(Photo by L.G. Patterson/Associated Press)
The Missouri Tigers 2016 recruiting class took a big hit Tuesday night when Houston-area RB Darius Anderson and Alabama DL Tyreic Martin announced via Twitter that they are no longer committed to Mizzou.
The class is now down to 12 members, or 13 counting 2015 signee OL Tyler Howell who failed to qualify last year.
New coaches mean new additions to recruiting classes, but it also means attrition. Now that Barry Odom is in charge, he dictates how much time is spent with each member of the recruiting classes.
For Anderson, Martin, and Mackenzie Nworah, a decommit last week, they perhaps weren’t shown the love they were looking for from the new staff. It also has to be noted that the main recruiters for each of these players are not apart of the new staff.
I believe A.J. Ricker, now the Illinois OL coach, was the lead recruiter for Anderson and Nworah as he focused on Texas. Former DL coach Craig Kuligowski I believe was Martin’s recruiter.
Out of all these decommits, losing Anderson is a huge blow in my opinion. Just this past year he rushed for over 2,500 yards and 30+ touchdowns. In the playoffs alone he had over 1,200 yards.
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Since running back position is far from settled, I am of the opinion that Anderson would have skipped the redshirt and would have gotten serious playing time next season.
Hope for former East St. Louis RB Natereace Strong just went way up. Strong has been injured all throughout his playing career, but is a fantastic talent when healthy.
Martin began looking around when South Carolina offered him a couple weeks ago. He fits the mold of 3-4 DE in what I presume to be the future of Missouri’s defense.
Since he was sort of hand-picked by Kuligowski who has an obvious eye for talent, this is disappointing news. Though he decommitted, he maintains that Mizzou is still leading for his services.
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National Signing Day is far away enough where Missouri can make up some ground. They have 13 new players, and I expect they take at least 20 but less than 25.
Since this is a dead period where coaches’ contact with recruits is limited, the recruiting overall will pick up greatly come January. There, official visits happen and commitments are made.
Tonight was not a good night for the 2016 class as I think they’ve lost the one guy they couldn’t lose, but they’re going to find someone else. Maybe they won’t be as talented, but given this new staff, I think they’ll bring in some good players.
