRATED--Solid career for Missouri, could make the argument for four stars
A.J. Jimmerson: 3-star, #8, OVERRATED
Kurtis Gregory: 3-star, #9, UNDERRATED--Could be a got it right, but he started a ton of games
Justin Thornton: 3-star, #10, GOT IT RIGHT--Starter at Kansas
Jaron Baston: 3-star, #11, GOT IT RIGHT--Multi-year starter for Mizzou
Hardy Ricks: 3-star, #12, OVERRATED--Decent career, but never a consistent starter, probably would re-rank as a two star
Steve Davis: 3-star, #13, GOT IT RIGHT--Decent career at Minnesota
A.J. Haase: 3-star, #14, OVERRATED--Transferred to Yale where he was a contributor, but that's probably more of a two-star
Ben Ladner: 2-star, #15, GOT IT RIGHT--Contributor, but not a standout at Stanford
Jason Townson: 2-star, #16, INCOMPLETE--Long road to Missouri, eventually made it, but did not finish
Kazeem Alli: 2-star, #17, UNDERRATED--Solid career at Cincinnati, probably should have been a three-star
Jake Schermer: 2-star, #18, GOT IT RIGHT
Bobby Johnson: 2-star, #19, INCOMPLETE--From what I can find, never made it at Kansas
Jairus Byrd: 2-star, #20, UNDERRATED--Arguably the biggest in-state miss on this list
Final Tally: 5 underrated, 7 overrated, 6 got it right, 2 incomplete
Class of 2006
Josh Freeman: 4 star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT--NFL starter, but college career probably right
Adrian Clayborn: 4-star, #2, UNDERRATED--First round NFL Draft pick
Jeremy Maclin: 4-star, #3, UNDERRATED--Ditto
Tim Barnes: 3-star, #4, UNDERRATED--Still in the NFL
Zach Kendall: 3-star, #5, GOT IT RIGHT
Munir Prince: 3-star, #6, INCOMPLETE--Transferred from Notre Dame to Missouri, had his career cut short by injury
Robert McField: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE--Legal problems kept him off the field
Aaron Cawlfield: 3-star, #8, INCOMPLETE--Never made it to Mizzou
Phillip Strozier: 3-star, #9, GOT IT RIGHT
Paddy Mullen: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED
Jerry Brown: 3-star, #11, UNDERRATED--Three-star career, but he was in the NFL
Bart Coslet: 3-star, #12, OVERRATED
Mike McNeill: 3-star, #13, UNDERRATED--Three-star career, maybe a four, but much better than quite a few players ahead of him on the list
Quentin Davie: 3-star, #14, UNDERRATED--Played in 49 games, starting 39, made 240 tackles at Northwestern
Keith Williams: 3-star, #15, UNDERRATED--Like McNeill, should have been listed over a number of players on the list
John Stull: 3-star, #16, INCOMPLETE--Legal problems led to his dismissal
Derek Hall: 3-star, #17, OVERRATED--Never started at Stanford
Mickey Turner: 3-star, #18, GOT IT RIGHT
Sal Capra: 2-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Multi-year starter and a captain at Kansas
Willie Dyson: 2-star, #20, GOT IT RIGHT--Played a year at Minnesota before leaving (not sure why, though stories indicate some off-field issues) and played at Northwest Missouri State
Final Tally: 8 underrated, 3 overrated, 4 got it right, 4 incomplete
Class of 2007
Aron White: 4-star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT--Could make the argument for three stars, but White had a strong career at Georgia
Michael Keck: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Lamark Brown: 4-star, #3, OVERRATED--Had a decent career, but probably a three-star at Kansas State
Logan Gray: 4-star, #4, OVERRATED--Again, decent career, but not four stars
Derrick Washington: 4-star, #5 GOT IT RIGHT--Despite legal problems, had a very good three-year career at Mizzou
Marvin McNutt: 3-star, #6, UNDERRATED--Should have had four
Donald Stephenson: 3-star, #7, UNDERRATED--Could be an NFL starter this year
Jayson Palmgren: 3-star, #8, GOT IT RIGHT
Rolandis Woodland: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED
Demetrious Davis: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED
Terrell Resonno: 3-star, #12, GOT IT RIGHT--Could say underrated, but think this is accurage
Chris Earnhardt: 3-star, #13, INCOMPLETE
Luke Lambert: 3-star, #14, UNDERRATED
Clyde Aufner: 3-star, #15, GOT IT RIGHT
Richard Johnson Jr.: 3-star, #16, GOT IT RIGHT
Thomas Merriweather: 3-star, #17, OVERRATED--The only non-BCS player here, he was a BCS level recruit, but just waited too long to choose. Had a decent career at Miami (OH)
