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On Thursday, Missouri hired former Arkansas assistant Vernon Hargreaves to coach in the inside linebackers.
Hargreaves most recently was a member of Arkansas’ staff before everyone was let go following the departure of Bret Bielema. Hargreaves is a veteran coach who will help Mizzou’s brand expand into the Sunshine State, a state he’s deeply connected. That’s very important for Missouri moving forward, and not only are the Tigers getting a solid veteran coach, he’ll help lead to in-roads in Florida and Texas for recruiting.
In a phone interview with STLToday.com’s Dave Matter, Bielema raved about his former assistant.
“He’s been awesome,” Bielema said. “He’s a great teacher. You probably saw some of the tweets from our (former players), but he had great respect in the room, not just at his position but a great rapport with all the kids. He’s a true professional.
“I knew when this started a couple weeks ago I was hoping (Missouri) would be a landing spot for him,” Bielema added. “(Coaching) comes natural to him because he’s been around the game so long. He was great with our younger coaches especially. He was really good not just with Xs and Os but with being a professional, doing things right and the details of the job.”
Hargreaves has coached on seven different college staffs during his career, including South Florida and Houston. Recruiting ties to Florida and Texas are huge for Barry Odom and Mizzou.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
