Today we start with recruiting news.  A couple WRs are liking Mizzou: first up is 3-star Houston WR Josh Gordon, who continues to rank Mizzou #1 on his list; next is...that's right, 4-star NC WR Jheranie Boyd. Rivals' #32 player in the country watched Mizzou on TV last Saturday, put the Tigers back in his Top 5, and scheduled a visit.  Nice.

Another day, another "Wasn't Derrick Washington great the other day?" story.  This time, Dave Matter compares Washington's starting debut to that of other Tigers...

Another day, another "Wasn't Elvis Fisher great the other day?" story.  Actually, two of them.  The Maneater and KC Star take their turns...

While the youngsters are getting all the attention, someone finally talks about just how freaking good Stryker Sulak was the other day.

SEMO Links!  Feel the excitement!  Or not!

• PowerMizzou: Three Tiger Keys to the game
• Missourian: Eddie Calvin did not pick SEMO over Mizzou
• SE Missourian: MU wears game face for Southeast

Dave Matter does a little thinking and shares some more thoughts on Michael Keck's departure.

Could Keck have developed into a Big 12 defensive end? We’ll probably never know. Gary Pinkel has historically maintained a strict policy against granting players a release from their scholarship if they intend to transfer to another Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) program. Maybe it’s for the best. Keck might be better suited and more comfortable playing at a lower level.

If anything, maybe Keck’s case can be looked as a strike against the recruiting services that rated him such a high-level prospect. Keck will probably be most remembered for being Rivals.com’s No. 1 rated high school recruit in the state — though Rock Bridge tight end Aron White surpassed him on the site’s rankings by national signing day last year. (Sometimes I think these rankings do more harm than good. I can’t help but sympathize with kids who carry these lofty mythical rankings into college. When White didn’t become an instant starter at Georgia last year, I’m sure some Bulldog fans were disappointed. Ridiculous.)

But back to Keck. There are some people around the state whose opinion I trust who believed he was a creation of the recruiting sites. Missouri certainly wasn’t the only program that offered Keck a scholarship, but his ranking didn’t necessarily reflect a consensus opinion around the state. Of course, hindsight is crystal clear, but it was strikingly obvious last fall that Derrick Washington, Carl Gettis and Luke Lambert were better equipped to contribute immediately at MU. As a 200-pound defensive end/outside linebacker, Keck was more of a project.

The KC Star's Blair Kerkhoff compares the atmospheres in StL (for MU-UI) and KC (for MU-KU).  MizzouRah's Shawn shares his thoughts as well.

ESPN's Tim Griffin shares his weekend predictions.  The only news will come if the Big 12 doesn't sweep this crappy slate of teams.

Finally, Mizzou Volleyball is in always lovely College Park, MD, tonight, for the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational.  They'll play St. John's (who receives votes in the latest polls), Maryland (unranked) and Kentucky (unranked).  After a relatively strong showing last weekend, here's to hoping they go undefeated and come home 5-1.  More here from the Maneater's astute, dapper volleyball beat writer...

We start today with a basketball link.  That's right, a basketball link.  Michael Snaer and Mike Dixon are both visiting this weekend, and they're scrimmaging at 4pm before the SEMO game.  The most important thing from SEMO weekend could be a big crowd showing up at the scrimmage and showing Mr. Snaer that Mizzou's fans do care about basketball.  There's been a nice movement for participation over at PowerMizzou, so I figured the least I could do was encourage it myself.  Show up, cheer, make signs, etc.  Getting a commitment from a 5-star recruit would be a big-time step toward (finally) turning around the program.

Here's a nice column by PowerMizzou Gabe about Michael Keck and the uncertainties of recruiting.

If a coach signs 25 players, deep down, he probably hopes eight of them become starters. Perhaps 15 of them will contribute somehow to his program. If that happens, he's landed a recruiting class that has had ridiculous success.

Just look back at that Class of 2007. While Keck is now gone, Carl Gettis is a rock in the Tiger secondary. Luke Lambert, who turned out to be the linebacker that played as a true freshman from that class, will likely start this weekend against SEMO. If you like the four stars, it's Derrick Washington that now seems headed for superstardom. Heck, Elvis Fisher was told by the Missouri coaches they weren't sure they had room for him. Now he's a rock star among Missouri fans after playing masterfully in the season-opening win over Illinois.

...

College coaches criss-cross the country looking for the kids they think will be the best players for their team. Sometimes they're right. Just as often, they're not. The really, really good ones hit on a few more than they miss. But even the best probably hit on two-thirds. That's a "D" for my fifth grader.

