****Official 2013-14 Missouri Tiger Football Repository Thread****

['Hamas' Jenkins]

We have two things to look forward to this year:

1) The potential beginning of the Maty Mauk Era. Mauk represents the best chance for this program to get back to a level of respectability after horrendous QB play cost us multiple games last year.

2) The last year of the Gary Pinkel era. Pinkel's entrenched cronyism won't play in a conference this competitive, especially if he couples his abysmal gameday coaching with lackadaisical, worst-in-conference recruiting. Pinkel was the formerly adequate meal that has now turned into a four pound bowel obstruction. It's time to jam a Fleet's enema up our collective asses.

Here is the schedule. We dodge Alabama, LSU, and Arkansas in the west and the Non-con is decidedly weaker than years past.

8/31: Murray State
9/7: Toledo
9/21: @ Indiana
9/28: Arkansas State
10/5:@ Vanderbilt
10/12: @ Georgia
10/19:Florida
10/26: South Carolina
11/2:Tennessee
11/9: @ Kentucky
11/23: @ Ole Miss
11/30: aTm

Looks like 6-6. Undefeated in non-con, 2-6 in league play.

I will eventually update the OP with a list of high profile in-state recruits that decide to go elsewhere after a half-assed attempt to gain their services. The inevitable cavalcade of *** rejects, skeezers, skanks, and scalliwags we get will fill out the ranks.


Razors, cyanide capsules, and Jonestown Kool-Aid are available in the break room. Second door on the left.

Since every Mizzou thread eventually dies of AIDS, I recommend starting anti-retroviral therapy immediately. I believe Walgreens covers Express Scripts.


Premium In-State Players:

Roderick Johnson: **** OT, Florissant, MO.
Monte Harrison: **** WR, Lee's Summit, MO.
Jimmy Swain: **** LB, Lee's Summit, MO


Commitment List: From to and possibly

Spoiler!

Committed - Not Yet Signed

Name	Pos	Location	Ht	Wt	40	Rivals Rating
Paul Adams	OL	Nashville, TNChrist Presbyterian Academy	6'6"	270		5.5
Sam Bailey	OL	Lamar, MOLamar Jr/Sr R 1	6'5"	245		5.4
Andy Bauer	OL	St. Louis, MODeSmet	6'6"	304	5.2	5.9
Kendall Blanton	TE	Blue Springs, MOBlue Springs South	6'5"	225		5.4
Nate Brown	WR	Suwanee, GANorth Gwinnett	6'3"	215	4.5	5.7
Logan Cheadle	DB	Lee's Summit, MOLee's Summit West	5'10"	165		5.6
Kenya Dennis	DB	Raymond, MSHinds C.C.	6'0"	190		5.5
Michael Fairchild	OL	Overland Park, KSBlue Valley West	6'6"	262		5.4
Darnell Green-Beckham	WR	Springfield, MOHillcrest	6'5"	175		5.3
Zach Hudson	OL	Tampa, FLSickles	6'5"	280		5.5
Stepfawn Hughes	ATH	Fort Worth, TXDunbar	5'10"	170	4.6	5.5
Grant Jones	ATH	Columbia, MOHickman	6'3"	216		5.5
Lawrence Lee	WR	Pensacola, FLWest Florida Tech	5'10"	167	4.5	5.6
Rocel McWilliams	DE	Pensacola, FLWest Florida Tech	6'3"	240		5.5
Kevin Pendleton	OL	Lee's Summit, MOLee's Summit West	6'4"	329		5.5
Thomas Richard	WR	Nashville, TNChrist Presbyterian Academy	6'1"	185		5.4
Tavon Ross	ATH	Cochran, GABleckley County	6'1"	196		5.4
Finis Stribling IV	DB	Thompson's Station, TNIndependence	5'10"	170	4.5	5.4
Greg Taylor	DB	East St. Louis, ILEast St. Louis	5'10"	181		5.7
Trevon Walters	RB	Bradenton, FLManatee	5'10"	189		5.4
Jhonathon Williams	DE	Berrien Springs, MIBerrien Springs	6'6"	230	4.5	5.5
Thomas Wilson	ATH	Buford, GABuford	5'10"	176		5.5
Roderick Winters	LB	Arlington, TXBowie	5'11"	196	4.5	5.3
Ish Witter	RB	Tampa, FLAlonso	5'8"	190	4.6	5.5
Marvin Zanders	QB	Jacksonville, FLRaines	6'1"	175		5.5

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

But if you bring him in and bury him, even more damage is done.