Devion Moore: 3-star, #18, UNDERRATED--Star ranking is right, state ranking is not
Niko Mafuli: 3-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Like Moore, was better than many above him on the list
Jeremy Mack: 2-star, #21, INCOMPLETE--Can't find anything about his career
A.J. Steward: 2-star, #22, OVERRATED--No statistics in two years at Kansas
Colten Freeze: 2-star, #25, UNDERRATED--Was a starter at Kansas State
Payton Kirk: 2-star, #27, UNDERRATED--May have had a two-star career, better than quite a few above him here
Josh Hager: 2-star, #28, GOT IT RIGHT
Scott Concannon: 2-star, #29, GOT IT RIGHT--Played three years, making five starts at Northwestern
Final Tally: 7 underrated, 7 overrated, 8 got it right, 2 incomplete
Class of 2008
Blaine Gabbert: 5-star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT--Maybe not quite a 5-star career, but he was a top 10 NFL pick Andrew Jones: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED--Four-year contributor, but not a four-star
Will Compton: 4-star, #3, OVERRATED--Probably should have been three
Spencer Ladner: 4-star, #4, OVERRATED--Played in 23 games, starting eight for Cal, but caught just three passes
Aldon Smith: 3-star, #5, UNDERRATED--Just a little bit, up there with Jairus Byrd for biggest miss on the list
Wes Kemp: 3-star, #6, GOT IT RIGHT
Drew Temple: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE--Left Missouri and did not play again
Robert Steeples: 3-star, #8, OVERRATED--Not by much, but he transferred to Memphis, probably a high two-star career
DeMarco Paine: 3-star, #9, INCOMPLETE, Never made it at Iowa
Travis Ruth: 3-star, #10, GOT IT RIGHT
Sean Ransburg: 3-star, #11, INCOMPLETE, Never made it at Kansas
Brad Madison: 3-star, #12, UNDERRATED--Borderline four-star career, underrated due to being better than at least six or seven above him
Ben Lueken: 3-star, #13, INCOMPLETE--Career cut short by injury
Joseph Kassanavoid: 3-star, #14, OVERRATED
Brandon Kirksey: 3-star, #15, UNDERRATED--Started 23 games his final two seasons and was better than quite a few above him on the list
Jarell Childs: 2-star, #17, GOT IT RIGHT
Caleb Weichans: 2-star, #18, GOT IT RIGHT--Contributed, but never a consistent starter at Vandy
Garrick Williams: 2-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Multi-year starter at Wake Forest
Final Tally: 4 underrated, 4 overrated, 5 got it right, 4 incomplete
Class of 2009
Sheldon Richardson: 5-star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT
Ronnie Wingo Jr.: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Nathan Scheelhaase: 4-star, #3, GOT IT RIGHT--Some will argue here, I think he's had a strong career
Montee Ball: 4-star, #4, UNDERRATED--Heisman finalist
T.J. Moe: 3-star, #5, GOT IT RIGHT--Mizzou fans will want a four-star, but I think high three is fair
Blaine Dalton: 3-star, #6, INCOMPLETE
Darris Ford: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE
Bryan Allen: 3-star, #8, OVERRATED--Played some at Minnesota before transferring
Jordan Webb: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED--Probably should be a two-star
Kerwin Stricker: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED--Has not yet contributed in four years at Mizzou
Jack Meiners: 3-star, #11, GOT IT RIGHT
Tyler Evans: 3-star, #12, GOT IT RIGHT
Andrew Wilson: 3-star, #13, UNDERRATED--Considered got it right, but better than a lot on the list, still has a year left
Adam Burton: 3-star, #14, INCOMPLETE--Injury cut his career short
Alex Sanders: 3-star, #15, OVERRATED--Left Mizzou early on
Mark Hill: 2-star, #18, INCOMPLETE--Injury cut career short
Justin Britt: 2-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Multi-year starter
Ghaali Muhammad: 2-star, #20, UNDERRATED--Consistent starter and contributor at Wyoming on offense, defense and special teams
Final Tally: 4 underrated, 5 overrated, 5 got it right, 4 incomplete
The Final Take: The numbers look like this:
34 underrated players
44 overrated players (25 of them in the first three years)
38 players we got right
22 incomplete
So overall, we're probably about right on the level of talent in the state. A few obvious misses like Coffman, Byrd and Aldon Smith on the underrated side and plenty on the overrated side as well.