While we're talking about Rivals, you've gotta love Rivals' latest national positional player rankings.  #1 TE, #1 LB, #1 Special Teams player, #1 offensive coach, #2 QB, #2 DB, #3 WR, #10 defensive coach, #15 head coach, #19 DL, #22 RB.  And if anything, it should have been even better--I mean, where's Jeff Wolfert??  I remember the days when were excited to see a player or two on the list.  Now we've got 4 #1's.  Here's a video about the latest power rankings.

Dave Matter takes a look at Rivals' #1 LB, Mr. Spoon

"Guys were saying, ‘Man, somebody needs to make a play,’ " Weatherspoon recalled. "I just wanted to be that guy."

What Spoon wants, he apparently gets.

...

More late-game heroics like that and Weatherspoon could add to his credentials, which include last year’s first-team All-Big 12 selection. Linebacker, though, has been one of the least-celebrated positions in MU’s history. Since Gus Otto’s All-Big Eight season in 1964, only eight MU linebackers have earned first-team all-conference honors, including Weatherspoon last season. Over that same span, first-team honors have gone to 13 defensive linemen, 23 defensive backs, 33 offensive linemen and 12 receivers. Of the 28 Missouri players to earn All-American honors, none played linebacker as a primary position. The two players usually mentioned among the best linebackers in school history, Andy Russell (1960-62) and Chris Garlich (1975-78), weren’t all-conference selections.

The last Missouri linebacker to get drafted to play the position in the NFL was Rocky Wallace, a fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971. Bobby Bell (fourth round, 1984) and Jeff Gaylord (fourth round, 1982) were drafted as linebackers but played along the defensive line at Missouri.

SEMO Links!

• Dave Matter goes behind the numbers.  A man after my own heart.  And you've gotta love the video suggestions as well.
• The Missourian says SEMO wins, even if it doesn't score.
• The Post-Dispatch talks about Rockwood Summit grad and star SEMO WR Eddie Calvin.  You'll be hearing more about him in today's BTBS post.

Jeff Wolfert's still diving.  Off cliffs.

Finally, I'd be remiss as a Mizzou blogger if I didn't point and laugh at Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers.  So...ha ha.  Mizzourah has more.

Dave Matter, Gabe Dearmond and others have confirmed yesterday's rumor--RSFr Michael Keck has quit the football team for "personal reasons".  From most accounts, it appears that it was just a case of "this isn't as easy as it used to be".  Maybe there's more to it than that, maybe not.  I wish him well.

In all, this appears to be a "hurts our depth" problem more than a "hurts our immediate product on the field" problem.  Keck seemed competent out there, but he wasn't a big playmaker, and true freshman Jacquies Smith seemed to have already surpassed him for PT.  It hurts because you always want the big-time in-state kids to succeed here so that other big-time in-state kids see them succeeding, but I can't get myself too worked up about this one.  Defensive End is a position of decent young depth for Mizzou, so we should be okay there.  Next year we'll be choosing a starter from a pool of Jacquies Smith, Brian Coulter, Marcus Malbrough, Chris Earnhardt, Aldon Smith, and whatever other recruits we sign (Sheldon Richardson, etc.).  No matter what, there will probably be a dropoff from what we're accustomed to this year--Stryker Sulak and Tommy "Perpetually Underrated" Chavis have served us quite well, and Keck was not going to change that whether he was in uniform or not.  But again, I wish him well.

 Scrimmage reports!  All the usual suspects check in with their descriptions of Saturday's "sloppy" scrimmage.

• Mutigers.com - "Freshman DE Jacquies Smith recorded three sacks while fellow freshman Kenji Jackson scooped up a bobbled pitch and returned it 49 yards. Earlier, Jackson had a sure interception snagged from the air by a leaping Wes Kemp."
• The Trib - '"We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to be ready for this first football game," Pinkel said. "Obviously, that’s my job to get it done."'
• Dave Matter's Blog - "[Brian] Coulter limped off the field after two plays of the third unit’s first series. I know fans want to read that he’s going to redefine the defensive end position at MU and make people forget Justin Smith, but let’s seriously hold off the jersey retirement ceremony. For one, Coulter hasn’t been healthy since he stepped on the field. The latest setback could reveal further damage. Secondly, Coulter has to outplay the No. 2 defensive ends before he can even think about unseating Stryker Sulak or Tommy Chavis, two of the better defensive ends in the Big 12. That’s not happening any time soon, if ever."
• PowerMizzou - Player of the Day: Gotta be Wes Kemp. Before today, I would not have mentioned him as a freshman that might play, but when Perry went out, Kemp got reps with the first team offense and really looked good. The DeSmet product could find his way on the field yet.
• KC Star - '“Chase Patton is playing as good as I’ve ever seen him play,” Daniel said. “He made one bad read out of 35 snaps today. I’m not perfect. He’s not perfect. But he’s playing at a much higher level than he used to play at.”'
• Post-Dispatch - "But errors in execution irked Pinkel. In a red-zone sequence starting at the 20-yard line, the No. 1 offense advanced to the 5 against the No. 2 defense. But a false start forced the Tigers to the 10. Too many balls rolled on the ground from fumbles and bad snaps. The first major skirmish of camp broke out in the end zone between Elvis Fisher, the newly minted starting left tackle, and defensive lineman Dominique Hamilton."

