Missouri’s 2012 recruiting class was supposed to be an historic one.

The Tigers were entering the SEC and brought in freshmen who would lay the foundation for success in their new conference. Missouri’s class was ranked No. 20 by ESPN that year. The Tigers locked down the top recruits in the state of Missouri, headlined by No. 1 national recruit Dorial Green-Beckham.

Three seasons have passed since Missouri signed its 2012 class, and this should mark the season when the depth chart is topped by these would-be seniors. Yet the class of 2012 has experienced the most attrition of a signing class in recent Missouri memory.

Eight players have left the program from that class, headlined by WR Green-Beckham getting kicked off the team in the spring of 2014. Here are the others:

  • Torey Boozer, DB: dismissed in 2013 for undisclosed disciplinary reasons
  • Levi Copelin, WR: dismissed last September, two months after he was suspended the entire year by the NCAA for a failed drug test
  • Ka’Ra Stewart, DB: dismissed in 2012 following two charges for marijuana possession
  • Brandon Holifield, TE: dismissed in 2012 for violating team rules
  • Evan Winston, DE: transferred in May
  • Chaston Ward, DB: transferred in May
  • Jordan Williams, OL: transferred in May

Some of those players saw little to no action, hence the transfers. Yet Copelin and Green-Beckham, especially, would have been vital members of this year’s team (assuming Green-Beckham wouldn’t have left for the NFL a year early, which he ultimately did after transferring to Oklahoma while sitting out the season). Missouri’s receivers are young and inexperienced, and Mauk would have loved to have some guys from his class to throw the ball.

In addition, one of Missouri’s most important defensive signings from the class of 2012 won’t be suiting up this season. DT Harold Brantley, just a two-star recruit according to Rivals, had a breakout year last season. But Brantley was involved in a car accident during the summer and is unable to play. That brings the attrition number to nine, at least for this season.

But the class of 2012 is still vitally important to the Tigers, especially in 2015. Just look at this year’s likely starters from that class:

  • C Evan Boehm
  • QB Maty Mauk
  • RB Russell Hansbrough
  • TE Sean Culkin
  • CB John Gibson
  • LB Michael Scherer
  • LB Donavin Newsom

Of those seven, five were the primary starters at their position last season (and Boehm goes even further back with his starting experience).

The other two, Hansbrough and Newsom, have been pegged to be breakout players in their senior seasons. Morgan Steward, a running back who was hurt all last season, should spare Hansbrough as a power back as Missouri’s offense continues to favor the run.

This is more or less the backbone of Missouri’s team, and it goes to show that the class of 2012 wasn’t wasted after all.