Last time we updated you, Missouri was finishing up the quiet period and was approaching the date for juniors to begin taking their official visits. Since then, we’ve transitioned into the evaluation period and are now at the point to where official visits are being scheduled or taken.

Here’s the definition of what an “evaluation period” means according to the NCAA:

An evaluation period is that period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics department staff members to be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period.

In short, this means that college coaches can be on a high school campus, visit with high school coaches, teachers, and administration, but they just can’t visit with that player off-campus. It’s called the evaluation period because a lot of coaches spend this time getting to know who a player is from the point of view of the people that know that player the best.

That’s why you end up seeing tweets like these:

See what I mean?

There’s some serious leg work being done to get an idea of what some of these high school kids are like as players and people. This is even more important when you acknowledge the fact that there are only so many spots for high school players in this current landscape of college football. Every take is important.

Players to Watch

Miles McVay, OL: C/O 2023

Blue Chip offensive lineman are going to be a theme in this 2023 class, and Miles McVay is right near, if not at the top of the list.

Recently, he cut his schools down to 12 and Missouri made the cut.

A top 12 is pretty insignificant, but you obviously want to be in it. With Missouri, is a collection of college football’s elite brands like LSU, USC or Oklahoma.

Then there’s Missouri and Illinois.

Believe it or not, Missouri and Illinois may have just as serious of a chance to land McVay as the rest of the schools. The ability to offer the comfort of proximity and familiarity is legit, as Missouri has been slowly building those bonds at East St. Louis, and offers multiple former high school teammates on the roster. Illinois offers the allure of high school teammates being on the roster as well.

What will happen? Only time will tell, but McVay is a major priority in this cycle and will be one to watch over the summer as he takes his visits. He has already visited Oregon, and has a visit scheduled to Michigan State in June. It’s imperative that Missouri gets him onto campus for one of those official visits sometime soon.

Andrew Sprague, OL; C/O 2024

Andrew Sprague, a 4-Star OL out of Rockhurst received his Mizzou offer earlier this month. Sprague is a big time athlete who will play tackle at the next level. He’s long, quick and has a sound fundamental game. He’ll need to add weight to his form but he’s very talented. He’s also an all-district basketball player and part of noted grassroots program, KC Run GMC.

His rise has been on the slow side, and the schools that are now offering are getting bigger and bigger. Michigan has offered as well, and he’s yet another offensive lineman in the state who is going to become a national prospect. Got to find a way.

Logan Reichert, OL; C/O 2023

We are officially starting to see a run on offensive lineman.

No, but seriously. Reichert has seen his stock soar over the past year from an unranked sophomore, to top 100 junior. His offer list has grown, and he is getting some serious attention from the who’s who of college football. That said, Missouri finds itself very much still in the mix.

In fact, Reichert locked has scheduled his official visit with Missouri already:

I have been high on Reichert for a while, but when he started to see offers come from schools like Georgia... I started to have some reservations. However, he’s very much stayed in the fold and has been on campus many times in the past year. He’s yet another lineman from the Kansas City area who has blown up and would be a really good fit for what Missouri does on offense.

Extra Point

Drinkwitz has talked long at length about keeping the best players in state, and what most people think about is how they can keep St. Louis area talent in-state. That was part of it, but it’s interesting to see the uptick in time that’s being spent in the Kansas City area. They have made it a point to invest more time in developing relationships on that side of the state, and it’s paying off. There’s a concerted effort to be part of the landscape of that city, to create some bonds and keep those kids from going elsewhere. Kansas City doesn’t get the same credit that St. Louis does, but they’re sending a lot of talented football players out of their city too and Drink has kept his word when he talks about emphasizing the whole state.

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