 PowerMizzou has a nice story on the emerging youth on the defensive line.  Not only are all four backups RSFr's--Michael Keck and Chris Earnhardt at DE, Terrell Resonno and Dominique Hamilton at DT--but now they're getting a push from a couple of true freshmen--DEs Jacquies Smith and Marcus Malbrough are both getting snaps with the 2nd team now.

 The Trib's Steve Walentik checks in on some of the other true freshmen.

Gabbert’s status might be of greatest interest to fans, but a few other freshmen figure to have far bigger impacts than the backup quarterback if they make it into Missouri’s rotation.

Linebacker Will Ebner remains the only true freshman promised a chance to play this season, but the Tigers are also likely to turn to a couple of rookie pass catchers to help overcome the loss of All-American tight end Martin Rucker and survive until junior wide receiver Danario Alexander can make it back onto the field. Alexander is not expected to play until October after a second surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Wide receivers Wes Kemp, Gahn McGaffie and Jerrell Jackson and tight ends Michael Egnew and Andrew Jones could all get chances to bolster a receiving corps that has looked thin and is getting thinner. Earlier this week, senior tight end Chase Coffman underwent surgery to repair fractured right pinky finger. Then in yesterday’s scrimmage, junior wideout Jared Perry sustained what Pinkel described as "real mild dislocation" in his right shoulder while attempting to reel in a fade pass against Tremane Vaughns.

Coffman and Perry are expected to play in the season opener against Illinois, but their injuries emphasized the Tigers’ need to identify some capable backups.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Kemp, who starred at DeSmet High School in St. Louis, could yet be one of them. He saw action with the No. 1 offense after Perry exited and enjoyed one of his most productive days since practice started. Largely unnoticed over the past week, he hauled in two catches for 51 yards. He made a good adjustment on a slightly underthrown deep pass from walk-on Luther Roweton and turned it into a 29-yard gain.

 Granted, the major change happened a few days ago, but the Post-Dispatch has a relatively large story up regarding the changes to the O-line.  And probably more interestingly, they also have a story on just how good a recruiting job Andrew Jones ended up doing with a couple now-classmates last year.

 Oh goodie, Bernie Miklasz is paying attention to Mizzou again.

 Quick recruiting blurbs: Texas DE Terrance Lloyd has set up his first official visit, and it's to Columbia.  Meanwhile, Texas WR Cobi Hamilton has a top two of Mizzou and Arkansas.

 In soccer news, Mizzou's second exhibition game went off without a hitch--they destroyed Illinois State, 5-0.  Sophomore Alysha Bonnick had a hat trick.

 Finally, to the surprise of...well...me, Aaron Crow did NOT sign with Washington after all.  He'll play for the Fort Worth Cats for the time being.  I hate it when draft picks don't sign--I don't understand why every league doesn't just have a setup like the NBA.  You get your rookie contract, it's not worth a helluva lot, and then you make an insane amount when the rookie contract runs out.  Mizzourah has more thoughts on that.

Meanwhile, in an 11th hour move, MU prospect Jared Cosart signs with the Phillies.  They must have thrown a ton of money at him (as he was picked in the 38th round), but he seemed to be having an amazing summer and piqued their interests.  More on the summer Cosart was having (or had) can be found here.  It seems like a new draft strategy is to draft a few Cosart-types (signed to play in college, said "If I'm drafted after the __ round, I'm going to college") late...and if you decide that you're not going to be able to sign one of your top picks, you can throw high-round money at them just in case.  The Pirates threw huge money at a couple of late-round picks thought unsignable, after their 2nd round pick demanded too much money after coming off of an arm injury.

(And by the way...bully to my Pirates for whipping out the checkbook on this draft class.  Their minor league system was horrendous a month ago, but they acquired 8 decent pieces for Bay, Nady, and Marte, and now they've signed 30+ members of a risky and relatively bold draft class.  I'm not signing up for 2013 World Series tickets just yet, but this has been the most positive month for the future of the Pirates since...uhh...1997?)

