Grading the SEC's recruiting situations: Missouri Tigers
In the coming weeks, SDS will grade each team’s current state of recruiting based upon the factors listed below. Today we continue the series with one of the SEC’s recent surprise standouts, the Missouri Tigers.
MISSOURI TIGERS
HOME-STATE TALENT: D+
Players like Ezekiel Elliott and Dorial Green-Beckham are few and far between. The state of Missouri has produced one five-star player and 15 four-star players in the last five years. That’s comprable to Kentucky (one five-star, 13 four-stars). but unlike the Wildcats, Missouri isn’t a short jaunt from talent-rich Ohio. It could be argued that of the 11 SEC states, Missouri is the least-fertile recruiting ground. Some of the best players in the state have gotten poached by Oregon, Nebraska, Florida State and Ohio State, leaving the pool even thinner. But it’s possible some worthy SEC starters in Mizzou are low-balled by recruiting services due to their geographic location.
RECENT SUCCESS: B-
Any mention of Missouri’s recruiting must come with a disclaimer. The Tigers have won back-to-back SEC East titles, and as sound as Gary Pinkel and his staff are at player development, I can’t believe the program is leaps and bounds better than the rest of the country. Mizzou claimed national recruiting rankings of No. 57 (2011), No. 31 (2012), No. 43 (2013) and No. 39 (2014) before the two division crowns, so recruiting rankings can’t be everything. The team could use a facilities upgrade, for which Pinkel has been pushing shamelessly. The staff lacks a connection to a recruiting hotbed — a well-networked assistant from South Florida, for example — that can help offset the geographical disadvantage. A Top 25 class (like 2015) should be the norm, not the exception, as it still remains. But the team has done a nice job of evaluating talent and locating obtainable athleticism.
FAN SATISFACTION: A-
The program has flashed into the Top 10 of the Associated Press from time to time under Pinkel, but with five division titles in the last eight seasons, a dud initial foray into the SEC has long since been forgotten. Sure, there’s a large contingent of Mizzou fans still clamoring for more respect from other fan bases as well as the media. And a failure to win an overall SEC championship the last two years spoiled a tremendous opportunity to cement the Tigers in the national consciousness as one of the country’s best. But Mizzou has put itself in position to rub elbows with the SEC’s big boys season after season. The team puts several players into the NFL draft every year. It’s winning with defense and a strong running game. The fans have to be something pretty close to thrilled at the moment.
COACHING STABILITY: A-
Entering his 15th season in Columbia, Mo., Pinkel is one of the most entrenched college coaches in the United States regardless of the sport. His staff has been a model of stability, with assistants often staying for more than a decade. Pinkel faced questions about his job security two seasons ago, but barring an unforeseen scandal, it’s hard to imagine he’ll get pushed out before he’s ready to retire. If this ranking was based solely on the past, Mizzou would get an A — maybe even an A+. But the team just welcomed a new defensive coordinator in Barry Odom and a new safeties coach in Ryan Walters. Offensive line coach A.J. Ricker is entering his second season, which constitutes major turnover at Mizzou. The team nearly lost vital defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski after last season, and Pinkel, 63 years old, won’t coach forever.
SUM IT UP: The Tigers aren’t going to compete for a Top 10 recruiting ranking any time soon. But if the team keeps cranking out 10-win seasons on the field and upgrades its facilities off it, there’s no reason the program can’t start cherry-picking a few extra four-star signees in each class. There’s less and less incentive for the prime in-state recruits to leave the state. And until it appears that Pinkel is getting close to retirement, he should collect enough talent to keep Missouri at the bottom edge of the Top 25 in an average season.
Editor’s note: Any reference to recruiting ratings in this series – team or individual – are to 247Sports.com’s industry composite ranking.
At the end of the series we will rank the SEC’s recruiting situations from 1-14 based on the grades we assign each program. Here are last year’s recruiting situation rankings:
