National Signing Day Lacks In-State Players for Mizzou

Thursday was national signing day for college football. Meaning that all high school seniors with Division I-A scholarships signed their official letters of intent to join whichever school they have decided to play football at in the fall. For the Missouri Tigers football team, it was not the greatest day. You won't hear any national publications touting the Tigers class as the best in the country; actually, I would be shocked if it cracked the top 50 on anybody's list. But with a football program like the one the Tigers have, that doesn't concern me that much. It is not like Mizzou is a Texas or USC or Florida program. At best they are a mediocre football team, which usually means that, at best, they are going to get mediocre recruits. Which is what I feel they did. The key for Mizzou football recruiting in not top name players, they need to make sure they get players that fit their system, that is how coaches with mediocre programs build their program into perennial contenders. For example, Urban Meyer's Utah team that went 12-0 a few seasons ago was not built on top-rated players (for example a Reggie Bush), but instead was built on a player that fir Meyer's spread option offense perfectly (quaterback Alex Smith).

Dugan Arnett wrote an article in the Missourian about how he felt that Mizzou's lack of in-state recruits was a problem for the Mizzou program. He notes that this year the Tigers landed only 5 in-state prospects, down from the 9 last year. I really don't see this as a problem, and actually look at it in a more positive light. The state of Missouri is not really known to be a football powerhouse, I can't remember the last time I saw a player from this state ranked in the top 10 by a national recruiting service. But some of the other states the Tigers have landed prospects from have much stronger traditions as far as turning out football players goes. The Tigers landed 9 recruits for the state of Texas, which is a well-known hotbed for talent. Football is a religion down there, and usually a player from Texas is a good one, they were also able to land 2 recruits from California, another pretty good football state, and 1 from the state of Florida, a definite powerhouse when it comes to high school football. I look at these recruits as an indication that Mizzou is improving their recruiting techniques by being able to land some out-of-state talent.

Publish Date: February 2 in the Missourian.