Let’s talk St. Louis football recruiting
It’s never too early to talk football recruiting especially with spring football starting on March 11. I’ve been trying to keep up with some of Missouri’s potential football recruits from the St. Louis area, and periodically I’ll post updates about visits, camps, offers and other recruiting tidbits regarding our local preps.
NCAA football is in a recruiting quiet period until April 15, when the evaluation period begins. During the quiet period, in-person recruiting contacts only can be made on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period. However, prospective recruits can call the coaches.
So offers are being dolled out during junior days and in the mail, but the heavy recruiting will begin in the summer.
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Webb waiting for a Mizzou offer
Union High School quarterback Jordan Webb hasn’t received an offer from Missouri yet, but he is probably the most qualified of any local quarterback to run the Tigers’ system. That’s because Webb has been playing in a version of Mizzou’s spread offense for the last two seasons and has put up numbers that would make any coach of a spread offense take a second look.
In two seasons, Webb has completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 7.438 yards and 135 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His 4,279 yards and 55 touchdowns this season were 1,500 more yards and 30 more touchdowns than second-best quarterback in the area. His gaudy numbers earned him a trip to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl National Combine last December.
“We do a lot of the same stuff as Mizzou,” said Webb, the Post-Dispatch All-Metro first-teamer. “Coach (David) Yost and (Union) coach (Brent) Eckley talk quite often about that kind of stuff. We take some stuff from them.”
What Webb’s numbers haven’t earned him is college scholarships, in part because of his size. Webb is listed a 6-foot, 204 pounds, which so far has been attractive to only Kansas, Webb’s only offer. Like Missouri, Kansas utilizes a smaller quarterback in 5-foot-10 Todd Reesing to run its spread offense. Webb seemed liked a natural fit after he visited the Jayhawks’ junior day in mid-February.
Webb also will attend Iowa’s junior day on March 30 and has received interest from Indiana and Wake Forest.
Webb went to Missouri’s junior day last month and met with quarterbacks coach David Yost. Yost expressed interest but wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on another quarterback with Parkways West phenom Blaine Gabbert coming in this season, and Blue Springs South quarterback Blaine Dalton already committed to the Tigers for the 2009 season. Current quarterbacks Dominic Grooms and J.P. Tillman will be seniors in 2009.
“They already have one quarterback committed for my class so they said they’re going to be taking their time on the second one if they go for a second quarterback,” Webb said. “I think it would be fun to compete with those guys (Dalton and Gabbert). I definitely wouldn’t be scared away by the competition. That’s not going to be much of a factor when it comes to whom I’m choosing.
“I just want to go where I’m wanted most. Wherever I feel that is, that’s where I think I’d go. With Kansas being the first to offer me, it does sort of give them an edge, but it’s early.”
Moe not ready to commit – yet
There have been several rumors floating around that Fort Zumwalt West athlete T.J. Moe is ready to commit to the Tigers, and he wants to set the record straight.
“That’s false,” Moe said. “I won’t be committing anywhere this early.”
Moe, who led Fort Zumwalt West in passing with 160 completions for 2,326 yards and 17 touchdowns, and rushing with 216 carries for 1,497 yards and 24 touchdowns, also has an offer from Kansas, but said he’s leaning toward the Tigers. Moe said Mizzou cornerback Carl Gettis, who was high school teammates with Moe, has been talking up the program.
But for as much as Moe likes Mizzou, he’s weighing his options as recruiting starts to pick up. He’s heading to Louisville’s junior day on April 5, and received invites to attend the junior days and spring games for Illinois, Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Colorado. Moe said Louisville’s junior day would be the last he attends, but he is planning to go up to Illinois with Saint Louis University High running back Ronnie Wingo before the Illini spring game on April 19 (Moe is going to Missouri’s spring game on April 19). Wingo, who has offers from Mizzou, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee, will visit the Illini this weekend.
“I’ve got to step back and look at my options a little bit and make sure Mizzou is the right fit for me, but I will probably commit somewhere before the beginning of the football season next year,” Moe said. “I will say that I really do like Mizzou a lot, but I think everyone already knows that.”
