Around the Zou

Glen Elarbee picked up a big commitment on May 18 in the form of JUCO offensive lineman Kyle Mitchell. Mitchell, from American River College in Sacramento, California, will be immediately eligible to bolster the offensive line next season and will increase the depth of the group. You can find our full analysis here. Welcome, Kyle!

You can find a quick synopsis of everything we know including current commits, breakdown of what we think the 2017 class will look like, a wishlist based on the current offers, and what predictions have been made on our Recruiting Notebook from May 2016.

Mizzou on the radar

Isaiah Thomas is a 2017 three-star defensive end from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thomas recently announced that he would be announcing his commitment on May 28. Thomas received an offer on February 11 and visited Missouri on April 23 at 2pm. He’s favored to Oklahoma but Missouri was his first offer, we’ll know more later this afternoon.

Evidence Njoku, a 2017 three-star wide receiver from Cedar Grove, New Jersey, has announced his top ten schools and Missouri has made the cut. The list, which includes Missouri, also includes Rutgers, Penn State, Georgia, Boston College, Miami, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, and Pittsburgh. Njoku received his offer from Missouri on March 13.

Nike+ Football’s The Opening Columbus Regional saw Mizzou targets Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Donovan Johnson, and Jordan Reid earn invites to the Opening Finals. It appears that only Kelly-Powell and Donovan Johnson hold offers from Missouri, but all four seem to be targets of the Tigers. All four attend Class Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan.

Mizzou targets

Jeff Thomas, a 2017 four-star wide receiver from East St. Louis, Illinois showed off his skills at Nike + Football’s The Opening Chicago Regional and earned an invite to the Opening Finals. Thomas recently included Mizzou in his top six with Alabama, Michigan State, Florida State, Auburn and Texas A&M.

Jacob Hines is a 2017 JUCO offensive guard playing at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California. Hines holds offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Northern Colorado and surprisingly did not accept an offer from Texas Tech earlier this week. According to Zach Tanner of Scout, Hines is a JUCO full qualifier who has been in contact with Auburn and Missouri. Hines was a teammate of current Missouri quarterback Jack Lowary and an addition of Hines mid-season would not be a big surprise. Hines is being recruited by Glen Elarbee.

Will Dancy, a senior offensive guard at North Carolina, is requesting a graduate transfer following his graduation according to Tarheel Illustrated. Dancy will be immediately eligible to play as a senior graduate transfer. Originally committed to Memphis as a two-star recruit, Dancy had to attend Eastern Arizona College before later committing to UNC. Dancy has started two games in three seasons with the Tarheels and recently suffered a season-ending injury last fall. THI say sources indicate that Missouri is “the most likely destination for Dancy.” who would add immediate help to the Tigers’ thin offensive line.

Mizzou on the move

Camps

  • Mizzou will participate in Georgia State’s Trent Miles Football Camps on June 8 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tigers will be joined by N.C. State, Ole Miss, and Georgia State.
  • Mizzou will participate in the Samford Mega Camp in Birmingham, Alabama on June 11. Thirty schools will be in attendance including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Memphis, and Iowa.
  • Mizzou will hold a St. Louis Elite Prospect Camp on June 5 at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri. The camp is open to all high school campers and will be a big draw for East St. Louis High School players, presumably including wide receiver Jeff Thomas.
  • Mizzou will participate in the North Central Football Camp hosted by North Central College in Naperville, Illinois on June 8. Mizzou will participate with North Central College, South Dakota State, and Purdue.
  • Mizzou will be participating in the Lake Park Football Camp in Roselle, Illinois on June 8. Mizzou will be participating with Northern Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State, South Dakota State, and Eastern Michigan among others.

Rivals Camp Kansas City

It was a good day for many of Missouri’s top targets.

Targets committing elsewhere

  • Mizzou running back target Kylin Hill recently committed to the favorite Mississippi State over Tennessee, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Nebraska among others.

Baylor

Following the sexual assault allegations against the Baylor football team resulting in head coach Art Briles’ dismissal, many current players, signees, and commits are searching for answers and are beginning to look elsewhere. As Baylor and Missouri recruit similar areas, recruiting interests overlap for the two schools. Per SBN’s recruiting editor Bud Elliot’s article “Recruiting after a Scandal”, if a 2016 recruit has signed a LOI but has not attended class yet they would be able to break their LOI and only sit out one year if they wanted to go elsewhere, but if they were early enrollees or attend summer classes they would have to sit out two years. Here are a few Baylor signees to keep an eye on in the near future.

  • Kameron Martin is a four-star all purpose back from Memorial High School in Port Arthur, Texas. Martin signed with the Bears on NSD. Martin received an offer from Missouri on February 26, 2014. Martin has already asked Baylor for release and Max Olson of ESPN states that Missouri, TCU, and Texas are schools that Martin would be interested in. It appears that Martin was being recruited by DeMontie Cross and Joe Jon Finley. Should Martin be granted his release, he is definitely one to watch.
  • Bravvion Roy is a four-star defensive tackle from Spring High School in Spring, Texas. Roy signed with the Bears on NSD. Roy received an offer from Missouri on May 7, 2014. Roy has shown no intentions towards leaving the program and initially responded to the incident with this tweet. It appears that Roy was being recruited by DeMontie Cross.
  • Deonte Williams is a three-star outside linebacker from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. Williams signed with the Bears on NSD. Williams received an offer from Missouri. Williams has shown no intentions towards leaving the program and had no reaction on Twitter. It appears that Williams was recruited by DeMontie Cross and Ryan Walters.
  • Kenan Ivy is a three-star cornerback from Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Texas. Ivy signed with the Bears on NSD. Ivy received an offer from Missouri. Ivy has shown no intentions towards leaving the program and initially responded to the incident with this tweet. It appears that Ivy was recruited by Barry Odom.

Follow @RockMRecruiting for more updates.