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It’s Monday. Sorry about that. Here are the latest links from the Mizzouniverse.
1. Mizzou prepares the Drew Lock Heisman campaign.
And they don’t go for the name-related gimmick, according to Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The easy way, of course, would have been to make some sort of Lock-pun to market Missouri’s starting quarterback as a Heisman contender (which he is, undoubtedly). With my love of puns, I’d absolutely be Locked-in with that route. But bobbleheads are an awesome idea, and it’s cool to see that fans (season ticket holders, anyway), will get them. That part was announced in February, and if you didn’t renew by April, you’re already too late.
Renew or request your @MizzouFootball tickets by April 14 ➡️ Get a @DrewLock23 bobblehead!
— Mizzou Athletics (@MizzouAthletics) February 9, 2018
️ https://t.co/jI9fFHeq8Y
️ https://t.co/CBNg42ybmg#MIZ #ShowMe pic.twitter.com/eXysOzABDC
But giving bobbleheads to Heisman voters is new, and with the majority of those being sports reporters, that’s brilliant strategy. Sports reporters love sports tchotchkes — only thing better would be to give the Heisman voters tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert.
Of course, as Matter reports, there’s a ton of digital marketing strategy that will go into the campaign.
This was my favorite part of Matter’s dive into Heisman marketing:
That was Mizzou’s thinking in 2008 when Moller’s department spent around $20,000 on Chase Daniel View-Masters that came with a reel of photos featuring the senior quarterback, still considered one of the more unique Heisman giveaways in the award’s long history of campaigns.
I was a student then and remember that being a cool idea. Looking back, it seems like Missouri might have been a decade too soon with the 80s nostalgia, however. Imagine using View-Masters now, with a show like Stranger Things being a huge hit on Netflix.
(“Chase Daniel View-Masters” also sounds like a great band name.)
At the same time, I wonder what the total cost on these bobbleheads will be. Twenty grand for View-Masters? Bobbleheads can’t be much cheaper, right?
2. Former Missouri lineman runs his own zoo.
Mitchell Forde of PowerMizzou.com caught up with former Missouri tackle Joel Clinger, who built and manages his own zoo in his post-football career. The story also isn’t behind a paywall.
(“Big Joel’s Safari” is another great band name.)
I love these where-are-they-now pieces that PowerMizzou has been running this summer, and Forde has done a terrific job with all of them. However, I’ve got to dock him points for the fact that he mentions Clinger “delivering miniature horses” but doesn’t include any reference to Lil’ Sebastian, Indiana’s favorite fictional mini-horse.
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3. A couple of football recruits include Missouri in their updated top lists.
The first one is a homegrown player, as Rock Bridge safety Martez Manuel put the Tigers in his top three, along with Iowa State and Wyoming.
Manuel is a 3-star recruit, per Rivals.
Top 3 All glory to the lord❤️ #dreamchaser @Recruit_Edits pic.twitter.com/lawllHq11m
— Martez Manuel (@martezmanuel13) July 9, 2018
Also including Missouri in an updated list is Dickinson (Texas) 4-star tight end Jaylen Wyldermyer. Missouri in some elite company here, along with Georgia, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Miami and Auburn.
Top 8 schools @Recruit_Edits pic.twitter.com/tsHuwzrGQf
— Jalenwydermyer (@Wydermyer81) July 8, 2018
This weekend at Rock M
- Get to know Mizzou hoops transfer K.J. Santos
- My favorite 5 Faurot Field crowds of the last 20 years
More Links:
- Cameron Teague-Robinson has a great story on Cierra Porter’s retirement from basketball. That includes a sad, powerful kicker at the end, so read the whole thing.
- The Columbia Missourian rounds up how former Missouri players are performing in the NBA’s Vegas Summer League. After one weekend, nothing good to report.
- Alex Schiffer of the Kansas City Star recaps the week that was in Missouri recruiting, and has some interesting insight on both basketball and football targets.
- PowerMizzou.com breaks down Missouri’s top current targets at defensive back in the 2019 class (Article behind a paywall)
- PowerMizzou.com also catches up with 3-star Missouri safety commitment Aidan Harrison (Article behind a paywall)
- The Columbia Missourian previews Laurence Bowers’ annual summer basketball camp in Columbia.
- The nation’s No. 2-JUCO player spurned the Dodgers to suit up for Mizzou baseball next year, Peter Baugh of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.
- Mizzou will be represented by five student-athletes at the annual SEC Leadership Meeting in Birmingham.
Rising senior Jordan Geist, rising junior Amber Smith and junior Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms will serve as representatives on the Men’s Basketball Leadership Council, the Women’s Basketball Leadership Council and the Football Leadership Council, respectively. Mizzou wrestling’s Jake Bohlken and Mizzou Track & Field’s Faramola Shonekan will serve as SAAC representatives.