Remember the other day, when I said that a handful of schools hog all the big-time recruits?  Well, we're getting to see that process in action.  Florida called Mizzou soft commit Sheldon Richardson the other day, relatively out-of-the-blue, and...

"I said, 'Well, yeah, of course,'" Richardson said. "It's Florida, man. I said, 'You stand a great chance.'"

So now Richardson, the top-rated defensive tackle and the fourth-best player in the 2009 class by Rivals.com, is looking at re-arranging his visit schedule to make it to Gainesville. There is no official date set, though.

Just the way it works, I guess.  He does also reaffirm that he really does like Mizzou, though, so I guess that's something...we'll see.

Also from PowerMizzou: a decent "hot board" of remaining potential recruits and when they might be coming for a visit.

It's a Dave Matter...MAILBAG!!!

Q: Dave, do you see Gahn McGaffey [sic] being a playmaker for us next year? Any chance Kemp grows into a TE? Thanks. - Brian

A: I was impressed with McGaffie's hands and elusiveness during preseason camp. If Maclin leaves, he's a guy I'd think can make plays out of the slot both running and receiving. Could be a nice returnman, too.

As for Kemp, I think he's fine at receiver, especially considering Jones and Egnew are in place at tight end. It's all semantics anyway. Of MU's three receiver spots and tight end position, all four are interchangeable and can line up anywhere on the field.

If Mizzou does manage to ink Richardson one year after landing Blaine Gabbert, they might be in the running for a third-straight recruiting season with a 5-star recruit: they're in the running for Bishop Miege's Justin McCay, and McCay's in the running for 5 stars, at least from Scout.com...

I realize we haven't moved past the inimitable Stetson Hatters yet, but it's probably time to start getting geared up for Braggin' Rights...so we'll start by visiting the fantastic YouTube channel of dbooker34 (the ZouDave of basketball, only without the funny pics and, uhh, hot sister nevermind) for highlights of the best Braggin' Rights game ever...1993.  The audio's choppy, but a) the emotion is awesome and b) god bless the Checkerdome.

Finally, The Trib's Steve Walentik takes a look at how the change in the distance of the 3-point stripe has...not really changed too much.

We have a long-standing rule here at Rock M Nation: win a national award, get your very own 40-comment thread, and get your own set of bullet links.  Therefore...JOHN MACKEY AWARD-WINNING CHASE COFFMAN LINKS:

• Mutigers.com: Coffman Wins John Mackey Tight End Award

  "I’m really honored by this, to win the award that says you’re the best in the nation at your position, it means a lot," said Coffman, who was in Orlando attending the show, as the guest of teammate and friend, Jeremy Maclin, who was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award (tight ends aren’t invited to the show, but Maclin insisted that Coffman come with him anyway because he deserved it).

  "I’m really happy for my family and especially my Dad (Paul) who taught me so much about football," Coffman said. "I have to give a lot of credit to my coaches over the years, and definitely Coach (Bruce) Walker (MU tight end coach) and Coach Pinkel for giving me the opportunities they have at Mizzou. It’s an individual award, but it’s also something that our team earns, because it doesn’t happen without a great quarterback like Chase (Daniel) and our great playmakers like Jeremy (Maclin) and D-Wash (TB Derrick Washington) who draw attention away from me, and our offensive line which gives Chase time to make the throws. I hope everyone takes some satisfaction in knowing they helped make this happen," he said.

• Dave Matter: Coffman Captures Mackey Award
• KC Star: Coffman wins top tight end award
  

Wow...Dave Matter just joined the mailbag fray, and his first one is a friggin' doozy...in fact, that's right..I think it deserves the graphic...

MAILBAG!!!!

Q: Without Maclin and Coffman next year, will we have a respectable receiving corps? And what do you think about Glazer and Dalton competing with Gabbert at QB? — Roy Johnson

A: Covered the receivers question earlier. There’s not one developed No. 1 option right now. Danario Alexander would be the closest example, but I think he needs a full offseason to get back to where he was before the knee surgeries. If he can get back to where he was before the 2007 season — when he was no less impressive than Maclin in practice, it not more — than he’s the obvious No. 1 weapon. Jared Perry and Andrew Jones can be productive options, but I’d say MU needs significant production out of three or four among Jerrell Jackson, Gahn McGaffie, Wes Kemp, Mike Egnew and Rolandis Woodland.
As for the quarterbacks, I don’t think it’s fair to speculate or evaluate their potential until they’re on campus practicing side by side. Anything else would be premature and wasteful guesswork.

Journalism Bowl Alamo Bowl buzz links!

