Big 12 Classes of 2007: Missouri
4 comments so far
February 12, 2007 by
It’s easy to look at the recruiting rankings and think Nebraska is running away from the rest of the Big 12 North in terms of talent. But if you respect the value of the three-star athlete you realize that the advantage might not be all that great. In particular, Missouri did a good job of landing players that received a three-star or better ranking from Rivals.com or Scout.com.
You can look at recent recruiting classes at Nebraska and see all-conference caliber players that received three star ratings as recruits (e.g. Adam Carriker, Kurt Mann, Dane Todd, Corey McKeon, and Brandon Jackson). Missouri’s latest class of twenty-six players has only four players that received a two-star rating from both Scout and Rivals. That means the Tigers added 23 guys that got the same kind of rating as the players I just mentioned. That may not put the fear of God into Texas or Oklahoma, but it also means the Tigers won’t take the field with a bunch of guys who don’t belong in the Big 12. There are bound to be some guys to emerge as stars.
Four players in particular stand out. Gilbert Moye a quarterback/athlete gets four stars and could give the Tigers an athletic dual-threat quarterback or perhaps a quality safety prospect. Linebacker Michael Keck also nets four stars and was offered by Nebraska. Running back Derrick Washington netted 3.5 stars and at 195 lbs. has good size coming out of high school. Finally junior college transfer Andy Maples, a four-star defensive tackle that was also coveted by Nebraska gives the Tigers some help in the middle. Maples is one of four junior college transfers in Missouri’s class.
You’d love to say Missouri can’t recruit with Nebraska (and maybe where four-star players are concerned, that’s true). But Missouri put together the second best class in the Big 12 North and helped maintain their status as one of the better teams in the division.
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doombob Feb 12 07
Missouri also recruited the 14 best players in their state and got 8 of them to sign. I think Nebraska has to get down to Missouri and steal these local kids. Next year, Kansas City will probably be the best untapped (except by MU and KU) resource in the Midwest.
Don stegner Feb 14 07
Coach Pinkel has done a very good job of recruiting at Mizzou and is getting better recruits at Mizzou each year. Our goal is to give schools like Nebraska a run for their money in the Big 12 championship quest and win on a consistant basis. HCGP and his staff are realizing that goal and making it happen.
Gregory Feb 17 07
Interesting article, Steve!
Looks like Mizzou has the kind of class that Osborne used to haul consistenly. As someone who tries to not be overly myopic, I'm all for Big XII north teams being more representative. Tougher road games in conference is just the lay of the land, so to speak.
I just don't want our players to keep having to clobber a non player on somebody's field anymore. Kellen's "blind-side" was one of the most devastating KO's ever- he was fortunate not to be prosecuted.
Bob Apr 11 07
Osborne used to say that Missouri was the one school in the Big 8 that could compete for the conference championship without having to recruit outside its state borders. Looks like Pinkel is convincing those athletes to stay home insted of going to Nebraska, like they used to do.