Offers and invites pour in for Ford
Hazelwood East offensive lineman Darris Ford is expecting his third scholarship offer to arrive in the mail this week. Minnesota joins Kansas State and Missouri as Ford’s potential suitors. Ford attended both Missouri junior days and said he’ll probably attend Iowa State’s on March 29. Ford has also picked up invites to attend junior days and spring games for Miami, Alabama and Indiana.
Despite all the extra attention, Ford said he’s still a heavy Mizzou lean thanks to his father who’s a big fan of Missouri’s St. Louis recruiter Cornell Ford.
“Mizzou’s got my dad in their corner,” Darris Ford said. “Oh, most definitely (I’m still favoring Mizzou). Always the hometown.”
I wish Wingo would quit trying to recruit for The Illini. I would love to have him at Mizzou, but it seems as though he has made up his mind. He needs to just go away. He doesnt realize that unlike himself these other kids get the fact that Mizzou is the premier football school in the mid to upper midwest. He is making a huge mistake to listen to the “salesman” Ron Zook, whom will tell you whatever you wanna hear. Hey WINGO…you will be all by yourself when it comes to Missouri kids going to Illinois.
Hey MIKE…quit crying about Wingo - he knows that the Illini are the better team this year and for the future. “Mizzou the premier football school in the mid to upper midwest”? Put down your crack pipe, pal. Have you ever heard of Ohio State and Michigan? Mizzou had its chance for a national championship game and blew it. Have fun watching the Illini (and Mr. Wingo and other Missouri kids) winning the Big 10 and BCS Championship in ‘09. Mizzou might be a local favorite, but Illinois is building its program with top national recruits because the Illini are going to start playing for national titles. Get used to it. GO WINGO / GO ILLINI!!
Mike, what is wrong with you? You can not honestly be serious in saying that Illinois is better than Mizzou! I think you are pulling that out of your you know what. In the initial poll on ESPN.com, the one before spring football, it has Mizzou ranked number 4 or 5 and Illinois 23rd! I hope you are getting the picture here! MIzzou is now a powerhouse and will be for a long time! I can not wait until August 30th when Mizzou pummels Illinois at the Edward Jones Dome, that will be a nice way to start our National Championship run! Good luck stopping Daniel, Maclin and Coffman! The Illini have nothing on Mizzou! It is not even close! Oh and Wingo wont change that!
Wow! These two schools have not been respectable (MIZZOU for decades) for a while. I am glad to see such strong support for your teams. I am wondering how early you guys started drinking. Both teams will be good, but National Championship talk as an absolute is a little out there. Keep up the trash talk kids.
Oh if MU’s future rest on Wingo then they are not that good. There are a number of good to great running backs out there. Work on the kid, but if he wants to go to the Illini (and I can’t guess why he would want to) respect his decision and find another back. If MU is that good it will not be a problem. It is not like the kid is going to be a KU Chickenhawk
Someone close to Wingo told me he plans to room with Illini basketball star Eric Gordon when he arrives on campus in Champaign.
Oh Boy !
Here we go again !
I am really tired of hearing people pound the drum for Big Ten football. Granted Ohio St. is a good team and so is Illinois, but please tell me you have watched the Title game the last two years, and would have to agree they had no business even being there either time. These three yard and a cloud of dusters have got to wake up! Like they say in the south ” Big Ten football… football in slow motion ! ” The statement could not be any more true. Yes MU has had alot of down years, and for those of us who have had to endured it deserve to gloat a little. As for St. Louis kids going to Illinois or Missouri, I cannot, and will, not fault them for either. I for one am just happy to see them not going further out to Pac Ten or SEC schools. I love college football as much if not more than anyone out there, but remember they are kids and you can’t rip them for trying to make a choice that they feel best fits their needs.
Go Tigers !
Dave L.
I just want to make sure that everyone realizes that Wingo is just visiting Illinois this weekend. He’s not staying.