• Post-Dispatch: Gary Pinkel live from San Antonio in advance of Alamo Bowl
• The Missourian: Pinkel, Fitzgerald begin Alamo Bowl buzz
• KC Star: Northwestern coach has MU connection
• Post-Dispatch: Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald comes a long way fast (weird use of present tense there)
• Chicago Tribune: Northwestern braces for a big challenge vs Missouri

To basketball, where PowerMizzou submits the latest "They're having fun out there" article, the Post-Dispatch talks about the attention Mizzou isn't getting (fine by me), and The Trib's Steve Walentik talks about Mizzou's attendance problems.  Mizzou is 11th in the Big 12 in attendance so far, though I will say...I think the Lloyd Noble Center counts attendance the way the Hearnes Center did...no WAY is OU actually averaging 10,665 in attendance...

Another commit for the 2009 Mizzou recruiting class!  This time it's, to the surprise of nobody, JUCO safety Jasper Simmons.  He held offers from teams like K-State, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, which is impressive considering we haven't had great luck recruiting against the Right Reverend Nutt over the years.

Meanwhile, the best LB (that we know of) left on the Mizzou's recruiting board is visiting Nebraska this weekend.

Media day quotes!  Pinkel gives us some personnel updates...

To give you update on personnel, (junior OL) Kurtis Gregory had turned his ankle in the 1st quarter against Buffalo, but he practiced full on Saturday and Sunday and he's certainly probable. (Senior strong safety) William Moore also practiced both of those days and we expect him to play also. Otherwise, I think we're in pretty good shape. (Junior WR) Danario Alexander continues to work with his knee and get better. I think his confidence grows as he does that. We moved (freshman) Michael Egnew, he was a wide receiver, but he came in at tight end. We knew eventually he was going to play tight end, and we moved him back there. We think with Danario Alexander coming back, that's a good move and he's doing a good job there.

It's the official release for the Nebraska game!  We've got McDonough, Spielman and Stoner, who aren't the best crew out there, but they're one of the more entertaining, so we've got that going for us.  Good live-blogging material, I'm sure.

If Nebraska wants to beat Mizzou, they might want to start fast...

Getting out to a good start has not been a problem for Mizzou thus far in 2008. The Tigers have scored a TD on every game-opening possession in 2008, and the Mizzou defense has held opponents scoreless in their opening possessions, as well. That 28-0 advantage in opening drives has certainly played a big part in explaining why Mizzou has trailed only once this season - and that lasted for just :13 seconds against Illinois, when, after the Illini took a 13-10 2nd-quarter lead in the season opener, Jeremy Maclin returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a TD to regain the lead.

While it's no surprise that Mizzou's high-flying offense has scored early and often, the Tiger defense has also been stingy to open ballgames, holding its first four foes to a total of 2 combined first downs and 12 combined total yards in the four game-opening drives. The Tiger defense has also started the 2nd half strong, allowing opponents no points on their initial drives in the 3rd quarter, while the Tiger offense has scored twice.

Nebraska links!

• The Missourian: MU defense hears Lucky's words ("You can't get caught up in the bulletin board material, but we appreciate the bulletin board material," linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said, grinning. "It gives us a little more confidence. It gives us an edge, because we know guys are out there talking smack about us, and we just want to show guys what we can do.)
• KC Star: Mizzou's Jones went from recruit to recruiter ("Jones used a different tactic to recruit Gabbert, the No. 1-rated quarterback in the state, out of Parkway West High School. Jones, already friends with Gabbert from their days attending Nebraska and Missouri football camps, called Gabbert every name in the book. And a few that might not be listed.")
• Lincoln Journal-Star: Huskers hoping to win red-zone battles
• Dave Matter: Monday notes
• The Missourian: Nebraska braces for Missouri offense
• Omaha World-Herald: [DB Coach Marvin] Sanders expects NU defense to improve
• Post-Dispatch: Tigers, Huskers reverse roles
• Post-Dispatch: Mizzou knows how mighty can fall
• Omaha World-Herald: Will Missouri's QB have a big game against Huskers this Saturday?  (What a strange headline...like nobody's heard of "Missouri's QB" or something)
• Lincoln Journal-Star: Husker defenders know they need to sharpen their focus

Dave Matter's got his weekly Big 12 football notes...

And finally, SI's Gene Menez talks about the Heisman contenders "Chasing Chase" in his latest Heisman Watch column...

Oh yeah, and be sure to watch tonight's E:60 on ESPN for the Jeremy Maclin feature...

We're back with Week Two of the Postgame Podcast.  This time with twice the content!  Listen to rptgwb, The Beef, Uribe Auction, and me talk about Mizzou's take-the-foot-off-the-gas-25-minutes-in 52-3 win over SEMO!