What's On
Here's Braylon Webb in a cage...
...and here are a bunch of organic food fans fooled into raving about McDonald's. (It's not in English, but you'll understand it anyway.) I love organic, and I'd probably be dumb enough to fall for this, too. Well, maybe not the damn Chicken McNuggets, but the other stuff...
Well THIS would be quite the get...
ESPN Insider: Terry Beckner Jr., Soso Jamabo big movers in latest ESPN 300 rankings
Among this very talented and deep group of 2015 defensive line prospects, a third prospect, Terry Beckner Jr., moves to No. 1. Like Sweat, Beckner has a ton of upside, but the quiet East St. Louis (Ill.) High five-star product doesn't seem to garner the same type of attention as some of his highly ranked counterparts. Beckner continues to demonstrate that he can create problems in the trenches in a multitude of ways. The uncommitted DL, at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, carries his weight very well, with room for further physical development with time in a power-conference weight program.
That's No. 1 overall, not the No. 1 defensive end. Beckner rarely talks about recruiting, so we're only making assumptions that Missouri is at or near the top of his list, but ... it appears Mizzou has a chance of signing the No. 1 recruit in the country (according to at least one service) for the second time in four years. Fingers crossed.
For grins, here are some Beckner highlights.
And here's SB Nation's Beckner scouting report from a few months ago.
ESPN, by the way, likes a few Mizzou commits quite a bit more than Rivals, for whatever that's worth. (It obviously means ESPN is clearly better at this!) Drew Lock, A.J. Harris, and Nate Strong are all four-star recruits, just like they are in Rivals, but ESPN also gives Richaud Floyd (two stars via Rivals), Ronnell Perkins (three stars), and T.J. Warren (two stars) the four-star designation. Pretty big difference there, but I'd expect at least one of the Floyd-Warren combo to end up three stars at Rivals, too.
Two days to Vandy
The Trib (Behind the Stripes): Gary Pinkel on the SEC Teleconference: Week 9
Post-Dispatch: Mason faces uphill climb at Vanderbilt
The Trib: Brinser, Baggett excel in limiting returns
"Baggett and Brinser both did an excellent job," said Coach Gary Pinkel, whose Tigers will host Vanderbilt at 3 p.m. Saturday. "We game-planned for our punt cover and our kickoff cover, and we had all different types of ways that we could try to keep the ball out of their hands, whether we blooped it or line-drived it or did other different things."
Given the choice, Baggett said he’d prefer to try to kick a touchback every time. Baggett, whose touchback percentage of 57.5 percent ranks fourth in the SEC, booted two touchbacks Saturday.
Debose lined up about 6 or 7 yards deep in the end zone. On Baggett’s first kickoff, Debose started to bring out a kick that traveled 6 yards deep into the end zone, only to be held back by a teammate. That showed he might be willing to return any kick that didn’t travel out of the end zone.
Four times, Baggett kicked high, shorter kickoffs that were fielded by a Gator in front of Debose.
"I like kicking it deep, so it’s kind of hard to rein it back a little bit, but I thought they were really good kicks," Baggett said.
The Missourian: For Michael Scherer and brothers, fewer Pop-Tarts, more sports
The Missourian: Missouri football's Darvin Ruise turns defense into offense
PowerMizzou: Powered Up: Winning a new way
PowerMizzou: Finding a rhythm
You know what your life was missing? Preseason polls
MUTIGERS.COM: Mizzou Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Seventh in SEC
The Trib (Courtside View): Tigers picked seventh in SEC preseason media poll
The Tigers' seventh-place position could actually be seen as a sign of confidence in the team, which is playing under a first-year coach -- Kim Anderson -- and looking to replace three guards -- Jabari Brown, Jordan Clarkson and Earnest Ross -- who accounted for more than 70 percent of the scoring last season. Even with those players, Missouri only finished eighth in the SEC last season.
But there are so many unknowns with most other teams in the league.
Auburn, under new Coach Bruce Pearl, came in eighth in the poll, followed by Texas A&M at No. 9, Alabama at No. 10, Vanderbilt at No. 11, South Carolina at No. 12, Tennessee and first-year Coach Donnie Tyndall at No. 13 and Mississippi State at No. 14.
Mizzou picked seventh in SEC basketball poll : Sports
WHATNOT
SEC Legend Kellen Winslow
MUTIGERS.COM: Winslow Recognized in 2014 SEC Football Legends Class
Baseball
MUTIGERS.COM: Gold Shuts Out, Blows Out Black 6-0
KBIA Sports: Fairbanks shines for Gold team in game seven of Fall World Series
Tennis
MUTIGERS.COM: Mizzou Tennis Travel To Hoosier Classic This Weekend