They were in a tough spot. The bottom line is that they'd have probably taken him had he committed before Trevon Walters....but he didn't. Witter looks like more of the HR hitter back that the Tigers prefer anyway.

You hate to see it, but I don't feel like Mizzou did him dirty here - they were honest with him and he'll likely get a better shot at PT in Iowa.

Agreed, and I'm not sure Markel had the wheels that Mizzou likes in their backs. Still, though, I'd love to lock up the STL.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Iowa Rivals writers: "Mizzou basically told him they were full at running back so he committed to Iowa since it was between those two."

Still don't like it. The RBs we have are great, but this kid is a highly-ranked STL kid that wanted to come to Mizzou.

Markel got some bad advice and ended up in a bad spot. Had he never decommitted, he'd still have a spot. As it is, he wanted to look around and expected his recruitment to elevate. It didn't.

At this point, he's not a higher priority than Brian Wallace, Sharieff Rhaheed, Brandon Lee, Raymond Wingo, Roderick Johnson, and perhaps a few others.

If he was, they'd find a spot for him.

One of the big steps for Missouri in the past decade was no longer being an automatic fallback for kids who went elsewhere, failed, and wanted to transfer home.

This is a sign of another step... only holding spots open for truly elite players in-state who don't jump on early. Didn't commit/looked around while Missouri filled all its slots at that position? Sorry. We've got to move on, son.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by warpaint*

I've been through there. Very run down.

It isn't even close to a shell of the nice little town it was when I was growing up. Back when I lived there growing up it was a nice little town where everyone watched out for each other.

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

But if you bring him in and bury him, even more damage is done.

They were in a tough spot. The bottom line is that they'd have probably taken him had he committed before Trevon Walters....but he didn't. Witter looks like more of the HR hitter back that the Tigers prefer anyway.

You hate to see it, but I don't feel like Mizzou did him dirty here - they were honest with him and he'll likely get a better shot at PT in Iowa.

Hope Walters doesn't flip on us at the end. He has been kind of flaky since he committed.

I don't understand how Walters is only a 2*. His tape looks good and he is putting up big numbers on an elite team in Florida.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

Hope Walters doesn't flip on us at the end. He has been kind of flaky since he committed.

I don't understand how Walters is only a 2*. His tape looks good and he is putting up big numbers on an elite team in Florida.

Walters firmed up recently. Minnesota was in the picture... then he visited there and realized: 1) The weather is TERRIBLE there.

I also wonder how Kill's health issues factor in. BUt he recently said Minnesota is out of it.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Iowa Rivals writers: "Mizzou basically told him they were full at running back so he committed to Iowa since it was between those two."

Still don't like it. The RBs we have are great, but this kid is a highly-ranked STL kid that wanted to come to Mizzou.

Maybe they are starting to get a toe hold in GA or FL.

[OmahaChief]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Iowa Rivals writers: "Mizzou basically told him they were full at running back so he committed to Iowa since it was between those two."

Still don't like it. The RBs we have are great, but this kid is a highly-ranked STL kid that wanted to come to Mizzou.

From all accounts the level of competition our other RB commits play against is superior and they are both having great seasons as well. Smith had his chance to get on board and decided to de-commit so he lost his spot. Not really sad in the least.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Missouri’s Michael Sam rises from small Texas town to national star
The Kansas City Star (TOD PALMER)

http://m.kansascity.com/kcstar/db_41...l=true#display

Hitchcock, Texas, seems like an odd place to find a pocket of rabid Missouri football fans.