I don't know if you can draw any conclusions from this at all, I just thought it would be interesting to take a look.
Before I move on to more information about a specific recruit, I wanted to pass along a thought I had the other day. In years past, I've always believed that Missouri stands the best chance with top-notch in-state recruits when they decide to commit early. But this year is different. Gabe has said time and time again that the first five or so games will really decide the make-up of this class, and I agree with him. With so much talent in this in-state class, that's a good thing. Many recruits, such as Roderick Johnson, seem to want to wait to commit until after the season, up until Signing Day. If that stays true, and if Missouri has a good enough year to show that this staff will be along for a while more, those recruits' decision to wait to commit could be a boon for the Tigers.
I said this on Twitter last night, after fans started freaking out on the staff because I retweeted Johnson's comment that Florida's staff stopped by his school last night: It is May. Missouri has a lot of unranked players. Missouri doesn't have a commitment with another BCS offer.
But it's May. I can guarantee the first part will change. All those guys will get ranked. That second part, that'll probably change, too. For the first time in a long time, Missouri has the opportunity to take more time in recruiting, because it has to. That's not saying that this staff is sitting on its hands -- far from it. On Tuesday, Josh Henson said that nothing has changed in how they handle the procedure for an offer. There's a line of approval, starting with the recruiting coach, then to the position coach, then the coordinator and finally Pinkel himself. More offers are out at this stage than I can ever recall. So if the staff is still doing that somewhat cumbersome approval process, it means they're hitting recruiting harder than before.
I'm not telling anyone to get excited about this class right now. But it's May. The possibility for change is there, with the current commits and future commits. We all knew this would be a "hang tight" kind of year. Nothing has changed.
-- I spoke with Powder Springs (Ga.) receiver Emanuel Bealhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Emanuel-Beal-141958 last night. Beal is one of those recruits that didn't have many offers before the Tigers pulled the trigger, and while he's still unranked, he's up to 13 now. That includes Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, NC State and South Florida, among others.
But Beal has long said Missouri is recruiting him the hardest, and on Thursday, he explained that hasn't changed. He also said he continues to have a close relationship with Alex Grinch.
"I first met him when I was at Wheeler," Beal said. "I transferred here (Powder Springs) which is far away, but he always stayed in touch. He always sends me videos and photos of what's going on at Mizzou, so I feel like I have my own personal tour guide, even down here."
Beal visited Missouri along with his seven-on-seven team (coached by Ed Printz, Sr.) during the last weekend in April. His description of the visit starts out interesting:
"We were driving there and it was late at night," Beal said. "And there was nothing around. Just nothing. Then we got there, and saw the football facilities, and I was like, "What is this?". I was really impressed. We got to go on the football field, and that was spectacular."
That's pretty big praise from a kid that's grown up in the South and taken visits to other SEC stadiums. At this point, Beal said he's planning to take more visits this summer, and is already beginning to plan official visits. He said he doesn't know where he'll take officials to, save for one school:
"I know I'll be taking one to Mizzou," Beal said.