So as we read practice report after practice report, we can start to see a few emerging battles that we can pay attention to as the rest of August progresses (three weeks till kickoff!!!).  I thought I'd walk through the major battles (at least, 'major' as I see them).  If nothing else, this will give you something else to think about when you're reading the multitude of reports from Matter, Gabe, et cetera.

Some of the questions I had at the beginning of practice seem to have resolved themselves:

• Which freshman WR will emerge?  Answer: Jerrell Jackson.
• Will anyone challenge Jake Harry at punter?  Answer: No.
• Who will emerge as the main backup defensive tackle?  Answer: Terrell Resonno.
• Will Derrick Washington hold onto his #1 RB gig?  Answer: a resounding yes.
• Will LB depth be a problem?  Answer: not really
• Will anybody challenge Castine Bridges for starting CB opposite Carl Gettis?  Answer: nope.
• Will Blaine Gabbert challenge Chase Patton for the backup QB gig?  Answer: not yet.
• Will Dan Hoch look as good from Day One as some thought he would?  Answer: not yet.
• Will Justin Garrett face a challenge at SS?  Answer: nope.  He may be close to making a junior-to-senior surge like Pig Brown did last year.  Okay, maybe not to that extent, but he seems to know what he's doing now.

Right Guard: Dain Wise vs Austin Wuebbels

This one's come out of nowhere.  Early on we were hearing that none of the right guards could block Ziggy Hood, and after yesterday's practice it sounds like the RSFr Wuebbels has gained some steam.  Wuebbels only gained notice in the spring when he was arrested for marijuana possession, and I had somewhat written off his chances of seeing too much of the field this year.  But Wise, who has been "the next star O-Lineman" for three years now but has never seized one of the starting jobs, has failed to separate himself so far in August.  The O-line always seems like the last unit to find a rhythm when practices start, so a lot will still work itself out here (and Dan Hoch could still catch on and insert himself into the 2-deep), but for now assumed-starter Wise has a battle on his hands.  My prediction: Wise retains the job.  But here's to hoping he actually wins it instead of being the default winner.

Main Backup Defensive End: Brian Coulter vs Michael Keck

At the end of spring, two redshirt freshmen--Michael Keck and Chris Earnhardt--had seized the backup DE roles, and when you've got two senior starters, that's a pretty damn nice situation.  However, that was before God Himself, Brian Coulter, made his way to campus, and folks started thinking that he might even overtake perpetually-underappreciated Tommy Chavis as the starter opposite Stryker Sulak.  But then Coulter went and tweaked his ankle.  He's not yet to full-speed, so the Coulter vs Keck (and maybe Earnhardt) battle is still waiting to come to fruition.  But Coulter has three weeks to show his stuff, and we'll all continue to assume he'll do just that.  However...My prediction: I'm skeptical of JUCOs as a whole (though top JUCO DEs usually work out relatively well), so I say Keck is the #3 DE at the start of the season.  We'll see what's developed by mid-season, however.

Nickel Back: Del Howard vs Hardy Ricks (vs Gilbert Moye)

I don't know what to do with Hardy Ricks.  He started last year as starting CB but quickly proved that he's more adept at hitting than covering.  I was advocating, as were many others, that Ricks move to safety, especially after he got injured and lost his starting job, and he did a pretty decent job with the position in the spring.  Howard made a similar transition about 12 months ago, having his redshirt ripped off to play CB in his freshman campaign, then moving to safety in the offseason.  When Pig Brown got hurt, it was a battle for playing time between Howard and Justin Garrett, and though Howard seems to have better ball skills, Garrett was more trustworthy and got the majority of playing time.  Mizzou safeties seem to make a surge between their sophomore and junior seasons--just ask William Moore, Justin Simpson, or David Overstreet--and I've been expecting something similar with Del.  At this point, he seems steady but not necessarily any better than Ricks.

Moye, meanwhile, has a sickening amount of athletic ability but is finding out that the safety position has a pretty slow learning curve.  He seems to make more good AND bad plays than either Howard or Ricks, but I have to figure he's going to stay behind both of them in '08.  By 2009, on the other hand...we'll see.

This battle is important for playing time, but it's quite possible that two of these three will be Mizzou's starting safeties in 2009, so I'd prefer to see all continue to get more and more experience.  My prediction: I say Ricks overtakes Howard and gives Mizzou yet another hard hitter in the nickel package.

Now...I'm doing a lot of speculating considering Mizzou's only one week into August practices, and it's quite possible I could write this exact same post next Sunday with three completely different positions up for grabs.  But this team has (knock on wood) so many certainties to it right now...barring injury (KNOCK ON WOOD), we're pretty much set, unless Jerrell Jackson continues to surge and threatens Jared Perry's starting spot.