Barry Odom on Harold Brantley: "He’s got a great future if he can come through this."

What's On

Letdown for the women's team.

MUtigers.com: #21 @MizzouWBB Falls to Georgia, 65-50

The Trib: Georgia uses fourth-quarter surge to take down No. 21 MU women

Most notable, however:

Only 648 fewer than Missouri's men a night earlier. https://t.co/OcX5MPjQV5

— Tod Palmer (@todpalmer) February 5, 2016

Guh.

The aftermath of 2016

The Trib: Tigers' new signing class forged through time of transition

"The hard part is trying to say to the recruits, ‘This is going to be fine,’ " said Hill, the team’s wide receivers coach. "At the same time, every other school is going in there attacking us: ‘It’s not what it was. Missouri has changed. Your position coach? Who is he?’ Any little crack in the armor, when it comes to recruiting, it makes players and parents nervous."

Odom took a methodical approach to counteracting that sense of unease. He took his time pursuing the assistant coaches he wanted. He and the staff zeroed in on areas of need for the near future rather than making a mad dash for big, uncommitted names. He banked on the stability of Ford, Hill and Walters — the leftovers from Pinkel’s staff — to hold together as much of the class as they could and continue mining St. Louis (Ford), Kansas City (Hill) and Dallas and Atlanta (Walters) for additions.

Post-Dispatch (Hochman): Mizzou looks to develop new recruits

Odom doesn’t dance around his desire to get top prospects. He’s unabashed, more than his predecessor, about yearning for five-star recruits. He’s got one on his roster in Terry Beckner Jr., who was one of the Tigers’ better defensive players the day the kid squeezed a Mizzou jersey over his belly. But what has made Mizzou competitive in the most-competitive conference is its ability to grow talent, not just replenish its talent pool, like Alabama does, or Louisiana State (or Florida or Auburn or Georgia).

"I think that it’s proven, on what Missouri can (do), and has done, with guys that maybe aren’t ranked as high, or have had as many accolades as other guys," Odom said. "But, as we project, and look, and think we can develop in our program, we have to continue to do that."

Scout.com: Jerod Alton Signs With "Dream School" Mizzou

Alton played all over the field at Kirkwood, standing out as a running back and cornerback, but could focus on defense at the next level. Missouri’s official signing day announcement listed Alton as a cornerback and that’s fine with him.

"If I play corner, that will be a blessing," Alton said. "If I play receiver, it will be a blessing. Whichever side they give me an opportunity to play on, it’s a blessing no matter what. As long as I get a chance to play, that’s all I really care about."

Jack Lowary

Post-DIspatch: Juco quarterback picks Mizzou
The Trib (David Morrison): MU adds junior-college QB to 2016 class
PowerMizzou: Whirlwind recruitment for Jack Lowary

Lowary received some recruiting attention after that year, but it wasn’t from the level of schools he wanted. Instead of choosing from the four year schools that had offered, Lowary decided to go to L.B.C.C. and make another run at earning an offer from a Power Five school.

"I knew going to junior college was a process where I would be continuously trying to improve and move on to the next step of my life," explained Lowary. "I’m happy the opportunity came this quick and I’m just excited right now."

Marvin Terry

The Missourian: Missouri football commit Marvin Terry jailed on assault charges

As expected, Mizzou has cut ties with Terry.

Hey, how's Harold Brantley doing?

The Trib (David Morrison): MU Signing Day Notebook: Beckner, Brantley, Harris all on the road back

Odom said Brantley has come back from the injuries he suffered in a car accident last June 21 that cost him the entire 2015 season, but he has not been cleared for action yet.

Plus, he's got some other things to tidy up.

"Academically, he’s got to take care of some work. He knows that," Odom said. "He will continue to work with Rex Sharp on getting back physically. He’s got a great future if he can come through this."

(Denny Medley-USA Today Sports)

Gymnastics tonight

MUtigers.com: No. 16 @MizzouGym Hosts State of Missouri Meet Friday