It really IS an honor just to be nominated

In super awesome news, Gary Pinkel and Jeremy Maclin were nominated on Wednesday for the College Football Hall of Fame.

According to the Columbia Tribune’s notebook, in regards to GP:

Pinkel led the Tigers from 2001-15, winning five conference division titles, earning 10 bowl bids and finishing ranked five times, including in the top five in 2007 and 2013. Combined with his prior stint at Toledo, where he compiled a head coaching record of 118-73. He was named the 2007 national coach of the year by FieldTurf and was a two-time league coach of the year (Big 12 in 2007, SEC in 2014).

And in regards to J-Mac:

In 2007, Maclin broke the NCAA single-season freshman record for all-purpose yards, as he amassed 2,776 yards while scoring 16 total touchdowns. A first-team consensus All-American, he was the only player in Division I in 2007 to score touchdowns in all four all-purpose categories. He repeated with consensus first-team All-America honors in 2008 as he led the NCAA in all-purpose yardage (202.36 ypg) and broke Missouri’s single-season receiving records with 102 receptions, 1,260 yards and 13 TDs.

What an awesome and deserved honor for the two Mizzou legends.

A number of other local media sites also covered the news:

• The KC Star’s Blair Kerkhoff mentioned in his story that J-Mac is one of 78 FBS players on the ballot, while Pinkel is one of 7 FBS coaches on the ballot.
• Dave Matter, in his post on the topic — it was a very popular one on Weds — wrote that the only FBS coach with more career wins than Pinkel who isn’t already in the HOF is Pinkel’s former Kent State teammate, Nick Saban, who will be inducted as soon as he’s eligible.
• MUTigers.com also released a press release about the honors.

Apologies, readers. This was a brief post by my standards, as what I had written up top originally was about recruiting— yes, I, Karen Steger, wrote about football recruiting — and that is now becoming its own post — with an assist from Sam — to get those sweet, sweet clicks.

People love recruiting, y’all, no matter who writes about it.

On to the Links!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Aaron interviewed Mizzou commit, Marquis Gracial. Great read.
• BK revealed the Team USA Wide Receiver— everyone’s favorite Tiger, LDW!!
• COMING UP: A new Dive Cuts pod for your ear holes and a recruiting post about Night at The Zou

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More Links:

Football

• OOOOOOOH, I see some wins on there!

• Connor Bazelak is joining elite company at the Manning Passing Academy in July. Congrats, CB!

• Looks like Mizzou will be getting an official visit from Hammond School RB, CJ Stokes this month. According to 247, CJ is 3-star (0.8516 composite) and the No. 12 player in SC.

Softball

• HUGE CONGRATS to soon-to-be super senior, Brooke Wilmes, who was named Third Team All-American by the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFPCA) on Wednesday. According to the Missourian’s Anthony Kristensen, Brooke is the first NFCA All-American for the Tigers since 2016, when Emily Crane was named first team and Sami Fagan was named third team. More info at MUTigers.com

• Sigh…

Other Mizzou Sports

• Congrats to Mitch Weber, who was named SEC Co-Newcomer of the Year for his performance in the discus this season, according to the Missourian’s’ Anthony Kristensen. According to the article, Weber was in the top three nationally for the men’s discus throw for most of the regular season. His throw of 60.99m (200 feet, 1 inch) was the second-longest for the event in school history. More info at MUTigers.com

• Looks like 2023 Wisconsin PG, Braylen Blue made it to town!

Mizzou in the Pros

• I wanted to watch the Memphis-Jazz game on NBA TV, but Memphis is “local” to Columbia… who knew? The Fightin Quin Snyders officially eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, outscoring the baby bears, 126-110.

Here’s Jordan Clarkson’s stats on the night: 31 minutes, 24 points, 9-20 shooting (3-12 from three), 3-3 FT, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 TO, 2 PF, -10 +/-

• Mike Singer of The Denver Post wrote a great story about the Nuggets’ Game 5 win, and how Michael Porter, Jr’s confidence helped them get the win. In the article, he talked about how, when MPJ met with the media on Monday, he was confident that Tuesday’s game would be different because he had seen spots where he could punish the smaller defender on him, or where he could do better on the glass. And he did just that…

After Powell all-but erased him with his physicality in Game 4, it was as if it dawned on Porter that he’s got at least six inches on whichever wing the Blazers try on him. Both C.J. McCollum and Lillard were helpless against his high release.

“That’s who I am,” Porter said. “I just gotta trust in that. I can’t let games like that happen, especially in the playoffs, when my team is depending on me. I just told myself, ‘Be yourself out there, be aggressive.’”

And with the entire roster encouraging Porter to shoot, he had all the support he needed to impose his will, as he promised he’d do.

“They believe in me,” Porter said.

• NICK!!!!

• In regional pro sports news that you should read, Benjamin Hochman wrote a great story about how the St. Louis sports community can be more welcoming in honor of Pride Month. Good stuff.

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