On Mizzou Football moving to the SEC and recruiting adjustments

Team Speed Kills had a great article and I typed up a big long comment but instead fleshed it out below.

How Realignment Changed Missouri's Recruiting - Team Speed Kills

Things really began to change with the 2013 class. The number of Texas recruits as a percentage of the whole dropped to 19%, a virtual tie with 2007 (18.5%) for the lowest in the past decade. Unlike in 2008, that percentage didn't recover in 2014. Mizzou also signed a record number of Florida players at seven. Missouri began signing Georgia and Tennessee players with regularity the following year, something it hadn't done before.

I know that Gary Pinkel and staff have commented that they will still recruit Texas. Perhaps to a lesser degree as obviously necessitated by stretching to SEC East states but Barry Odom and AJ Ricker will recruit Dallas and Houston respectively. Mizzou was narrowly shut out of Texas last year when a talented WR flipped to LSU on signing day.

To the article's point, Mizzou’s ability to insert itself into the already heavily-saturated South has been admirable. I do wonder about "name" schools sniping Mizzou targets. Mizzou has made a habit of identifying their "diamonds in the rough" and recruiting them on their chance to play against those who either ignored them or against their home states (as with Texas). It’s happened to some extent already with a few targets and Mizzou’s modicum of success will undoubtedly spur rival’s attention. It'll be something worth keeping an eye on at least.

The true measure of Mizzou’s move to the SEC will be the next 2 years, as they move from their Texas centric 2010-2011 recruiting classes. A grand total of 7 Texas recruits from two classes are on the current roster. Just six Texas recruits came with that very small 2012 recruiting class [1] and only four remain, two starters in RB Russell Hansbrough and DT Rickey Hatley and two back ups in S Chaston Ward and CB John Gibson. This is followed by three from in the 2013 class, DE Marcus Loud, WR J'Mon Moore and TE Jason Reese who each figure to contribute significantly as starters this year.

1 | Do you realize Morgan Steward was part of the 2012 recruiting class?

Mizzou's 2015 Spring Depth Chart

From 2014, six recruits out of Florida are still at Mizzou with three, DeSean Blair, Ish Witter, and Rocel McWilliams listed on the current 2-deep as backups.

From other SEC East states only Georgia is currently represented with SS Thomas Wilson, a backup, and WR Nate Brown a presumptive starter once he recovers from a hopefully minor knee injury.

Of the three Tennessee recruits, WR Thomas Richard has he's seen significant reps as a 2nd and 3rd stringer and is "closest" to seeing the field over OL Paul Adams and CB Finis Stribling IV where depth is an important factor.

Notable is that RB Trevon Walters (Florida) and S Tavon Ross (Georgia) were both expected 2nd or 3rd stringers with the ability to move up before ACL injuries sidelined them this Spring.

As Summer moves on and Fall camp begins, we'll see an influx of 2015 recruits, zero hailing from Texas, only seven coming from SEC East states and aside from kicker Corey Fatony (Tennessee) and perhaps LB Terez Hall (Georgia) the majority of the class is unlikely to see the field as freshman.

For the first time Mizzou will be integrating significant numbers of players from new Southern recruiting grounds in addition to dealing with the departures of upperclassmen. The SEC East recruits will have to break through at the positions where Mizzou is thinnest: wide receiver and defensive end, as well as the crowded quarterback and running back fields. In each case except TE where Sean Culkin is a year more experienced than Reese, recruits face incumbent Missouri [2] or Texas recruits. This regional recruiting adjustment adds a layer of difficulty for Mizzou's coaching staff as it seeks to defend back to back SEC East titles.

2 | This is where a healthy RB Morgan Steward could also be a factor.