MU gets in early on southeast players
Finding players sooner benefits MU in Southeast.
By DAVID MORRISON
Sunday, February 2, 2014 at 2:00 am
http://www.columbiatribune.com/sport...04b9f1ff4.html
For a little more than four months, Tavon Ross held only one scholarship offer from a major-conference school: Missouri.
So, for that period of time, things were pretty simple for Ross, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound athlete who starred at quarterback and safety for Bleckley County High School in Cochran, Ga.
If he wanted to play at a Southeastern Conference school, Missouri was his only choice.
"The kids down here grow up dreaming of playing in the SEC," said Woody Wommack, Southeast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com.
Since the new year started, Ross' recruitment has gotten a little more complicated.
Georgia, which is a little more than a two-hour drive from Ross' home, offered. Miami followed. So did Alabama.
Ross, who had been committed to Missouri since late August, suddenly had more to consider.
He's on a visit to Missouri this weekend — the final one before national signing day on Wednesday — after visiting Georgia and Miami over the past couple of weeks.
"I don't know if a Georgia or Miami or Alabama had hit him at the same time" as Missouri "if he would have had any interest in Missouri," Bleckley County Coach Tracy White said. "But he's a great kid, he's loyal, he's appreciative of what Missouri did for him that early. It's going to be hard for somebody to steer him away from that."
Ross' case is emblematic of the challenges Missouri is facing as it shifts more of its recruiting focus to the Southeast, as well as a glimpse of the strategy the Tigers are using to try and counterbalance the deficiencies they face being new players in the region.
Schools such as Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Auburn still have a considerable edge in name recognition with high-school prospects in the Southeast.
But, Missouri wagers, if it can make its pitch to under-the-radar recruits before the more established schools come knocking, the Tigers have a fighting chance.
"They're doing a nice job with scouting and evaluation," Wommack said. "We've seen that, obviously, with how their team performed this year. A lot of those guys weren't highly ranked by us. It just shows the coaching staff is identifying players that fit the system."
According to Rivals.com's database, Missouri has offered 36 prospects from Florida and 35 Georgia recruits from the Class of 2014. Those represent increases in similar numbers from the Tigers' recruiting in the Class of 2013, their first as an SEC member: 23 from Florida, 21 from Georgia.
Missouri is also landing more players from the two states in this recruiting cycle, with five Florida commitments and three from Georgia. The Tigers had one signee from each state last year.
Wommack said that's partly a function of Missouri's staff continuing to strengthen relationships with players and coaches in the Southeast.
A 12-2 season that included a win over Florida, at Georgia, an SEC Championship Game appearance and a No. 5 final national ranking doesn't hurt either.
"Winning seems to aid positively in a lot of ways," North Gwinnett High School Coach Bob Sphire said. "It's a no-brainer the success they had this year has created a positive image."
But Sphire is also a big proponent of the personal touch in recruiting. Sphire's program is a perennial state-championship contender in Georgia's largest classification, not to mention a frequent donor of recruits to big-time programs.
Sphire said he's been impressed with the way Missouri safeties coach Alex Grinch, who scouts Georgia for the Tigers, has recruited his athletes.
"When Alex walks in our office, he's up to date on what's going on with our program. It's not like he's walking in blind," Sphire said. "I get a lot of recruiters that will walk into my office, sit down across the desk from me, look me in the eye and say, 'Hey, Coach. What kind of year did you have?' I want to literally throw them out of my office."
Grinch scored a bit of a coup at North Gwinnett in September, securing a commitment from wideout Nate Brown.
At that point in the season, Brown was a prospect that a number of big programs were sniffing around but hadn't offered.
The 6-3, 215-pound receiver went on to catch 61 passes for 1,041 yards and 21 touchdowns this season for the Bulldogs, and the offers came rolling in.
Thanks. But no thanks.
"I think if" Missouri "hadn't gotten in early, they wouldn't have gotten him," Sphire said. "Because they showed a keen eye with Nate, combined with the personal approach they've had, they got their hooks into him. As other schools made runs at Nate after Missouri had gotten their hooks in, Nate deflected all that away from him."
Not every recruit will be as unmovable as Brown.
While White said Ross doesn't exactly have a "dream school," the lure of playing so close to home at Georgia is still attractive.
The same goes for defensive end Rocel McWilliams from West Florida Tech, who recently had Florida enter the derby after being committed to Missouri since April.
McWilliams, at 6-3, 240 pounds, visited Missouri last weekend and Florida the week before. He'd relish the chance to play at an SEC school in his home state, West Florida Tech Coach Harry Lees said.
But, like Ross and Brown, McWilliams also feels an allegiance to Missouri because it was first in the door. He also has two former high school teammates — defensive tackle Nate Crawford and kicker Luke Jackson — currently on the Tigers' roster, and another — wideout Lawrence Lee — committed for this year's class.
"Nate's probably his best friend, and — just the way they've treated Nate and the way Nate feels things are going over there and the coaches are going to do exactly what they said — I think that goes a long way," Lees said. "Rocel, all he wants is a chance with people that are going to be loyal to him."
Just two classes into its time in the Southeastern Conference, Missouri has already started to carve out a niche in new recruiting territory by identifying high-priority targets early in the process and catching rising prospects before the rise.
As the years go on — and if the on-field product keeps pace — the task should only get easier, Wommack said.
"We should see them, next year, really have the chance to capitalize on this success and sell it," Wommack said. "They're on the map now, and this is the time to really capitalize on that momentum."