If Dorial Green-Beckham considers geographic convenience when he makes his choice of schools, Missouri's toughest competition will be its closest neighbor in the new world of the Southeastern Conference.
His hometown of Springfield, Mo., is closer to Arkansas' campus than it is to Mizzou's. Now that the schools will be occupying the same conference, what better time to start a border war?
Green-Beckham, rated the No. 1 high school player in the country by most recruiting outlets, is the first major recruit to create a tussle between Missouri and Arkansas since Ronnie Wingo chose the Razorbacks in 2009. But he's not likely to be the last.
"It's definitely going to be an interesting battle,'' said recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree of ESPN.com. "It seems they will go head-to-head for a lot of kids. They're in similar situations, extremely close in proximity and to talent in the southeastern part of the country. So, it makes sense. To me, it's one of the more intriguing recruiting wars we'll see develop."
It's one of many battles Mizzou will face as it steps into the furious recruiting landscape that exists in the SEC.
Between the ESPN, Rivals and Scout recruiting web sites, 11 SEC schools, including Arkansas, were ranked among the top 25 recruiting classes in the country as of Friday. The Big 12 had four in that group with national signing day looming Wednesday.
And while Mizzou has done well with two- and three-star recruits, falling behind on the SEC talent ledger could create an obstacle more significant than in the Big 12.
The prize catch
Green-Beckham, a 6-foot-6 receiver from Hillcrest High, will reveal his decision on Wednesday morning, an announcement set to be televised on ESPNU. He will be a monumental catch for anybody. Other schools in the mix are Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas.
With 210 air miles separating Mizzou and Arkansas, the scene could be set for an abundance of head-to-head skirmishes between coaches Gary Pinkel and Bobby Petrino. Green-Beckham's decision could set the tone for the future.
"Petrino has taken Arkansas all over the country," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of the CBS Sports Network. "Arkansas has become a national brand and they'll go right into Missouri. They have a very aggressive staff. Missouri is going to have to deal with them."
And vice versa. According to commitment lists at Scout.com, three players who received offers from Arkansas plan to sign with Missouri on Wednesday. And three who were offered by Mizzou will sign with the Razorbacks.
Arkansas won several battles for Texas players while Missouri snagged in-state players Evan Boehm (Lee's Summit) and Donavin Newsom (Parkway North).
MU is near the bottom
If you believe the analysts who spend their time rating recruits on a five-star system and constantly updating team rankings, Mizzou is lagging. The Tigers are 13th out of 14 SEC teams, according to Scout and Rivals.
"Being their first year, they'll adjust on the fly and see what they have to do," said Chad Simmons of Scout. "It's cut-throat in the south. The SEC has some of the highest-paid coaches, and they want to win. It's win or be fired, and they take that seriously."
Said Lemming, "There's no conference close to the SEC with intensity in terms of recruiting. Missouri will be shocked when they first go against these teams. They pay a lot of money for assistants in the SEC, and these guys know their job depends on landing big-time players."
While most of the top St. Louis-area players tend to end up in the Big 12 or Big Ten, some have been lured to the SEC.
The list includes Caleb Welchans (Vanderbilt) from Lafayette, David Young (Florida) from Edwardsville and Keante Minor (Arkansas) and Glenn Faulkner (Kentucky) from East St. Louis.
The recruitment of Wingo by Arkansas was fairly standard, said Gary Kornfeld, coach at St. Louis University High. One thing he recalls is that the school often sent several coaches at a time. However, he hasn't sensed any greater Arkansas presence in St. Louis in recent years.
"There's always been an Arkansas presence up here, but I think they pick their spots," Kornfeld said. "They come in for the cream of the crop. In the SEC, Arkansas is really the only one coming, and they come for the elite guys."
Focus on Florida
Missouri has established itself in Texas recruiting circles and done well. But the experts say to compete in the SEC, the Tigers need to shift some of their emphasis to the southeast, especially Florida. That adjustment began several months ago when Pinkel announced that two assistant coaches would work Florida and one Atlanta. More than 320 players from Florida signed with Division I programs last year.
The question remains whether Texas high school players will remain open to Mizzou in large numbers because TV exposure in the state will decline.
There also is skepticism about being able to compete in the SEC with low- to mid-level recruits, the type Missouri has developed into All-Big 12 caliber players in the past.
"Even mid-range (Florida) guys can be an impact on the SEC level," Crabtree said. "But if they want to compete for national championships, they'll have to get some higher caliber players. Alabama and LSU aren't running around with a lot of guys that are projects. To be able to compete at that level, they'll need to step up their recruiting game."
Based on Scout's ratings, SEC teams have commitments from 14 five-star players and 74 four-star players. Mizzou has three four-star recruits on its list. But like most coaches, Pinkel has said in the past, "How many stars, that's not part of our evaluation."
If it were, Mizzou might have missed out on two-star rated players such as Danario Alexander, Sean Weatherspoon and Michael Egnew.
This week their target is set higher. Green-Beckham has the potential to raise Mizzou's recruiting profile. The same goes for Arkansas.
"I don't care if he's two minutes from campus, if you land the top kid in the country that speaks volumes,'' Simmons said. "You still have to recruit and convince kids, but they would be able to say they beat out those schools."