-- One other note: Marietta (Ga.) cornerback Christopher Murphyhttp://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/football/recruiting/player-Christopher-Murphy-136106 told me he's releasing a list of his top schools next week. I full expect Missouri to make that list. I'll have more when I speak to him next week.
Brian Austin on football and basketball recruiting
Basketball Recruiting
It is pretty quiet on the basketball side right now. Despite spending a weekend observing who the Mizzou coaches were watching the most, which was Larry Austin Jr., the lack of information from the players is what kind of has everything at a standstill right now. It seems even when the players talk they are not really saying much, which I can understand. They do not want to put anything out to jeopardize the opportunities that they have developed for themselves. Missouri has their hat in the ring with a lot of big time talent this year, but for this to be the great class that fans and coaches have been hoping for Mizzou is going to have to close against some of the biggest names in college basketball.
A new name surfaced earlier this week at point guard for the 2014 class after another former target committed elsewhere. Decatur (Ill.) McArthur point guard Marcus Bartley has seen interest from Mizzou increase greatly over the last few weeks according to his AAU coach Gavin Sullivan. At this point he does not have an offer, but according to Coach Sullivan one seems close. Bartley already holds offers Northwestern, Oklahoma St., and several mid-majors.
I spoke with a couple of Mizzou targets for the 2015 class this week. Michigan City (In.) Marquette shooting guard Braxton Miller told me that Rick Carter was at every one of his games during the first live weekend. He told me in addition to Coach Carter watching him they have also been in communication when allowed. Miller noticed Purdue and Northern Illinois as other schools watching him that weekend. As of right now he is focusing on AAU, but he will be in Columbia this summer for a camp. He will also attend a camp at Purdue. Definitely a name to watch going forward.
The other 2015 target I spoke with was Blue Springs (Mo.) South power forward Kevin Puryear. He also had Mizzou coaches watching him during the live period. In addition to Mizzou Puryear noticed coaches from Kansas, Kansas St., Oklahoma, and Tulsa watching his games. Puryear will also be in Columbia this summer as he is taking another unofficial visit in mid-June.
Football Recruiting
Start with a note on Mizzou commit Greg Taylor. After Kyron Watson's commit to Kansas I got a hold of Taylor to ask him if that would have any affect on him and his plans.
"It's a school I would look at now," ?said Taylor. "They were always one of my top teams, but I like Mizzou."
Also wanted to add a note on Jamal Mayo from my recent interview. First off well spoken and polite young man, but more importantly to you all is the sense that I got that it might not take as long as he was trying to make it sound for a commitment to happen. There were a couple occasions when he spoke as if he had already decided on Mizzou in fact. I think it might be a case were he waits a little while to see what happens in recruiting, but I don't think it'll take till his visit in September. Who knows, though, I could be wrong.
Last thing from me. I had a chance to talk on the phone with Florissant (MO) Hazelwood Central offensive tackle Roderick Johnson yesterday. Johnson told me right now Florida, Florida St., Texas A&M, and Alabama are some of the schools recruiting him the hardest. Florida is his most recent offer and Coach Smith was in to see Johnson at his school on Wednesday. Johnson also added this about Mizzou.
"I'm still trying to keep in touch with Mizzou. They come in to see me every now and then. I talk with [Cornell] Ford and [Josh] Henson," said the number 23 ranked tackle.
When I asked about a time frame for a decision Johnson did not mince any words.
"Oh I'm going to have fun with this process. I'm going to take all my visits the whole nine yards," he explained. "My decision will most definitely be on signing day."
Gabe DeArmond on the big picture
As I told you last week, my contributions to the Chamber are going to be more big picture stuff, focusing on a different topic or two each week.
This week, I thought it would be interesting to look back at the talent the state of Missouri has produced in the Rivals era (2003-2009 as there were no state rankings in 2002 from what I can tell and anybody signed after 2009 it is too early to determine because their careers are not over). First of all, I stated last week that I thought in-state recruiting has become more important since the move to the SEC. We broke down how much talent there is, according to the stars, in the state. So is that accurate? Or is the state's talent overrated or underrated?