Dave L: the big ten is finally starting to realize that speed kills… as much as is pains me, Rich Rodriguez will being Michigan back to being Michigan… Zook is turning Illinois into a “SEC” type team… but I appreciate that you aren’t going to bash a STL kid simply for going to IL over MU…
nunya: why would a top back pick IL? have you heard of this dude named Mendenhall? just askin’
mike: “the premier football school”? really? I appreciate the run you guys had last year and honestly hope you can sustain it… but one good year does not make you the top dog… could they become it? sure, but come one man, let’s be realistic here…
Graham (and anyone else interested in responding),
Several questions:
1. Is Ronnie Wingo leaning toward the Illini?
2. While I would love to see him at Mizzou, he seems to be much bigger than the smaller, speed backs the coaches tend to favor behind a huge o-line — Temple, Woods, Jackson, and Goldsmith are under 5′10″. Is this their plan or is it that they haven’t previously had a shot at a back with Wingo’s size?
Thanks,
Matthew
“Have fun watching the Illini (and Mr. Wingo and other Missouri kids) winning the Big 10 and BCS Championship in ‘09″, posted by krushemillini …
Well I must say that’s as dumb a comment as i’ve seen in a while. I guess you didn’t see the score of the BCS game Illinois was in (USC 49, Ill 17), pretty pitiful. Really looked like a “contender” huh? I can gaurantee MU would have made a better showing than that. We were obviously much more deserving of the game anyways. And we beat Illinois last year in a crappy game on MU’s part. Wingo can go wherever he pleases as long as we get Montee Ball who’s just as good if not better. Kids want to go to MU because they are building a program that can compete on a national stage now, not just the bottom half of the Big 12, face it, it’s a fact. And I can’t wait until August 30th so we can show people like you who the national contender really is!
M-I-Z…
hockeyman79: why would a top back pick IL? have you heard of this dude named Mendenhall? just askin’
Yes I have heard of Mendenhall and Ford, a freshman, who might not be Wingo but is fairly skilled, and is also going there. I don’t know either schools depth at RB that well but I would think Wingo would have a better chance to play as a freshman at MU. I am also aware success at running back is important. I asked the question because many of these kids want playing time ASAP and again I think MU might offer a better opportunity.
Nunya, I took your original comment as a shot at Illinois…sorry Yeah IL does have Ford, but the jury seems to be out on him still.. I think if Ford does take the job and run with it, it will definitely hurt our chances with Wingo. but to the guy who asked, I would definitely say Wingo is an Illini lean at this time, but a lot can change in 11 months…
chad - you’re full of dumb comments, tough guy. stop kissin’ on your sister (or is that your mom) and realize that I said 2009 - take a look at the incoming freshmen, redshirt freshmen from this year and the freshmen and sophomores that played this year for the Illini. We’ll be a much deeper and stronger team than Mizzou. Matt Hayes (Sporting News): “I’m telling you right now: Forget about the Rose Bowl. Illinois will be very, very good this fall. Maybe even BCS national title game good.” That’s his statement about this upcoming year - I’m talking 2009, when the Illini are fully loaded and experienced. No one expected the Rose Bowl this year - you moron - yes, USC whupped Illinois, but if you would have watched the game you would have seen a missed field goal and a fumble at USC’s 2 yard line that would have made the score close in the 3rd with a chance for Illinois to take the lead. Go back to your hole and eat some more dirt.
I have to laugh (or gag) whenever I read some absurd post by yet another delusional Big10 fan.
How many bowl game blowouts will it take (usually at the hands of the mighty SEC) before you guys shut up? Go to a MAC web page and brag about your triumphs over there.
The Big10 is a national joke, the Ill-annoy fans just don’t get it. MU beat you last year and will pummel you and your over-rated “juice” yet again this year!
Oh yea krushem, the mighty illini had USC right where they wanted them in that third quarter!
Hilarious!
