Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football

Of course the title of this post is obvious.  Like saying water is wet.  Without a steady stream of talent, no college football program will continue to succeed.  In the last 4 years, Missouri has won 40 football games despite not having classes that were considered to be the best.  This year the Tigers took a small class of 17, which would have been smaller without the early departures of their two most visible prospects, Blaine Gabbert and Aldon Smith.  Tiger nation has been bemoaning this class since Rivals ranked it 47th among FBS schools, behind such powers as Boston College, The University of Central Florida and kansas for God's sake.  However, I believe that once we take a look back in three years or so we'll find that this class was better than we thought, and I have some historical evidence to prove that as SI.com re-rated the 2008 class that was ranked 25th by Rivals that year.  We've got to remember that the services give higher marks for teams that sign more players, and well, sometimes they just miss it on how highly a player is rated.  A 3 star quarterback that was considered a little too short to be successful in D1 football named Chase Daniel ring a bell with anyone? 

This year the Tigers obtained a commitment from only one 4 start player, Sheldon Richardson who was a 5 star when he originally signed two years ago.  Sheldon had to detour to junior college in California, and flirt with USC before finally coming to his senses and re-signing with the Tigers after much soul searching and his mother threatening him with a cast iron skillet.  Everyone agrees that if he does in fact make it and is on the team this fall, that he's the kind of player that can make a huge impact on the defensive line, an area that improved greatly last year but still could always use depth.  Some guys that don't seem to be getting as much attention that I think will be very successful for Mizzou are Gerrand Johnson, a 270 lb defensive tackle from Rayville, LA and Kentrell Brothers, an undersized linebacker from Oklahoma that was voted the defensive player of the year in that state.  Yes, he's coming in at only 207 lbs, which is about 10 pounds heavier than an unknown kid from Texas named Weatherspoon and he seemed to turn out ok.  If Pat Ivey says he can grow them, I tend to believe him.  With 8 offers from BCS conference teams, offensive lineman Taylor Chappell may turn out to be quite a find also, as well as Shane Ray, a defensive end from the KC area who passed on offers from Wisconsin and Notre Dame, among others to sign with the Tigers.  

Depth on the offensive line was addressed with 4 signees, they got the quarterback they wanted as well as defensive players to replace guys like J. Smith, Lambert, Ebner and company after they graduate this year.  This simply wasn't a year they had anything they were desperate to address.  Coach Pinkel has depth across the board now and players that would have gotten offers 5 years ago just aren't getting them today.  This is evidenced by Darrien Miller, who some considered to be the best player in the state, not receiving an offer.  However, next year is huge and the staff will need to get a jump.  It's one of the best classes in Missouri high school football we've seen in the past 5 years, which is saying a lot considering some of the talent we've seen in 2008 and 2009.  But, I'm going to give Pinkel and company some credit.  At least until next season starts.  But we need to get a jump on a great class.  Maty Mauk from Ohio would be a great start.