A few things before we get to the actual numbers: I believe the talent is getting better. There have been more potential star players in the state, in my opinion, in the last few years than the first few I did this. Just my impression.
Next, there have been two things at Rivals since I've started that are of note here. First, there was a point (and this is not an opinion, this is fact) where what Missouri was doing on the field made Rivals look at itself and its evaluations a little bit. In other words, the Tigers weren't getting great recruiting classes, but they were big winners on the field. And that impacted the recruiting ranking a bit. Now, I'm not saying that we started slapping four stars on every kid Missouri offered. But if there was a kid who was on the fence between a couple of possible rankings and he was a Mizzou commit, he might get the benefit of the doubt because this is a staff that had proven its ability to find players that were better than we thought they were. In addition, and I wish I could remember exactly when this was, but I can't, there was a time where some discussions were had about rankings by state. And it was somewhat of a consensus that we had overrated some players from the state of Missouri over the years. I think at that point it became a little tougher for some high school in-staters to get the fourth (or fifth) star. That's more my opinion than fact.
Anyway, let's put all this to the test. I'm going to go back year-by-year and list every BCS commitment in the state. I'll give you their star ranking, their state ranking and then come to a conclusion: Overrated, Underrated, Got it Right or Incomplete (for kids who never made it to the college level mostly). This is hindsight. It's not an indictment on the star ranking. And I think grouping kids by where they're from is a bit of a gross generalization. But it might give us a decent idea of what kind of talent the state has produced over the last decade or so.
Class of 2003
Darnell Terrell: 4-star, #1, OVERRATED---solid player, but probably a three-star based on college performance
Will Paul: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Laurence Maroney: 4-star, #3, GOT IT RIGHT--You could make the argument he should have been a 5-star and he definitely should have been #1 in the state, but I think the ranking is about right
Tyler Luellen: 4-star, #4, GOT IT RIGHT--Multi-year starter, you could argue high three-star, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt
Shaun Richardson: 3-star, #5, INCOMPLETE--Never made it
Anton Campbell: 3-star, #6, OVERRATED
Jamal Cooper: 3-star, #7, OVERRATED--Twice suspended for academics. Not for on-field reasons really, but didn't live up to a top ten player
Adam Spieker: 3-star, #8, UNDERRATED--Probably had a four-star career and definitely was better than quite a few in front of him
M.J. Norman: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED
Aaron Whittington: 3-star, #10, GOT IT RIGHT--You could argue underrated for a guy that made more than 20 starts, but he was never a true star at UCLA so while the state ranking should have been higher, the star ranking is right
Marty Raab: 3-star, #11, OVERRATED
Martin Rucker: 3-star, #12, UNDERRATED--No explanation needed
Bryan Baldwin: 3-star, #13, OVERRATED
Will Meyers: 3-star, #14, UNDERRATED--Very solid career at Indiana. Star ranking may be right, but should have been more highly regarded
Adam Barmann: 3-star, #15, GOT IT RIGHT--He had a decent career at Kansas
Terry Washington: 3-star, #16, GOT IT RIGHT--Had to go juco, but played in all 25 games in his two years at Colorado and was a solid player.
Scott Carroll: 3-star, #17, OVERRATED--Transferred to Missouri State and ended up playing baseball after a year as the Bears QB
Bruce Ringwood: 3-star, #18, OVERRATED--As far as I can tell, he never contributed at Kansas
Reid Kirby: 2-star, #19, OVERRATED--Transferred to Northwest Missouri State
Lareno Seymour: 2-star, #20, INCOMPLETE--Did not finish his career at Mizzou
Final Tally: 3 underrated, 10 overrated, 5 got it right, 2 incomplete
Class of 2004
Chase Patton: 4-star, #1, OVERRATED--Never started at Mizzou
Tony Temple: 4-star, #2, GOT IT RIGHT--Very good career for the Tigers
Kyle Riggs: 4-star, #3, INCOMPLETE--Krohn's Disease cut his career way short
Brett Gallimore: 4-star, #4, OVERRATED
Jerrill Humphrey: 4-star, #5, OVERRATED--Left Mizzou early on, but the fact Rivals said that college coaches compared him to Randy Moss make him overrated instead of incomplete
Van Alexander: 4-star, #6, OVERRATED--Toughest one to do here. He was solid at Missouri, but he was hurt a lot. Maybe this is unfair, but he probably should have been a three-star
Darrell Jackson: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE--Never made it through fall camp with legal trouble
William Franklin: 3-star, #8, UNDERRATED--Franklin had a four-star career
Michael Keenan: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED--As far as I can tell, he never contributed at Nebraska
Nick Patterson: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED--Made 11 career tackles at Ohio State and one interception
Arthur Miller: 3-star, #11, INCOMPLETE--Never made it to a college campus
William Moore: 3-star, #12, UNDERRATED--By a ton
Steve Redmond: 2-star, #13, GOT IT RIGHT--Contributor, never really a starter
Edgar Givens: 3-star, #14, INCOMPLETE--Don't know how a three-star was ranked below a two-star, but he never got to campus
Remond Willis: 2-star, #15, UNDERRATED--Unsure how his college career finished, but was a freshman all-Big Ten and all-America choice
J.R. Kraemer: 2-star, #16, GOT IT RIGHT--Transferred to East Carolina from Illinois and was a contributor
Brian Barmann: 2-star, #17, GOT IT RIGHT--Ended up transferring, but he contributed for a while at Mizzou
Sam Scroggins: 2-star, #18, OVERRATED--Transferred from Minnesota to SEMO after a year
Taylor Bennett: 2-star, #19, GOT IT RIGHT--Started some games at Georgia Tech before transferring to Louisiana Tech where he won and then lost the starting QB job
Mack Kimble: 2-star, #20, OVERRATED--Ended up at Northern Iowa
Final Tally: 3 underrated, 8 overrated, 5 got it right, 4 incomplete
Class of 2005
D.J. Hord: 4-star, #1, OVERRATED
Chris Brooks: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Chase Coffman: 3-star, #3, UNDERRATED--By a lot
Tarell Corby: 3-star, #4, OVERRATED
Allan Smith: 3-star, #5, GOT IT RIGHT--Can't find out what happened in his final two seasons, but he played in all 27 games in 2006-07 for Boston College
James Stigall: 3-star, #6, OVERRATED
Brock Christopher: 3-star, #7, UNDERRATED--Solid career for Missouri, could make the argument for four stars
A.J. Jimmerson: 3-star, #8, OVERRATED
Kurtis Gregory: 3-star, #9, UNDERRATED--Could be a got it right, but he started a ton of games
Justin Thornton: 3-star, #10, GOT IT RIGHT--Starter at Kansas
Jaron Baston: 3-star, #11, GOT IT RIGHT--Multi-year starter for Mizzou
Hardy Ricks: 3-star, #12, OVERRATED--Decent career, but never a consistent starter, probably would re-rank as a two star
Steve Davis: 3-star, #13, GOT IT RIGHT--Decent career at Minnesota
A.J. Haase: 3-star, #14, OVERRATED--Transferred to Yale where he was a contributor, but that's probably more of a two-star
Ben Ladner: 2-star, #15, GOT IT RIGHT--Contributor, but not a standout at Stanford
Jason Townson: 2-star, #16, INCOMPLETE--Long road to Missouri, eventually made it, but did not finish