Keep laughing Mike S - just like you do when you stand in front of the mirror you little turd. Didn’t say Illinois had USC or was going to beat them - just that it was close at that point. Certainly a lot closer than all the past Mizzou games I can remember against OK and NE - nice 60+ point blowouts handed to your team. MU has no tradition. Illinois has a legacy of tradition (Grange, Butkus, Nitschke, Hardy, Rice…) and it’s only going to get better with the renovated stadium and a steady supply of good team. Keep dreaming about those MU victories sissy boy.
crushem…..you are the biggest moron I have ever seen post here. I hope that you dont look as stupid as you sound. Your argument for last years Rose Bowl centers on “if we could have done this, or if this would have happened”. Well it didnt and the Illini got it handed to them because they were pathetic. The only crack I am smokin is your Mom’s crack buddy…go ahead and ask her. I dont throw the first stone but I will respond. Why dont you grow up little man. Your arguments are as dumb as your sister….and thats pretty dumb. As far as your Illini, you just lost the only player you had that was any good. The juice will choke some more this year. He couldnt handle the heat against Mizzou last year, so he came out of the game. Your back up quarterback is better than your starter. Your defense sucks (see 49 points vs USC). Zook is a recruiter, not a coach. What good is it to recruit 4 and 5 star recruits if they cannot coach them. Meanwhile Mizzou finished 4th in the nation with a roster full of 2 and 3 star recruits because our coaches can coach them up. If Wingo wants to go to Illinois, oh well. Mizzou is still better than Illinois. Look at the polls, look at what we did to you last year.
Yea krushem, it was close at the opening kick off!!
Ill-annoy!!
Go talk about your MAC triumphs with your Ohio St. friends. How about their bowl game, did that mighty Big 10 team have LSU right where they wanted them too?
Mike S: is it more delusional to predict future IL success as opposed to future Mizzou success… IL was essentially one game away from the national championship game in ‘01(granted it was the 4th game of the year vs Mich.) that was our only regular season loss that year… we all thought Turner was taking us to national prominence… we all know how the following 6 seasons went… Mizzou has had one great year, the future looks bright. You guys are about one step(maybe two)above the “rebuild” ladder as opposed to IL… but to call out IL fans dreaming of grandeur as being delusional while mizzou fans are talking about being on the same level as ohio st, LSU, USC, etc… come on now…
Hockey,
I’ll give Ill props for a solid season. Yes, their future looks bright too. I am just lambalsting an incredibly delusional fan who started trash talking earlier in the thread.
Also, the Big 10 year in and year out beats the media drum to death about how great their conference is, blah, blah, blah. After the last two years, it has become rather comical, especially when people like krushem spews such slop.
I’ll be happy to post more civilized messages with civilized posters such as yourself, but krushem is too much.
first off, both missouri and illinois will have pretty good teams next year. Illinois has a tough schedule and i have no idea about mizzou. ku, tx, ok, tech, and possibly colorado could be decent next year. i dont think either team really has a legitimate shot at being in the nc and making it to a bcs might be tough, too.
Alright, now to address this stupid sec vs. b10 stuff:
1. ’speed’ is NOT the issue here. such a dumb stereotype to say sec has greater speed than the b10. LSU, didnt they win by awesome execution(brilliant gameplan, btw) and by playing very physical and aggressive the whole game? that being said, one of the first plays from scrimmage for osu was a runningback burning everyone… funny, this example seems the exact opposite of the b10 and sec styles.
2. the sec dominates osu, not the entire b10… the past few years the sec has been dominant, but the few years before that the tables were reversed… it’s more of a ‘cycle’
3. the fact is, sec and b10 teams only meet in bowl games, which are usually located where? the last 4 out of 6 bowl games ive been to (texas and tech in texas, 2x florida) iowa has played a team basically on their turf(the other 2 being usc and lsu), yet represented the b10 pretty well, except for getting killed by usc(still have no idea how that team lost 2 games that year).
Proposal: why dont we settle this stupid thing by some out-of-conference thing like the acc-b10 challenge in bb. it would be awesome! be fun to see a sec team come into town, as im guessing it would be on the other end, too! unless you’re like mizzou, who backs out of contracts to play certain teams when they suddenly become ‘respectable’…