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What's On: Paintball
Transfers
PowerMizzou.com - Three Tigers set to transfer
Three backup players leaving Mizzou : Dave Matter
Rupert, a redshirt sophomore from Montgomery, Ala., played in 13 games last year mostly on special teams and had one tackle. He worked some with the second and third units during spring practices.
Williams, a redshirt junior from Denton, Texas, played in seven games the last two seasons at offensive guard and tackle. He was bumped to the third unit by the end of spring practices.
Winston, a redshirt junior from Muskegon Heights, Mich., played in four games the last two seasons with two career tackles. He got some work on the second unit during the spring.
With scholarship returners and counting all signees, MU was looking at 90 scholarships in the fall. Now looking at 87. Needs to be at 85.
— David Morrison (@DavidCMorrison) May 4, 2015
Seven of Missouri's 19 signees from the 2012 class have now either been dismissed or transferred.
— Pete Scantlebury (@PeteScantlebury) May 4, 2015
Bill C. on transfers: We never speculate too much on transfers because it's guesswork, but to a degree, it's educated guesswork. There are certain guys who are more likely than others to end up leaving early: out-of-staters with two to three years of eligibility remaining, looking up at players younger than them on the depth chart.
Jordan Williams, Evan Winston, and Shaun Rupert all fit that description to some degree. Williams has been a second-stringer for a couple of seasons but appeared to lose ground to some redshirt freshmen this spring. Winston was looking up at at least three fellow juniors, maybe a sophomore (A.J. Logan), and almost certainly an incoming freshman (Terry Beckner Jr.). And while Rupert wasn't necessarily behind anybody younger than him, he was perhaps going to need injuries to at least two to three more safeties (not including already injured Tavon Ross) to see the field frequently.
That is to say, these three transfers were not particularly surprising. We wish all three well.
Draft picks and Rankings
Missouri and the NFL Draft: 2009-2015 - Columbia Daily Tribune | David Morrison
Given the teams' winning percentages over this period, here's who fared the best in expected draft picks vs. actual draft picks.
If it's a positive number, that means the team outperformed what the equation expected of it when it comes to draft picks. Or, to look at it another way, the teams with the biggest positive numbers did the least with their amount of talent:.
14. Missouri: -8.60
Harold Brantley gets some love from ESPN in their 2016 NFL Draft predictions:
SEC college football post-spring power rankings - SEC Blog - ESPN
9. Missouri: It was hard to put the Tigers this far down because of what they've done the past two seasons -- you know, winning the SEC East. But you really can say Mizzou has a lot of rebuilding to do at important positions. There aren't two elite defensive ends waiting in the wings now that Shane Ray and Markus Golden are gone; Nate Brown's five receptions are the most by a wide receiver on this roster; the offense had a rough go this spring; and the offensive line still needs a left tackle. Quarterback Maty Mauk's shoulder is better, though, so that's a plus.
Ohio State Buckeyes have lock on No. 1 spot in Too-Early Top 25
24. Missouri Tigers If we learned anything in the SEC the past two seasons it was to not overlook the Tigers, even with heavy personnel losses. Missouri surprised everyone by winning the SEC East for a second straight season in 2014. To win a third consecutive SEC East title, the Tigers will have to replace star defensive ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray, as well as most of their receivers. The good news: Missouri will play division rivals South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee at home.
Phil Steele's Projected AP Top 25
19. Missouri Tigers What is more impressive than winning back-to-back SEC East titles? How about winning the first one in your second SEC season while playing road games at brand-new venues, then winning the second one with just eight returning starters? The Tigers have clearly been stellar in SEC road games, with an amazing 8 straight wins on the road in conference (10 straight overall on the road). Mizzou's run of conference road wins is easily tops in the SEC, with Alabama running a distant second at three straight. To make matters even better, the SEC schedule sets up favorably for the Tigers, as it did in 2012.
Pro Tigers
2015 NFL draft day 2: Giants hit mark with Landon Collins pick, 49ers miss - NFL - SI.com
Mitch Morse, OL, Chiefs (No. 49): Because of the relative lack of depth among interior O-linemen in this class, Morse felt ticketed for a Round 3 or 4 slot. Not sure anyone had him pegged as a top-50 guy. The Chiefs also seem set on moving him to center, not guard, where many thought he'd end up, or tackle, where he spent most of his time at Missouri.
49ers’ Justin Smith says decision coming soon | The Sacramento Bee
Justin Smith plans to sit down with 49ers officials some time this month and decide whether he will return for a 15th -- and likely final -- season in the NFL. "You'll know in about three weeks or so," the veteran defensive lineman said.
Women's Hoops wrap up
$EC
Three of the top four programs are from the Southeastern Conference: Tennessee ($5,666), Auburn University ($5,586), and Mississippi State ($5,126). A total of seven SEC programs are among the top 20, according to the analysis, which included a review of institutions’ financial-aid websites and cost-of-attendance figures that the colleges report to the federal government.
Pinkel’s big raises follow trend, but is ‘tipping point’ nearing in college football? : Dave Matter
That point, if it indeed exists in college athletics, is apparently well beyond $4 million. On April 24, 10 days after Alden expressed concern over rising salaries, Mizzou announced another raise for football coach Gary Pinkel. His guaranteed salary jumps 25.6 percent, from $3.2 million to $4 million under his new contract — which expires after the 2021 season. Pinkel received a similar raise last year that pushed his salary up 14.3 percent, from $2.8 million.