Mizzou loses third commitment since firing Barry Odom
Missouri lost its third commitment since the Barry Odom firing when RB Elijah Young of Knoxville, Tennessee announced he would re-open his recruitment.
“Until things clear up and a new Head Coach is hired at Mizzou, I’ve decided to open my recruitment back up,” Young tweeted. “Mizzou will remain at the top of my list and I couldn’t be more thankful for Coach (Cornell) Ford and his support.”
Odom was fired on Saturday morning after 4 seasons at Missouri. He went 25-25 with two bowl appearances.
Young is a 3-star prospect, and listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, according to his 247Sports profile. He committed to Missouri in June reportedly over Tennessee. He’s the No. 7 all-purpose back in the country, and the No. 11 overall player in Tennessee in this class.
Young rushed for 2,170 yards and 39 touchdowns this season and received the Class 5A Mr. Football award on Friday, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel. He was No. 5 in the News Sentinel’s inaugural Elite 8, which ranks the top college football prospects from the Knoxville area for the Class of 2020.
Until things clear up and a new Head Coach is hired at Mizzou I’ve decided to open my recruitment back up.
Mizzou will remains at the top of my list and I couldn’t be more thankful for Coach Ford and his support! RESPECT MY DECISION‼️ AG2G‼️ pic.twitter.com/7KnYMlEsOq— Elijah Young ² (@elijahyoung52) December 5, 2019
Here are his highlights from Hudl:
Losing commitments when a Head Coach is fired…well, it “goes with the turf”. At Mizzou, signing talented athletes seems to be a problem..a few years ago the “D” ruled and kept the team in the games and gave them a chance to win. Not anymore. And Drew Lock could sure throw that ball. Odom’s buyout($2.65 Million) made his firing an easy decision…whereas at South Carolina…Muschamp’s $18.8 Million buyout gave him an extra year to coach there. Gosh, those buyouts for failed-coaches are huge !
Well the athletic dept had to bower the money from the school to fire Odom. Unlike most schools in the SEC the teams at Missouri dont get aid from the school most of the time it’s the teams that giving money to the school that’s why the NCAA after season playoffs and bowl games got the athletic dept from 5-10 millions a year the new end zone was built with no money from the school but Donations from fans and Boosters
Elijah Young does the sensible thing. Young of course needs to know if the new HC is compatible with running back Coach Ford.