Kazeem Alli: 2-star, #17, UNDERRATED--Solid career at Cincinnati, probably should have been a three-star
Jake Schermer: 2-star, #18, GOT IT RIGHT
Bobby Johnson: 2-star, #19, INCOMPLETE--From what I can find, never made it at Kansas
Jairus Byrd: 2-star, #20, UNDERRATED--Arguably the biggest in-state miss on this list
Final Tally: 5 underrated, 7 overrated, 6 got it right, 2 incomplete
Class of 2006
Josh Freeman: 4 star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT--NFL starter, but college career probably right
Adrian Clayborn: 4-star, #2, UNDERRATED--First round NFL Draft pick
Jeremy Maclin: 4-star, #3, UNDERRATED--Ditto
Tim Barnes: 3-star, #4, UNDERRATED--Still in the NFL
Zach Kendall: 3-star, #5, GOT IT RIGHT
Munir Prince: 3-star, #6, INCOMPLETE--Transferred from Notre Dame to Missouri, had his career cut short by injury
Robert McField: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE--Legal problems kept him off the field
Aaron Cawlfield: 3-star, #8, INCOMPLETE--Never made it to Mizzou
Phillip Strozier: 3-star, #9, GOT IT RIGHT
Paddy Mullen: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED
Jerry Brown: 3-star, #11, UNDERRATED--Three-star career, but he was in the NFL
Bart Coslet: 3-star, #12, OVERRATED
Mike McNeill: 3-star, #13, UNDERRATED--Three-star career, maybe a four, but much better than quite a few players ahead of him on the list
Quentin Davie: 3-star, #14, UNDERRATED--Played in 49 games, starting 39, made 240 tackles at Northwestern
Keith Williams: 3-star, #15, UNDERRATED--Like McNeill, should have been listed over a number of players on the list
John Stull: 3-star, #16, INCOMPLETE--Legal problems led to his dismissal
Derek Hall: 3-star, #17, OVERRATED--Never started at Stanford
Mickey Turner: 3-star, #18, GOT IT RIGHT
Sal Capra: 2-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Multi-year starter and a captain at Kansas
Willie Dyson: 2-star, #20, GOT IT RIGHT--Played a year at Minnesota before leaving (not sure why, though stories indicate some off-field issues) and played at Northwest Missouri State
Final Tally: 8 underrated, 3 overrated, 4 got it right, 4 incomplete
Class of 2007
Aron White: 4-star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT--Could make the argument for three stars, but White had a strong career at Georgia
Michael Keck: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Lamark Brown: 4-star, #3, OVERRATED--Had a decent career, but probably a three-star at Kansas State
Logan Gray: 4-star, #4, OVERRATED--Again, decent career, but not four stars
Derrick Washington: 4-star, #5 GOT IT RIGHT--Despite legal problems, had a very good three-year career at Mizzou
Marvin McNutt: 3-star, #6, UNDERRATED--Should have had four
Donald Stephenson: 3-star, #7, UNDERRATED--Could be an NFL starter this year
Jayson Palmgren: 3-star, #8, GOT IT RIGHT
Rolandis Woodland: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED
Demetrious Davis: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED
Terrell Resonno: 3-star, #12, GOT IT RIGHT--Could say underrated, but think this is accurage
Chris Earnhardt: 3-star, #13, INCOMPLETE
Luke Lambert: 3-star, #14, UNDERRATED
Clyde Aufner: 3-star, #15, GOT IT RIGHT
Richard Johnson Jr.: 3-star, #16, GOT IT RIGHT
Thomas Merriweather: 3-star, #17, OVERRATED--The only non-BCS player here, he was a BCS level recruit, but just waited too long to choose. Had a decent career at Miami (OH)
Devion Moore: 3-star, #18, UNDERRATED--Star ranking is right, state ranking is not
Niko Mafuli: 3-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Like Moore, was better than many above him on the list
Jeremy Mack: 2-star, #21, INCOMPLETE--Can't find anything about his career
A.J. Steward: 2-star, #22, OVERRATED--No statistics in two years at Kansas
