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Not the worst news to start the day
We'll start with two pieces of news regarding East St. Louis blue-chip receiver Jeff Thomas, likely the most highly-rated prospect on Missouri's recruiting board for 2017:
1. Thomas' high school coach says he is 'leaning' toward Mizzou, per the Post-Dispatch.
"I honestly think Jeff is leaning toward playing with Reyondous," Sunkett said. "It’s too early to tell. But just hearing those guys talk in the locker room and with the success our guys are having down there at Mizzou right now, I can definitely see that happening in the near future."
2. He is now the No. 78 prospect in the class, according to Rivals. Not sure if or when the 247Sports Composite rankings will be updated to reflect Rivals changes, but he holds at No. 47 there for now.
Kickers are weird
As day one of #Mizzou class winds down, check out today's #RookieReport featuring @tuckermccann #MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/etHckKKNCF
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) August 22, 2016
Sheldon's head's screwed on right?
Newsday: Jets DT Sheldon Richardson: ‘I got my head right’
Richardson said he’s more obedient and open-minded this season, and that he’s far more receptive to constructive criticism. "I’m a little more compliant this year," said Richardson, who was suspended for the Sept. 11 season opener for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy. (He also missed Weeks 1-4 in 2015 because of a failed marijuana test.)
"Last year, I was a little more hardheaded. I felt my way worked. I felt like I knew the system. We were trying new stuff, so I just was being hardheaded. That’s all."
Asked what helped him get his head right, he replied: "Life."
The AP also has pieces on Kony Ealy building off of his Super Bowl performance and E.J. Gaines getting back onto the field with the Rams.
Politics and transfers
Post-Dispatch: KU coach Bill Self jokes he won't schedule Mizzou just to placate Tim Kaine
Technically, Lafayette is closer to home than Columbia...
...if only barely.
The Trib: Former Tiger Gant to play at Louisiana-Lafayette
Daily J'den
KC Star (Vahe Gregorian): MU’s bronze-medal wrestler J’den Cox represents his country well
Rapid fire:
Soccer
The Trib: MU can't convert in loss to Iowa
Softball
MUtigers.com: @MizzouSoftball Alum, Sami Fagan, Named 2016 NPF Rookie of the Year
Swimming
The Maneater: Disappointment and dreams: Dominique Bouchard reflects on Olympic experience
Well, the numbers aren't *worse* than expected...
The Missourian: Fall 2016 MU freshmen enrollment slightly more than projected
KOMU.com: Preliminary figures show sharp drop in MU enrollment
32,777 students are currently enrolled, down from over 35,000 students for the Fall 2015 semester. [...]
Fewer enrolled students means less total tuition revenue - a shortfall paired with additional budget cuts from the Missouri General Assembly. [...] However, any state-imposed budget cuts for the University of Missouri System were outweighed by an overall increase in performance-based funding across public colleges in the state.
The enrollment decrease is due in part to a smaller freshman class, as the university is also claiming its third-highest retention rate in school history. Less than 4,800 freshmen are enrolled for the fall.
University administration may still have cause for optimism, as MU claims its incoming freshman class boasts the highest ACT scores of any previous class.
I guess the part that makes me the happiest there is the retention rate. If this drop is based mostly on a smaller freshman class, that's something you can move forward with again in the future -- this becomes more of a temporary issue and not a campus-wide "students hate it here" situation. If students were leaving and not coming back, that's a much bigger issue to me, at least as it pertains to last year's problems.