#4 Recruit in Country Reaffirms Commitment to MU
 

Sheldon Richardson is a Tiger for good. Awesome news.

How is this any different than when he committed to Mizzou originally and then started talking to Miami?

Any news on Hawthorne from this weekend?

He said he would play either DE or TE... That is one big ****ing TE, 6'4" 292 lbs.

Edit: It would be nice to have him as a DE at 290~ too, our DE's usually average around 250lbs.

I hope he wants to play defense...

Hawthorne sounded like he had a lot of fun. Still would be a longshot, but not a total shocker for him to flip...

Would love to see it. Hawthorne could open the floodgates for future recruits of the program he plays for.

Be afraid.....very afraid.

Big hill to climb... the coach at ESL (Sunkett) is an Illinois guy all the way... and he has had some differences with Missouri (going back to the Damien Nash days).

I think if Hawthorne was just taking visits, he would have gone somewhere a little nicer than Columbia this weekend... so I think you have to assume Missouri has SOME chance.

I would love to land three top 100 kids in this class... really would make a statement.

So is Sheldon the best recruit of the Pinkel era?

Any thoughts on where he will play? It sounds like he wants to play DE, but I think he could be a monster at DT. With his size and athleticism, he could be a top ten pick someday.

I'm so pumped to have this kid. Recruits like this are program changers.

I'm super-excited that he has reaffirmed his commitment to MU. I figured we would lose him when USC and those types of schools came knocking. From what I heard, his first choice is TE (he's a big/huge guy, but he apparently runs like a gazelle) and then DE.

Yeah, hopefully he gets over playing TE, as I think it would be a waste for him. He supposedly runs a 4.7 40 at almost 300 pounds, but I'm betting Pinkel and company can convince him that his pot of gold will come from playing on the defensive line.

Maybe he could be Richard Seymour type that is versatile and plays inside and outside on the line.

He'll get a lot more money as a DE, obviously. Seems like that would make the decision pretty easy.

[QUOTE=eazyb81;5319794]So is Sheldon the best recruit of the Pinkel era? QUOTE]

On paper - yes.

By ratings? Yes.

By his ceiling? Yes.

If he can cut his current weight down to about 275/280, he can be a Julius Peppers/Justin Smith DE. He doesn't want to play at 292 from the way it sounds, and he doesn't want to take on double-teams every single play.

I think he actually can have a little more impact at DE... force teams to use a back/TE to at least chip him every play. He'll make his fellow linemen better because none of them will see double teams, and if your front four can rush the passer AND stop the run... well, we all know how much of an advantage that is...

He would be a rock against the run at LE and also be a terror as a pass rusher. He's just way too fast for most RTs to handle, and he's strong enough to compete with and beat them in the run game, too. Also has the speed to make plays in pursuit when teams run away from him.

If he has a good camp down in San Antonio for the All-American bowl, it wouldn't surprise me to see him jump to No. 1 overall, at least in Rivals' rankings. Scout is being its usual shitty self, and has him rated as an OG.

I think the only way he plays TE is in special packages (red zone, basically).

And yeah, he IS a program changer.

Well, he said after his visit this weekend that he is done taking other visits and he is a Tiger. He went from a soft verbal to a strong verbal. It is going to be much harder for another school to peel him away if he isn't actively taking party in their recruiting process.

The funny thing is... since he started 'looking around' in July... he has gone from the No. 88 overall player to No. 4.

Hmmm. Coincidence that a recruiting power like Miami starts looking at Richardson and he starts shooting up the charts? I think not...

But when does he confirm that his confirmation is confirmed?

This defense desperatly needs his help. Hopefully the offense will be close to what it was with the new guys

Too early to tell, but on paper I'd have to say it is Blaine Gabbert. When you can get a 5-star QB that trumps all other recruits.

Gabbert is tearing *hit up in bowl practices so far. Has made big strides since fall camp, apparently, and is starting to make use of his talent.

Both are the types of guys Missouri has to land to take this to the next level...

It's a close call, but I'd have to say that Richardson (if he lives up to the hype) is bigger. We have a good offense but are a dominant DL (ala-OU) away from really competing with the big boys.

Would agree with this.

Nice thing about the spread is that a guy can be a great spread QB in college even if his NFL potential is limited...

They still suck. :D

:KU:

Where's the 2009 five-star recruit from kansas going to play his college ball?

Where did the 2008 five-recruit from kansas go?

:D

And they'll suck too :D

I think Richardson's chance of sucking is lower than either of the Browns.

Sounds like Blake Bell from Wichita is a five-star type guy next year, depending on how well he camps this summer. Justin McCay could be, too. Would be kind of crazy for kansas to have two top 30 recruits in one year...

Richardson first team USA Today High School All-American:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/graph...team/flash.htm

Guys, that weight of 290 is wrong.

He was just on the radio yesterday doing an interview with one of the sports talk stations in STL about his decision, and confirmed his playing weight is (and has been) 270.

Big Shel was named a captain for the West squad in the Army All-American game. He's also been returning some kicks in practice.

Unless we can land a top FB, all this talk of QBs and DEs is meaningless.