Recruiting Reset: It’s a ‘Merry Flipmas’ for new Mizzou center Talan Chandler

It’s officially Flipmas season, ladies and gentlemen. At least for now, that’s a very good thing for the Tigers. Former Colorado commit Talan Chandler has announced a change of plans, deciding to commit to play at Mizzou as part of the 2024 class.

Chandler spent some time at Lutheran HS in St. Charles before playing the past couple seasons at Nevada R5 in Nevada, Missouri. He’s currently rated by Rivals as the 4th best player in the state, and the 5th best center in the 2024 recruiting class. He becomes the 15th known Mizzou commitment in the 2024 class. The Tigers’ recruiting class is currently rated by Rivals as the 43rd best in the country.

Where he fits: Chandler’s HUDL film mostly features him lining up at guard, but it sounds like the plan is for him to kick inside to center at the next level. His high school team runs a ton of combo blocks, and they also love getting Chandler out in space as a pulling guard to utilize his ability as a lead blocker. He’s a dominant run blocker against the competition he’s currently going up against. Most of the defenders frankly don’t stand a chance against him.

His ability in space certainly helps with the transition to the center position.

When he’ll play: Good question? The transition from Nevada to the SEC is certainly a significant one. That being said, Chandler did spend time in St. Louis training with some of the current players on the team, and he went against 2023 defensive end commit Jahkai Lang, too. So, he’s not someone that has never seen this level of competition. It’s just been a couple of seasons.

The Tigers’ current depth chart at center is pretty barren behind Connor Tollison. Other options include Drake Heismeyer... and that’s it? It’s entirely possible (maybe even likely) that the Tigers bring in some kind of competition or depth at the position via the transfer portal. If they don’t, we could see Chandler on the 2-deep sooner rather than later.

What it all means: The Tigers picked up a really solid in-state recruiting flip late in the process. Chandler jumped at the opportunity to play for Coach Prime at Colorado but ultimately decided after a November offer and multiple visits to Columbia that his heart was still with Mizzou, and he would stick with his dream of playing for the home state school.

The Tigers desperately needed some depth at center, and Chandler should be able to provide as much. It remains to be seen how quickly he’ll get on the field, but his size, speed and strength should help him adjust to the college level.