Rumors and more random thoughts

The first day of the draft went well for 2 former Tigers as Aldon Smith was selected by San Francisco with the 7th selection and Blaine Gabbert went 3 picks later to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  That makes 5 first round picks in the last 3 years for Mizzou and should end the myth that the Tigers and Coach Gary Pinkel can't get players drafted.  Throw in some later round pickups like William Moore and free agents such as Chase Daniel and we're getting a nice representation from the black and gold.  Will it help recruiting?  I really don't see how it can't help to.  All kids want to go to the next level and think that the only thing that would stop them would be poor coaching.  That just shouldn't be a problem anymore, and next years draft should just continue the process as I believe we'll see another 4 or 5 players drafted.

As spring camp ended, there were some questions about the post spring depth chart.  A lot of fans are disappointed that we didn't see more movement from the kids of the 2010 class that included such highly regarded recruits as Lucas Vincent, Nick Demien and the wide receivers.  To me, it just shows that we had some fairly decent athletes to begin with and kids that used to come in and start as freshmen are now having to earn their way to a starting position.  Another possibility is also keeping the younger kids hungry.  I'm still going to be really surprised if we aren't hearing a lot of Hunt, Sasser and Lucas this fall.  James Franklin sits at the top for the starting QB job this fall, but that battle is far from over.  If I was going to make a prediction concerning quarterback, it would be to possibly look for Ashton Glaser to seek a transfer if he's buried 3rd on the depth chart.  The kid can play, but it just doesn't look like he's ever going to do it in CoMO.

Something happened this week that was just funny, I don't care who you are.   The new pride of the Big Ten, hick nation was booted out of the AAU this week.  Apparently, after 102 years of membership, the association of 63 top research universities finally realized what a collection of dumb fucks lived in Lincoln.  The Big Ten can no longer say that all their members belong to the AAU and I imagine some academia types aren't really happy with Jim Delaney today.   I know it probably seems petty to be getting enjoyment out of this, but I do.  I'm just that way.
Lots of news from around the new lean Big XII following spring football.  We'll start talking about that later this week.  First stop, Ames, Iowa and the Cyclones. 

Rumors and more random thoughts....

Maty Mauk

If you don't follow football recruiting, then the name Maty Mauk won't mean a darned thing to you.  However, if you're a recruiting junkie it gets your palms just a little sweaty.  For those of you that aren't held hostage to this addiction, I'll tell you a little something about Mauk.  He's a 6'2", 185 pound quarterback from Ohio who's thrown for about 13,500 yards and 151 touchdowns in his first 3 years of high school.  He's one of the top 2 or 3 quarterbacks in the country, has offers from such programs as Michigan and Notre Dame, and there's a fair chance he's going to be giving his commitment to come to CoMO in 2012.  The Tigers have landed some pretty highly ranked recruits in Missouri, including guys like Blaine Gabbert, Sheldon Richardson and Jeremy Maclin, and recently starting picking up some 4 star kids out of Texas like Tristan Holt and recent verbal, Jonathan Williams.  But Mauk would be an anomoly.  He's from Kenyon freaking Ohio, not the normal Tiger recruiting ground.  Getting Mauk would signify that the Tigers are prepared to go head to head with anyone anywhere in the country for recruits.  The places Gary Pinkel has taken this program since his arrival is truly remarkable, even if there seems to be a head scratching loss every season.

Sheldon Richardson

And speaking of quarterbacks, we will, for the first time since August 31st when Brad Smith tore up defending Big Ten champion Illinois 33-20 in the first of 6 consecutive ass kickings Pinkel's Tigers have administered to the whining Illini.  You'd have to say that although James Franklin ended the spring period strong, that it's still way to early to call him the starter this fall.  Tyler Gabbert, and junior to be Ashton Glaser both showed signs this spring that they were more than capable of leading the Tiger offense.  While all 3 struggled at times, there's one thing you need to remember, and I'm dead serious about this.  The offense won't face many defenses as strong as the one they practice against.  If Sheldon Richardson indeed makes it on campus in June to add to a defensive tackle rotation that already includes guys like a hopefully healthy Dominique Hamilton, Terrel Resonno, Lucas Vincent and Marvin Foster to go along with the defensive ends, you are going to be a handful for offensive coordinators.  It's the kind of Missouri football I grew up watching and frankly, I can't wait.

Chris Freeman

I'm also hearing the Tigers will be committing more to rushing the football this year.  4 experienced tailbacks are returning and 4 seniors on the offensive line which was one of the best in the conference last year.  And what's even more amazing is the depth behind the starters.  Next year we'll be breaking in 4 new starters but will be picking them from kids named Gatti, Freeman, Demien, Meiners, Morse and Britt.  The Tigers are red shirting kids that would have come in as starters 5 years ago.   I'll be looking at more reports soon and trying to figure out what to look for this fall.  Until then, at least there's softball and baseball to talk about.  But now, I'm getting out of town for a few days much needed vacation.  Talk to you soon.  I'll try to keep up my scoreboard and some fun news stories and current events on my website.  I hope you'll stop by.