First off, let's get the news. Bryce Banks is decommitting from Missouri.
Now, before you respond to this post, I ask you to read on. Bryce is teammates with my son and obviously I know a little bit more about his situation than about most others we cover. I have been in contact with AJ Ofodile about the situation and everything I'm posting here has been okayed to post and pass on to Mizzou fans. I've got a message out to Bryce to ask if he wants to clarify anything or if he has any statement he wants out. But here's the deal:
Over the course of the last few years, Bryce hasn't always run with the best crowd off the field in Columbia. He committed to Missouri and was excited about continuing his career in Columbia. However, upon further thought, he and his family believe it is better for him in the long term to get out of Columbia to play college football. I understand that some of you are going to say this is crap, he misled the coaches, Rock Bridge hates Mizzou, etc. It's not true. As it was explained to me, this is legitimately a situation where the kid believes his safety and long-term well-being could be jeopardized because of some of the people he knows in Columbia.
I always ask you to be respectful of a kid that chooses to decommit or go elsewhere. I will ask you that again. I've not covered a situation like this one, especially where the people around it were so willing to explain exactly what reasoning is. I believe that coach Ofodile may drop by to shed a little more light on this and if Bryce gets back to me I will edit this post with anything he might want to pass on to Missouri fans. But the bottom line is he is not going to be a part of Mizzou's 2016 class.
Now, before you respond to this post, I ask you to read on. Bryce is teammates with my son and obviously I know a little bit more about his situation than about most others we cover. I have been in contact with AJ Ofodile about the situation and everything I'm posting here has been okayed to post and pass on to Mizzou fans. I've got a message out to Bryce to ask if he wants to clarify anything or if he has any statement he wants out. But here's the deal:
Over the course of the last few years, Bryce hasn't always run with the best crowd off the field in Columbia. He committed to Missouri and was excited about continuing his career in Columbia. However, upon further thought, he and his family believe it is better for him in the long term to get out of Columbia to play college football. I understand that some of you are going to say this is crap, he misled the coaches, Rock Bridge hates Mizzou, etc. It's not true. As it was explained to me, this is legitimately a situation where the kid believes his safety and long-term well-being could be jeopardized because of some of the people he knows in Columbia.
I always ask you to be respectful of a kid that chooses to decommit or go elsewhere. I will ask you that again. I've not covered a situation like this one, especially where the people around it were so willing to explain exactly what reasoning is. I believe that coach Ofodile may drop by to shed a little more light on this and if Bryce gets back to me I will edit this post with anything he might want to pass on to Missouri fans. But the bottom line is he is not going to be a part of Mizzou's 2016 class.
