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Missouri Football enters final recruiting weekend looking to finish strong

Missouri's staff will be hosting a group of 2016 recruits on this final weekend before National Signing Day

As with last weekend, there is certainly going to be some "secret visitors" that are committed elsewhere and don't want it know they are looking around. Whenever we hear information about that we'll update this post.

Below each commit I've included a breakdown of the depth at their position group.

Missouri was originally scheduled to have two defensive tackles visit during the week, Keyshon Camp and Kobe Jones. The sudden departure of defensive line coach Chris Wilson meant Camp was no longer likely to visit as Wilson was his sole connection to the new staff. Jones is apparently visiting this weekend but the highly sought-after tackle is a heavy Mississippi State lean according to 247. The defensive line is currently a position of strength for Missouri, but particularly the after this year the group thins out considerably, a difficult proposition in the line dominated SEC.

Pos Seniors Juniors Sophomores (RS) Freshman Class of 2016 Tot
DL Harold Brantley (RS) 6'3 280 A.J. Logan (RS) 6'2 300 Terry Beckner Jr. 6'4 298 Tyrell Jacobs 6'4 260 Markell Utsey 8
Josh Augusta 6'4 335 Josh Moore 6'5 250
Rickey Hatley (RS) 6'4 285

OFFICIAL VISITORS

Speaking of the SEC's emphasis on the trenches, Mizzou is hosting one new target on the offensive side of the line. UPDATE: Or maybe not.

Aaron Dowdell is a 6'3 306 lb offensive lineman rated a Rivals 4 star from Atlanta, Georgia and a recent Georgia decommit. It's unclear why exactly new head coach Kirby Smart wasn't high on Mark Richt's old commit but it could provide a late windfall for Missouri after Royce Newman flipped to Ole Miss and Breontae Matthews chose Kansas State.

Trystan Castillo reaffirmed his commitment last night, and I went into a some of the issues facing the Tigers next year in that post. Dowdell, as you can see in the highlights below, is an athletic and versatile player who lined up at right guard, right tackle as well as defensive tackle. Landing his commitment could provide the staff with a bit of flexibility and would provide insurance in case of any other decommitments.

Pos Seniors Juniors Sophomores Freshman Class of 2016 Tot
OL Malik Cuellar 6'5 295 Alec Abeln (RS) 6'3 290 Paul Adams (RS) 6'6 290 A.J. Harris 6'3 297 Trystan Castillo 13
Nate Crawford (RS) 6'5 290 Sam Bailey (RS) 6'5 265 Tanner Owen 6'6 265 Tre'Vour Simms
Clay Rhodes (RS) 6'5 280 Andy Bauer (RS) 6'3 310
Tyler Howell 6'9 305 Kevin Pendleton (RS) 6'4 295

Albert Okweugbunam, a 6'5 215 lb tight end rated a Rivals 3 star from Springfield, Illinois, committed on 9/19/15. The adage that you should take a quarterback in every class probably holds true with tight ends. Mizzou is looking to add at least one TE this year and could take another fullback/h-back style blocking end to compliment a shift toward a more power-oriented running attack. "AOK" as I'm going to probably end up calling him, looks to be a flex receiver for the Tigers if he holds true to his commitment.

Pos Seniors Juniors Sophomores Freshman Class of 2016 Tot
TE Sean Culkin (RS) 6'6 245 Jason Reese (RS) 6'5 240 Kendall Blanton (RS) 6'6 250 Albert Okwuegbunam 4

Dominic Collins, a 6'3 175 lb wide receiver rated a Rivals 3 star, committed on 1/27/16. I spoke a little about the addition of this JUCO receiver in his commitment post but Dom Collins will look to provide the staff with a competitor at the number one receiving position for next year and would help balance out the classes.

Tamrick Pace, a 6'2 190 lb athlete who's played wide receiver and quarterback is unrated according to Rivals, and is committed to S.F. Austin. He doesn't have much on his HUDL page except one highlight but he could be another flexible talent next year.

Pos Seniors Juniors Sophomores Freshman Class of 2016 Tot
WR J'Mon Moore (RS) 6'3 190 DeSean Blair (RS) 6'3 190 Richaud Floyd 5'11 165 11
Nate Brown 6'3 205 Keyon Dilosa (RS) 6'3 200 Justin Smith 6'7 200
Dominic Collins 6'3 175 Emanuel Hall 6'3 196 John Johnson (RS) 5'8 174
Cam Hilton 6'0 180
Ray Wingo 5'11 175

Tre Williams, a 6'5 220 lb defensive end rated a Rivals 4 star from Columbia, Missouri, committed on 6/15/15. He recently took an official visit to Arizona State but I feel comfortable that he'll remain a Mizzou commit. At his size the easy on-field comparison is Aldon Smith. Redshirting for a year and adding some bulk could do wonders for this local product.

Pos Seniors Juniors Sophomores Freshman Class of 2016 Tot
DE Marcell Frazier 6'4 245 Walter Brady (RS) 6'3 255 Tre Williams 8
Charles Harris (RS) 6'3 255 Nate Howard 6'5 220 Marvin Terry
Rocell McWilliams 6'2 240
Spencer Williams 6'3 245

Arkeem Byrd, a 6'1 190 lb running back rated a Rivals 3 star from Savannah, Georgia, is uncommitted at this time. I'll have more about the running backs below but Byrd's recruitment is a bit strange as the staff offered him a while ago, then appeared to recruit over him in flipping Damarea Crockett and bringing Justin Crawford on an official visit last weekend.

NEW OFFERS

Mizzou has also been looking to get official visits from a few other recent offers.

Josh Jacobs, a 5'11 200 lb speedy back out of Tulsa, recently received an offer and reportedly will be deciding between Oklahoma and Missouri, with apparent interest from Alabama. Mizzou was the first in on the formerly unheralded recruit but he's blown up - getting ranked a 3 star by Rivals and a 4 star by 247. Right now, 247 has Oklahoma heavily favored.

Another running back on the radar is Rivals 3 star Justin Crawford, a JUCO recruit who had a good visit last weekend and seems to be trying to decide between Mizzou and the Tiger's first opponent next year, West Virginia. It seems like he'll be visiting Morgantown this weekend and then deciding.

With long time commit Natereace Strong and recent Boise State flip Damarea Crockett, the addition of a third running back to this class seems heavy. However, if  we see Morgan Steward step away from football due to lingering hip issues, a third running back this year would balance the classes with two in every class.

Pos Seniors Juniors Sophomores Freshman Class of 2016 Tot
RB Morgan Steward (RS) 6'0 210 Ish Witter 5'10 190 Trevon Walters (RS) 5'10 200 Ryan Williams 5'10 178 Damarea Crockett 8
Chase Abbington 6'2 209 Natereace Strong (RS) 6'1 210 Marquise Doherty 6'0 193

As I stated from the start, Odom and staff are looking for immediate help along key positions like receiver, running back and offensive line while also looking to add the best available talent. New offers and visitors will undoubtedly surface in the next few days. National Signing day is less than a week away so it's going to be a fight to the finish.