Colten Freeze: 2-star, #25, UNDERRATED--Was a starter at Kansas State
Payton Kirk: 2-star, #27, UNDERRATED--May have had a two-star career, better than quite a few above him here
Josh Hager: 2-star, #28, GOT IT RIGHT
Scott Concannon: 2-star, #29, GOT IT RIGHT--Played three years, making five starts at Northwestern
Final Tally: 7 underrated, 7 overrated, 8 got it right, 2 incomplete
Class of 2008
Blaine Gabbert: 5-star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT--Maybe not quite a 5-star career, but he was a top 10 NFL pick Andrew Jones: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED--Four-year contributor, but not a four-star
Will Compton: 4-star, #3, OVERRATED--Probably should have been three
Spencer Ladner: 4-star, #4, OVERRATED--Played in 23 games, starting eight for Cal, but caught just three passes
Aldon Smith: 3-star, #5, UNDERRATED--Just a little bit, up there with Jairus Byrd for biggest miss on the list
Wes Kemp: 3-star, #6, GOT IT RIGHT
Drew Temple: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE--Left Missouri and did not play again
Robert Steeples: 3-star, #8, OVERRATED--Not by much, but he transferred to Memphis, probably a high two-star career
DeMarco Paine: 3-star, #9, INCOMPLETE, Never made it at Iowa
Travis Ruth: 3-star, #10, GOT IT RIGHT
Sean Ransburg: 3-star, #11, INCOMPLETE, Never made it at Kansas
Brad Madison: 3-star, #12, UNDERRATED--Borderline four-star career, underrated due to being better than at least six or seven above him
Ben Lueken: 3-star, #13, INCOMPLETE--Career cut short by injury
Joseph Kassanavoid: 3-star, #14, OVERRATED
Brandon Kirksey: 3-star, #15, UNDERRATED--Started 23 games his final two seasons and was better than quite a few above him on the list
Jarell Childs: 2-star, #17, GOT IT RIGHT
Caleb Weichans: 2-star, #18, GOT IT RIGHT--Contributed, but never a consistent starter at Vandy
Garrick Williams: 2-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Multi-year starter at Wake Forest
Final Tally: 4 underrated, 4 overrated, 5 got it right, 4 incomplete
Class of 2009
Sheldon Richardson: 5-star, #1, GOT IT RIGHT
Ronnie Wingo Jr.: 4-star, #2, OVERRATED
Nathan Scheelhaase: 4-star, #3, GOT IT RIGHT--Some will argue here, I think he's had a strong career
Montee Ball: 4-star, #4, UNDERRATED--Heisman finalist
T.J. Moe: 3-star, #5, GOT IT RIGHT--Mizzou fans will want a four-star, but I think high three is fair
Blaine Dalton: 3-star, #6, INCOMPLETE
Darris Ford: 3-star, #7, INCOMPLETE
Bryan Allen: 3-star, #8, OVERRATED--Played some at Minnesota before transferring
Jordan Webb: 3-star, #9, OVERRATED--Probably should be a two-star
Kerwin Stricker: 3-star, #10, OVERRATED--Has not yet contributed in four years at Mizzou
Jack Meiners: 3-star, #11, GOT IT RIGHT
Tyler Evans: 3-star, #12, GOT IT RIGHT
Andrew Wilson: 3-star, #13, UNDERRATED--Considered got it right, but better than a lot on the list, still has a year left
Adam Burton: 3-star, #14, INCOMPLETE--Injury cut his career short
Alex Sanders: 3-star, #15, OVERRATED--Left Mizzou early on
Mark Hill: 2-star, #18, INCOMPLETE--Injury cut career short
Justin Britt: 2-star, #19, UNDERRATED--Multi-year starter
Ghaali Muhammad: 2-star, #20, UNDERRATED--Consistent starter and contributor at Wyoming on offense, defense and special teams
Final Tally: 4 underrated, 5 overrated, 5 got it right, 4 incomplete
The Final Take: The numbers look like this:
34 underrated players
44 overrated players (25 of them in the first three years)
38 players we got right
22 incomplete
So overall, we're probably about right on the level of talent in the state. A few obvious misses like Coffman, Byrd and Aldon Smith on the underrated side and plenty on the overrated side as well.
I don't know if you can draw any conclusions from this at all, I just thought it would be interesting to take a look.
