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- Want to start by telling you what we know about why Mizzou changed 2016 Oklahoma City (Okla.) John Marshall defensive tackle Tramonda Moore’s visit to an unofficial. Touched on this a little on the board yesterday, but wanted to share all we’ve heard. Two factors were really the driving force for the change.
First, there were some logistical issues on Moore’s end that would have taken away from the value of the official visit. Second, Moore has some work to do academically (have been told this by three different people) so Mizzou didn’t feel like there was a need to rush the official visit. The Tigers are still very high on the number one ranked player in Oklahoma and want to get him in for an official visit later in the year.
For now, though, they plan on showing him as much as they can about the program while he is in Columbia for the unofficial visit. Moore told Rivals.com analyst Jason Howell last night that he was still very excited to get up to Mizzou and see what the program is about.
“I have a lot of interest in Missouri. I’m just eager to see why they want me for defensive line when most schools want me for offensive line. I’ve never been to Mizzou so it should be a fun time,” Moore told PowerMizzou earlier this week. “I want to meet the coaches and players and see if I bond with those guys. See if I can see myself playing there.”
- It sounds like Moore is the only 2016 prospect that will be in this weekend who Missouri is actively recruiting. With only two positions left to fill at this point there seems to be push by the Missouri staff to take a step back and evaluate where they stand.
A few 2016 prospects that were at one point scheduled to officially visit Mizzou this weekend, but now won’t are Amani Bledsoe, Ikenna Okeke and Jordan Carmouche. Of the three only Bledsoe will likely get rescheduled. He is already tentatively set to visit on November 4. The commitment of DeMarkus Acy led to Okeke changing his plans.
- Landing Tyreic Martin last weekend put the Tigers’ in a position where they only need one more defensive lineman to hit their number for this class. If they were able to land the right prospects we could definitely see Missouri taking two more, but that would most likely be the max. Essentially any defensive lineman with a Mizzou offer, that hasn’t eliminated them, is still in play. Darius Whitfield is scheduled to announce his decision on Tuesday. At this point it would be a surprise if he picked Missouri.
- Quarterback is the other position that we hearing Missouri definitely wants to sign a player at. With a lot up in the air for the quarterbacks currently at Mizzou the position could look significantly different next season despite there being no seniors on the roster. Speculating on transfers isn’t something we like to do much, but it sure seams plausible that Mizzou could go into next season with Drew Lock, Eddie Printz or Marvin Zanders, Freshman and Walk-On as the QB depth.
As far as current quarterback targets for 2016 there hasn’t been any change. Mizzou has been in contact with Zack Weatherly and Nathan Rourke. We hear they are also keeping tabs on Boise State commit and Mizzou legacy Micah Wilson. All three are having very strong senior seasons.
Blake Charlton, Skylar Thompson and Steven Frank are included to give more of a frame of reference for the statistics. They are the top two local quarterbacks and one prospect that Mizzou had some interest in previously, but doesn’t now.
- The top two local 2017 defensive line targets and really two of the top targets regardless of position or locale will be in Columbia Saturday to see Mizzou play Florida. Edwardsville (Ill.) prospect A.J. Epenesa and Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill prospect Chester Graves will most likely be getting just as much attention as Tramonda Moore.
Most know the story of Epenesa. His dad played at Iowa and the Hawkeyes are in great shape to land the four-star prospect. From talking with people around the network, though, the family wants Epenesa to keep an open mind and visit schools to see what will be the best fit for him. Some other schools that come up when asking about his recruitment are Oklahoma and Notre Dame. This is the second visit for Epenesa to Columbia this year.
The Tigers are still in great shape with Graves, the top ranked player in Missouri for 2017. This will be his second trip to Columbia for a game this season. He was also at Mizzou in June for the Tigers one-day camp. He is very familiar with everything the Tigers have to offer and talking with him there is a sense that he is just waiting for the right time to make his decision. We’d be a little surprised if it was this weekend, but it is not completely out of the question.
One other top 2017 target is still considering making it to Columbia for homecoming. East St. Louis (Ill.) wide receiver Jeff Thomas’ coach has told PowerMizzou that they are trying to figure out the logistics and would like to make it.
There is also a new 2017 prospect that will be at the Florida game. His name is Peyton Jones and he is running back/wide receiver/cornerback for Kansas City (Mo.) Archbishop O’Hara. At this point he isn’t receiving much interest from Mizzou, but he has the size and athleticism to make him an interesting prospect. He is listed at 6-foot-1, 180 lbs and has accounted for 12 total touchdowns, three interceptions and five fumble recoveries for the Celtics.
- Missouri offered two 2016 junior college prospects this week at positions they have reached their numbers for in this class. Merced (Calif.) cornerback Devron Davis and Dodge City (Kansas) tailback Mark Thompson. PowerMizzou has been told that both are over sign candidates. That simply means the coaches feel like they are impact players that they will go above their set numbers for.
Davis is being recruited by Cornell Ford and the two talk at least once a week. Yesterday he released a top seven and Missouri made the cut. Arizona State, California, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon and UCLA are the other schools Davis is focusing on.
Thompson is committed to Florida, but we are hearing there is a chance he visit Mizzou in November. It also sounds like a visit to Alabama could happen in December. Was told that he may not be as solid to the Gators as he likes to act. We were also told that both Thompson and Davis expressed strong interest in Mizzou before the Tigers decided to offer.