It’s a town of 8,000 people roughly 40 miles south of Houston near Galveston Bay, more than 850 miles from Columbia. The typical graduating class at the town’s high school is around 75 students.

But Tigers senior defensive end Michael Sam is a former two-way player for Class 2A Hitchcock High School’s beloved Bulldogs. And with Sam emerging as a national star by destroying Southeastern Conference quarterbacks, the attention makes perfect sense.

Sam, who is tied for first in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 10 sacks and ranks second in tackles for loss with 16, graduated from Hitchcock in 2009 and is a folk hero in his hometown.

“Trust me, everybody Googles and reads everything they can about Michael,” Hitchcock athletic director and football coach Craig Smith said by phone. “We definitely keep up with him around here. It’s a big thing. Whenever they play, my phone just blows up with texts from ex-players or friends in town.

“People just can’t get enough watching him play. They’re super excited down here.”

Nationally, Sam has risen from obscurity to stardom over the last two months, earning midseason All-American honors from numerous publications and rocketing up NFL Draft prospect rankings.

In his redshirt freshman season in 2010, Sam made seven tackles for loss, including 3 1/2 sacks. But he has become a consistently disruptive force as a senior. He scored on a 21-yard fumble return in the Tigers’ upset win Oct. 12 at Georgia and needs two more sacks to set an MU single-season record.

“It’s the difference between knowing the defense and living and breathing the defense when you’ve been doing the same thing for five years,” said defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski, who recruited Sam to Missouri. “He’s being able to be reactive and not thinking about it too much.”

Tennessee coach Butch Jones called Sam, who drew constant double teams in last Saturday’s win against the Volunteers, “as good of a player as we’ve faced” — and that was a week after getting pummeled by Alabama.

“I love the way he plays,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, whose Wildcats play host to Missouri on Saturday. “He’s very explosive and plays with a great motor. We’ll have our hands full.”

Back in Hitchcock, Sam’s fans didn’t need him to rack up 19 1/2 career sacks at Missouri to know he was a star.

Fans still talk about the time Hitchcock played Class 5A Chavez from Houston, and Sam dominated a matchup against Michael Brockers, who now plays for the St. Louis Rams.

“He rocked this ol’ boy all night long,” Smith said. “We knew (Brockers) was already committed to LSU and he got to rest on offense, while Michael had to play both ways for us.”

In 2010, Hitchcock fans went to Reliant Stadium in Houston to see MU play Navy in the Texas Bowl.

“We were just excited that he was getting to dress out. … It’s a small-town pride thing,” Smith said.

Each week, Smith shows his current Hitchcock team highlights of Sam’s play from GaryPinkel.com as inspiration.

“The kids get real excited when they put on the highlights and it says, ‘Michael Sam, Hitchcock, Texas’ there on the screen,” Smith said.

Out of high school, Sam was a two-star recruit, according to Rivals.com. Last week, he was announced as a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, given to college football’s best defensive player. He’s also a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award, given to the best lineman or linebacker.

“Michael Sam has raised the bar for expectations and excellence,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “(Our defensive ends) are all competitive and they want their tackles for loss. They want their sacks, and it’s a real healthy competition. But Michael, with the level he’s been playing, everything’s kind of changed a little bit.”

Sam has not spoken to reporters since Oct. 5. But the Tigers’ coaches laud his maturity and the ferocity he displays every down. Other Missouri players say they follow Sam’s lead.

“Before we go out there for a series, he’ll grab me by my facemask, look into my eyes and say, ‘I need you this series. I need you to be with me,’” junior defensive tackle Lucas Vincent said. “And that just gets me all fired up and ready to go.”

Hitchcock’s coaches know that intense passion well.

