Feb. 2, 2000
Opening remarks: "I am very pleased with our recruiting effort this season. I think that we came away with an excellent class. It is a credit to our coaching staff. The class represents a combination of size and speed that will most definitely help us at every position. Cody Buford is a very fine high school quarterback and is a great athlete--a very big athlete. He also could play as a linebacker/defensive end or tight end. Joe Gianino was in our camp for two years and we're very pleased to get Joe. He most likely will redshirt. Brock Harvey can play a lot of different positions, particularly in the secondary or as a receiver. He is just a very gifted athlete. Terrell Mills is just now beginning to scratch the surface as far as his ability. He's big and he's fast. He will be an excellent linebacker prospect/pass rusher. Micah Minshall was voted top lineman in the (Olathe) area. He will most likely redshirt (next year). Phil Pitts is a good athlete that plays basketball. He comes into an area that we need a lot of help in, with the graduation of (Jeff) Marriott and guys like that. Jeremy Rose is an outstanding line prospect, but we will look at him first on defense. He really wants to be a defensive player. Brandon Blake is a man that we think very highly of. He was much sought after in the state of Florida. He is the brother of Jeff Blake, starting quarterback for the Bengals. Octavious Jackson was a 200m champion in the state of Florida and is a guy that may be able to play right away. Marcus James is an outstanding kick returner. We are going to give him a shot right away on kick returns. He is also a 4.0 student. Shirdonya Mitchell may have the opportunity to play right away, also. Eugene Sweazie is a big back that is very much in the order of the back from A&M, Ja'Mar Toombs. He gives us a powerback for short-yardage goal-line stuff. If he is ready and likely could play some.
On quarterbacks from Jefferson City: "Ever since or even before we got here, there were guys out of the Jeff City program that have been very successful here. It's an excellent program where football is very important for those young men. They know how to train and prepare for football. They play with great enthusiasm, intensity and a great knowledge of the game. It is a credit to the coaching staffs and the tradition that they have built up there over the years."
On Phil Pitts from Helias High School, Jefferson City, Mo.: "He showed a continued improvement as the season went on and he really caught the eye of Dave Toub. He has tremendous athletic ability and continues to grow. He is still a young guy that is going to get even bigger."
On the positives of recruits related to NFL players: "These kids come from a line of people that have been through the ranks as far as high school and college. They know how to work and prepare themselves. They have brothers that they want to try to live up to. In both of these cases, the young men were standouts at their school. Joe can catch the ball and run with it after he catches it. Blake is a guy that jumps out at you because he is more like 6'-4" and is very put together. Both have a great heritage that they have to follow and want to follow."
On quarterback spots going into spring practice: "Going into spring practice we have four guys that we are going to consider and take a look at (Jim Dougherty, Kirk Farmer, Justin Gage and Darius Outlaw). Those four guys will get the majority of the reps and any decision that we have at the end of spring practice will be made from those four players."
On the recruited quarterbacks: "Two of the quarterback-athletes are guys that very well could play defense, most likely secondary. We don't want to keep four guys at quarterback. At least two of them will be soon switched over after they get here."
On coaching changes affecting recruiting: "It didn't hurt us. In some cases it might have helped us a little bit. Bill Cubit has a strong relationship in the Florida area and was a very strong factor helping us recruit down there. That definitely helped us. Sam Pittman was able to take over for Andy Moeller and go into (the St. Louis area) and maintain that relationship."
On the small number of recruits out of St. Louis: "The reason we only got three guys out of the St. Louis area is because there weren't as many people as there were last year. In terms of Division I-A prospects, numbers were down. The thing that hurt us in our own state was the losing season. Outside people were able to come in and look at (last season) with an objective point of view, whereas instate, they are hit with a lot of negativity because you lose. (None of the recruits) told us they weren't coming because we lost. It's just a forgone conclusion."
On recruits from California: "Brian Stewart did an excellent job recruiting JC's in there. In Scott Paffrath's case, it was just something that we kind of stumbled onto. He is a kid that at was pretty much born and raised in the Midwest area. He wanted to get back to the Midwest. Between Corby (Smith) and Brian, they recruited him."
On recruits from Florida: "Something we did this year that helped Ricky (Hunley) was that Florida was his only recruiting area. He was able to head out of here every week and spend the whole time in Florida. Next year we will probably split that between Ricky and Bill Cubit. We will divide up north and south because there are so many players down there. We've built up our base of Florida guys that are here and having success. Guys like Zain Gilmore and Jamonte Robinson are able to recruit Florida guys from their own background."
On academic eligibility of the recruits: "There are a handful of guys on that list (that will have some academic problems)."
On the recruits playing at positions other than what they were recruited to play: "I don' see anybody probably starting. We only have five wide-outs on scholarship and carry seven on the travel squad. We are looking to get into more multiple receiver sets this year. Eugene Sweazie will definitely be a guy that we want to look at (right away). The three JC guys are most definitely going to get a look at coming in and contributing and fighting for a starting position."
On Cody Buford from Raytown South High School, Kansas City, Mo.: "Buford is an athlete that has a mean streak and is a real competitor. We like him a lot and will find a place for him to play."
On the lack of running backs in the recruiting class: "I would like to have had another speed back. They are difficult to find. Returning we have Gilmore, Zack Abron, Taurean Rollins and Ricardo Rhodes going into spring practice. I think this is a very workable class with what we want to do."
On the number of wide receivers in the recruiting class: "There was more of an aim to shore up our wide receiver position. There was a concerted effort to get at least three receivers. We return five on scholarship and our playing calls for eight. We've talked about using more multiple receiver sets, which will involve more guys. More guys will get more opportunities so we have to go that direction."