Let's dive right in...
- Want to start by telling you what we know about why Mizzou changed 2016 Oklahoma City (Okla.) John Marshall defensive tackle Tramonda Moore’s visit to an unofficial. Touched on this a little on the board yesterday, but wanted to share all we’ve heard. Two factors were really the driving force for the change.
First, there were some logistical issues on Moore’s end that would have taken away from the value of the official visit. Second, Moore has some work to do academically (have been told this by three different people) so Mizzou didn’t feel like there was a need to rush the official visit. The Tigers are still very high on the number one ranked player in Oklahoma and want to get him in for an official visit later in the year.
For now, though, they plan on showing him as much as they can about the program while he is in Columbia for the unofficial visit. Moore told Rivals.com analyst Jason Howell last night that he was still very excited to get up to Mizzou and see what the program is about.
“I have a lot of interest in Missouri. I’m just eager to see why they want me for defensive line when most schools want me for offensive line. I’ve never been to Mizzou so it should be a fun time,” Moore told PowerMizzou earlier this week. “I want to meet the coaches and players and see if I bond with those guys. See if I can see myself playing there.”
- It sounds like Moore is the only 2016 prospect that will be in this weekend who Missouri is actively recruiting. With only two positions left to fill at this point there seems to be push by the Missouri staff to take a step back and evaluate where they stand.
A few 2016 prospects that were at one point scheduled to officially visit Mizzou this weekend, but now won’t are Amani Bledsoe, Ikenna Okeke and Jordan Carmouche. Of the three only Bledsoe will likely get rescheduled. He is already tentatively set to visit on November 4. The commitment of DeMarkus Acy led to Okeke changing his plans.
- Landing Tyreic Martin last weekend put the Tigers’ in a position where they only need one more defensive lineman to hit their number for this class. If they were able to land the right prospects we could definitely see Missouri taking two more, but that would most likely be the max. Essentially any defensive lineman with a Mizzou offer, that hasn’t eliminated them, is still in play. Darius Whitfield is scheduled to announce his decision on Tuesday. At this point it would be a surprise if he picked Missouri.
- Quarterback is the other position that we hearing Missouri definitely wants to sign a player at. With a lot up in the air for the quarterbacks currently at Mizzou the position could look significantly different next season despite there being no seniors on the roster. Speculating on transfers isn’t something we like to do much, but it sure seams plausible that Mizzou could go into next season with Drew Lock, Eddie Printz or Marvin Zanders, Freshman and Walk-On as the QB depth.
As far as current quarterback targets for 2016 there hasn’t been any change. Mizzou has been in contact with Zack Weatherly and Nathan Rourke. We hear they are also keeping tabs on Boise State commit and Mizzou legacy Micah Wilson. All three are having very strong senior seasons.
Blake Charlton, Skylar Thompson and Steven Frank are included to give more of a frame of reference for the statistics. They are the top two local quarterbacks and one prospect that Mizzou had some interest in previously, but doesn’t now.
- The top two local 2017 defensive line targets and really two of the top targets regardless of position or locale will be in Columbia Saturday to see Mizzou play Florida. Edwardsville (Ill.) prospect A.J. Epenesa and Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill prospect Chester Graves will most likely be getting just as much attention as Tramonda Moore.
Most know the story of Epenesa. His dad played at Iowa and the Hawkeyes are in great shape to land the four-star prospect. From talking with people around the network, though, the family wants Epenesa to keep an open mind and visit schools to see what will be the best fit for him. Some other schools that come up when asking about his recruitment are Oklahoma and Notre Dame. This is the second visit for Epenesa to Columbia this year.
The Tigers are still in great shape with Graves, the top ranked player in Missouri for 2017. This will be his second trip to Columbia for a game this season. He was also at Mizzou in June for the Tigers one-day camp. He is very familiar with everything the Tigers have to offer and talking with him there is a sense that he is just waiting for the right time to make his decision. We’d be a little surprised if it was this weekend, but it is not completely out of the question.
One other top 2017 target is still considering making it to Columbia for homecoming. East St. Louis (Ill.) wide receiver Jeff Thomas’ coach has told PowerMizzou that they are trying to figure out the logistics and would like to make it.
There is also a new 2017 prospect that will be at the Florida game. His name is Peyton Jones and he is running back/wide receiver/cornerback for Kansas City (Mo.) Archbishop O’Hara. At this point he isn’t receiving much interest from Mizzou, but he has the size and athleticism to make him an interesting prospect. He is listed at 6-foot-1, 180 lbs and has accounted for 12 total touchdowns, three interceptions and five fumble recoveries for the Celtics.
- Missouri offered two 2016 junior college prospects this week at positions they have reached their numbers for in this class. Merced (Calif.) cornerback Devron Davis and Dodge City (Kansas) tailback Mark Thompson. PowerMizzou has been told that both are over sign candidates. That simply means the coaches feel like they are impact players that they will go above their set numbers for.
Davis is being recruited by Cornell Ford and the two talk at least once a week. Yesterday he released a top seven and Missouri made the cut. Arizona State, California, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon and UCLA are the other schools Davis is focusing on.
Thompson is committed to Florida, but we are hearing there is a chance he visit Mizzou in November. It also sounds like a visit to Alabama could happen in December. Was told that he may not be as solid to the Gators as he likes to act. We were also told that both Thompson and Davis expressed strong interest in Mizzou before the Tigers decided to offer.