“There’s hundreds of little stories,” Smith said. “On days we’d be inside because of bad rain, we’d have to work out in the gym. To get our conditioning, we had a StairMaster. I can remember, when his time would come, he would have it on an unbelievable fast-paced level for 20 minutes that nobody else could do.”

Sam, who started traveling with Hitchcock’s varsity team as an eighth-grade water boy, played virtually every down during his last three high school seasons, which Smith thinks helped fuel his high-motor style even more.

“He wasn’t at a big school, where he was specialized as just a D-end,” Smith said. “He had to turn around and play left tackle, so that might have helped him. Whether it’s punt, kickoff, kickoff return, you’ve got to have your best athletes out on the field and he was one of them. …

“Everything Michael Sam’s got, Michael Sam earned. He had a lot of support from a lot of friends and coaches and other people around the school, but he’s worked hard and everything he’s got he’s deserved. It’s been great to see.”

['Hamas' Jenkins]

"Everything Michael Sam’s got, Michael Sam earned."

If only Sam would have said this himself. He'd be my favorite player ever.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Something else worth mentioning:

Columbia has a 4* WR in the 2015 class, and Jeff City has a 4* TE that already has interest from USC and an Ohio State offer.

There is also a ton of talent in E. St. Louis and KC that we've already offered.

It has the potential to be the best recruiting class in Missouri history if they lock the state down.

[Saul Good]

Emphasis on "lock".

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Something else worth mentioning:

Columbia has a 4* WR in the 2015 class, and Jeff City has a 4* TE that already has interest from USC and an Ohio State offer.

There is also a ton of talent in E. St. Louis and KC that we've already offered.

It has the potential to be the best recruiting class in Missouri history if they lock the state down.

Drew Lock
Alex Ofodile (WR you mention - son of Mizzou alum OJ Ofodile)
Hentges (TE from Jeff)

There's a DE from the east side in St. Louis, Terry Beckner, who's going to be a national recruit. He has a teammate, RB Natereace Strong, who is also a top 250 type.

There are the Davis twins from Blue Springs, not sure if they're OL or DL in college.

And Marquise Doherty, who like 2014 kid Monte Harrison is a baseball-football recruit who will be a tough pull.

I'd say it's a much stronger year for skill position guys, but you don't have the three OL with star power of Bauer, Johnson and Wallace, so it doesn't stand out quite as much to me.

Lock + Hentges + Ofodile would be a pretty good (and possible) start to the in-state guys for 2015, if you're not counting Abbington (who re-committed this week from JUCO).

[epitome1170]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Drew Lock
Alex Ofodile (WR you mention - son of Mizzou alum OJ Ofodile)
Hentges (TE from Jeff)

There's a DE from the east side in St. Louis, Terry Beckner, who's going to be a national recruit. He has a teammate, RB Natereace Strong, who is also a top 250 type.

There are the Davis twins from Blue Springs, not sure if they're OL or DL in college.

And Marquise Doherty, who like 2014 kid Monte Harrison is a baseball-football recruit who will be a tough pull.

I'd say it's a much stronger year for skill position guys, but you don't have the three OL with star power of Bauer, Johnson and Wallace, so it doesn't stand out quite as much to me.

Lock + Hentges + Ofodile would be a pretty good (and possible) start to the in-state guys for 2015, if you're not counting Abbington (who re-committed this week from JUCO).

Knowing nothing about Hentges, except he is a Helias guy (my old school). I would hope we could get him to sign since Phil Pitts is Helias' head coach and he was a defensive lineman in the early 2000's.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by epitome1170

Knowing nothing about Hentges, except he is a Helias guy (my old school). I would hope we could get him to sign since Phil Pitts is Helias' head coach and he was a defensive lineman in the early 2000's.

Jeff City has always been good to Mizzou.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Jeff City has always been good to Mizzou.

Columbia has passed Jeff City in football in recent times though with the growth it has had. Trouble with growth in Columbia is sort of the problem with Florida pro teams, that they are moving in from other places thus not loyal to the local teams.