Let's get right into this week...
Start on recruiting. Nothing groundbreaking, but we continue to hear Missouri feels very good about its chances with Jeff Thomas. We'll probably just post that to start every week so you guys are in a good mood.
Handful of offers have gone out to JUCO guys recently. Keisean Nixon is one of them and we've gotten some indications from sources that Missouri stands a pretty decent chance there. Losing John Gibson and Aarion Penton after this year, a juco guy makes some sense at the position. Nixon told us he's working to set up an official visit for the Arkansas game. He added that he doesn't want to go to a losing program, so the season could impact his decision more so than the opportunity to play immediately.
2017 St. Augustine (Fla.) OL Connor Robbins also told our Pitt site that he plans to take an official visit to Mizzou. At this point, the Tigers are the only SEC offer from the 6-8, 290-pound tackle, but he has a long offer list.
Missouri's 2018 in-state class continues to go more national than any previous group in Rivals history. Yesterday, Kamrynn Babb picked up an offer from LSU, Ronnie Perkins grabbed one from Arkansas and Michael Thompson added Ole Miss. This is going to be a make-or-break year for Missouri's recruiting in-state.
Some quick news on the basketball recruiting front -- We spoke with 2018 Oldsmar (Fla.) 4-star PG Elijah Weaver, who said he would like to visit Missouri soon. No timetable yet, but the Tigers are on his mind early. Louisville and Florida are his two other big offers.
2017 Round Rock (Texas) PG Victor Bailey, Jr., is taking an official visit to Texas A&M this weekend. Missouri is hoping to get him to visit for homecoming, because of his dad.
Some notes on what to expect at West Virginia tomorrow (Gabe is en route and will have full coverage from Morgantown and we will have a complete game preview posted first thing in the morning): We've done some asking around since the odd situation with Marvin Zanders earlier this week and we're still expecting him to see the field and have a role on Saturday. Drew Lock's the starter, no doubt, but Zanders is going to play.
We're expecting Tucker McCann to handle the kicking duties (both placekicking and kickoff). Have heard absolutely glowing reviews in the last few days about the camp Johnathon Johnson had (we posted earlier in the week that Andy Hill said this summer it was like he had flipped a switch and football became really important to him). Do not be at all surprised to see him be the slot receiver on Missouri's first series. He'll get at least some of the punt return duties, along with Chris Black, as well.
I fully expect to see everything from three tight ends to five wide receivers in this game. The formations are gonna make your head spin. That said, I'm still personally rooting for the Tigers to line up in the I-formation with a fullback on the first snap just for trolling's sake. And as far as the tight ends go, we've posted a few times in the last week or two that you might expect Tyler Hanneke to play a little bit bigger role than many are expecting. Not sure exactly what that role will be, but I think the recent scholarship addition finds a way on to the field.
In talking to people who are around the program and have seen practices, the coaching staff gets rave reviews. Everyone we talk to talks about the energy and the work they've put in. How does that translate on to the field? We don't know. We don't even think the staff knows exactly what to expect this weekend. Because you can practice all you want, but game day is just different.
Start on recruiting. Nothing groundbreaking, but we continue to hear Missouri feels very good about its chances with Jeff Thomas. We'll probably just post that to start every week so you guys are in a good mood.
Handful of offers have gone out to JUCO guys recently. Keisean Nixon is one of them and we've gotten some indications from sources that Missouri stands a pretty decent chance there. Losing John Gibson and Aarion Penton after this year, a juco guy makes some sense at the position. Nixon told us he's working to set up an official visit for the Arkansas game. He added that he doesn't want to go to a losing program, so the season could impact his decision more so than the opportunity to play immediately.
2017 St. Augustine (Fla.) OL Connor Robbins also told our Pitt site that he plans to take an official visit to Mizzou. At this point, the Tigers are the only SEC offer from the 6-8, 290-pound tackle, but he has a long offer list.
Missouri's 2018 in-state class continues to go more national than any previous group in Rivals history. Yesterday, Kamrynn Babb picked up an offer from LSU, Ronnie Perkins grabbed one from Arkansas and Michael Thompson added Ole Miss. This is going to be a make-or-break year for Missouri's recruiting in-state.
Some quick news on the basketball recruiting front -- We spoke with 2018 Oldsmar (Fla.) 4-star PG Elijah Weaver, who said he would like to visit Missouri soon. No timetable yet, but the Tigers are on his mind early. Louisville and Florida are his two other big offers.
2017 Round Rock (Texas) PG Victor Bailey, Jr., is taking an official visit to Texas A&M this weekend. Missouri is hoping to get him to visit for homecoming, because of his dad.
Some notes on what to expect at West Virginia tomorrow (Gabe is en route and will have full coverage from Morgantown and we will have a complete game preview posted first thing in the morning): We've done some asking around since the odd situation with Marvin Zanders earlier this week and we're still expecting him to see the field and have a role on Saturday. Drew Lock's the starter, no doubt, but Zanders is going to play.
We're expecting Tucker McCann to handle the kicking duties (both placekicking and kickoff). Have heard absolutely glowing reviews in the last few days about the camp Johnathon Johnson had (we posted earlier in the week that Andy Hill said this summer it was like he had flipped a switch and football became really important to him). Do not be at all surprised to see him be the slot receiver on Missouri's first series. He'll get at least some of the punt return duties, along with Chris Black, as well.
I fully expect to see everything from three tight ends to five wide receivers in this game. The formations are gonna make your head spin. That said, I'm still personally rooting for the Tigers to line up in the I-formation with a fullback on the first snap just for trolling's sake. And as far as the tight ends go, we've posted a few times in the last week or two that you might expect Tyler Hanneke to play a little bit bigger role than many are expecting. Not sure exactly what that role will be, but I think the recent scholarship addition finds a way on to the field.
In talking to people who are around the program and have seen practices, the coaching staff gets rave reviews. Everyone we talk to talks about the energy and the work they've put in. How does that translate on to the field? We don't know. We don't even think the staff knows exactly what to expect this weekend. Because you can practice all you want, but game day is just different.
