Mizzou Morning Matters
12/22/2023 11:20:00 AM | General
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Another year, another top 25 recruiting class for Mizzou football and coach Eli Drinkwitz for fans to celebrate this holiday season - plus perhaps some additions from the transfer portal that will stay in their wrapping paper for a few more days.
But here are some quick takeaways from the 2024 class Mizzou officially unveiled on Wednesday ...
* I did not have Coach Drinkwitz quoting "Jerry Maguire" on my signing day bingo card, but he summonsed his best Beau Bridges when he said five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri "has been an oak" since he first announced his commitment to Mizzou. Folks in some media circles had cast doubt on Nwaneri's pledge, but he never buckled.
"He's been an oak," Coach Drinkwitz said. "I never once worried about it. Not one time. We had constant communication with Williams, with his mom and his dad. … When we had in-home visits, everything was great. I think Williams, when he made his commitment in August, I don't think he ever even kind of wavered, contrary to what other people might have reported on Twitter several months ago."
What exactly are the Tigers getting in the 6-foot-6, 257-pound edge rusher? His combination of size and agility have drawn comparisons to former Mizzou All-American Justin Smith, but just in terms of his recruiting star power, he's among the very elite players to sign with Mizzou. Here's where Nwaneri ranks among 247Sports' top 10 prospects to choose the Tigers:
1. WR Dorial Green Beckham
2. DL Williams Nwaneri
3. WR Luther Burden III
4. DL Terry Beckner Jr.
5. DL Sheldon Richardson
6. QB Blaine Gabbert
7. RB Damien Nash
8. QB Chase Patton
9. DL Michael Keck
10. RB Tony Temple
Mizzou has been riding a wave of momentum for months — and the SEC coach of the year was quick to credit Nwaneri's August pledge as the tipping point.
"To get the consensus number one player in the country to choose in August, prior to any success that you've had on the football field was a huge momentum boost for us," he said, "and then obviously that momentum continued to carry out through the season. Appreciative to him and his family for believing in us. He did a really good job recruiting for us down the stretch right here, helping reach out to guys and making sure they understood why he was coming here and the belief that he had in Coach (Kevin) Peoples and the belief that he has and our staff."
* After a breakout season on offense, the Tigers have stockpiled the roster with offensive skill position players, adding quarterback Aidan Glover, tailback Kewan Lacy and wide receivers Courtney Crutchfield and James Madison II, "two guys I think will come in and compete" for roles, Coach Drinkwitz said. Those four players accounted for 72 touchdowns as seniors this fall.
* All four offensive linemen the Tigers signed this week will enroll early — and that's huge for their development for the 2024 season and beyond. The extra months on campus get them in the weightroom and on the training table ahead of schedule. The Tigers signed three high school prospects along the O-line — Talan Chandler, Caleb Pyfrom and Ryan Jostes — plus junior college transfer Jayven Richardson. Others who will enroll early include Glover, linebacker Brian Huff and defensive back Cameron Keys.
* Mizzou's staff continues to recruit nationwide, signing prospects from Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Nebraska, Tennessee and Texas.
Tigers Shine in the City
One of our five core values at Mizzou Athletics is Innovation — and that was on display Thursday in St. Louis, where No. 2 Mizzou wrestling squared off against Illinois in an unconventional but incredible setting at Stifel Theatre, the 3,000-seat opera house and former home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Legendary acts have graced the Stifel stage, from Frank Sinatra, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross to Bruce Springsteen. (As a kid I watched Hulk Hogan take down Roddy Piper at Stifel, back when it was known as Kiel Opera House.) On Thursday, it was Keegan O'Toole's stage. The two-time NCAA champion moved out of his customary 165-pound weight class and into the 174-pound class to replace injured teammate Peyton Mocco. O'Toole took down Illinois' Edmond Ruth, the nation's No. 5-ranked wrestler in his class, with a 12-7 decision in the Tigers' 29-6 takedown in front of a sold-out crowd.
When Tigers coach Brian Smith called O'Toole to ask him if he'd consider moving up a class, O'Toole cut him off.
"I automatically said, 'You don't even need to tell me what you're gonna say. I already know. I'm in,'" O'Toole told the UFC Fight Pass broadcast after the match. "I'm always gonna be there for my team, and when Coach Smith asked me, 'Hey, do you want to do this?' I automatically said yes, just because I need to be an ambassador for the sport and can't be scared to wrestle anyone. It's really only nine pounds. I wrestle with the 184s and 197s and everyone in our room. So it wasn't really anything different. He was a little bit stronger, and obviously he's a talented wrestler, so I had to be on my A game."
Seven of O'Toole's teammates were victorious as well as the Tigers moved to 5-0 on the season.
'Mizzou Storytellers'
We've got some exciting news in the content department here at Mizzou Athletics. After the holidays and the Cotton Bowl, you'll be able to treat your ears to a new podcast on the Mizzou Athletics podcast network: "Mizzou Storytellers," hosted by myself and Nikki Barry, our multitalented assistant AD for marketing and creative services. Each week Nikki and I will visit with someone in the world of Mizzou Athletics to tell their story — coaches, student-athletes, administrators, letter-winners and more — with the kind of long-form conversation you won't find anywhere else. We'll be available wherever you listen to podcasts when the pod kicks off in early January. Stay tuned for more details.
Matter's Weekly Power Rankings
When the ball is tipped Friday night at Enterprise Center, it'll mark 30 years to the day since the epic triple-overtime Braggin' Rights Game at the St. Louis Arena — the Tigers' 108-107 victory on Dec. 22, 1993 that set the tone for Mizzou's incredible romp through the Big Eight regular season. In this week's Power Rankings, we look at the five greatest Mizzou performances in the Braggin' Rights series. For the purpose of this exercise, we're only counting the games played in St. Louis from 1980-2022. (The 2020 game was played in Columbia in front of a limited crowd during the COVID pandemic.)
1. Kobe Brown, 2022: Kobe's All-SEC season first launched in St. Louis, where his 31 points established a Mizzou scoring record in the Braggin' Rights series. Illinois had no answer for the senior forward, who added eight assists, five boards and four steals in arguably the most complete game of his four-year Mizzou career.
2. Ricky Frazier, 1981: In the first Mizzou victory over Illinois in St. Louis, Frazier was unstoppable in the 78-68 overtime win, torching Illinois for 28 points while playing all 45 minutes. Jon Sundvold chipped in with 24 points – and the two were combined 24 of 26 from the foul line.
3. Doug Smith, 1990: It was a loss for the Tigers but not a losing effort for the All-American. Smith poured in 30 points and yanked down 15 rebounds in the 84-81 defeat, along with three assists and a couple blocks in 39 minutes.
4. Lamont Frazier, 1993: There were many heroes in the triple-overtime victory, but Norm Stewart's team captain was clutch all night, hitting the game-tying 3-pointer that forced the first OT session then the game-winning free throws in the closing seconds of the third OT. Lamont finished with 20 points in 54 minutes. Melvin Booker was another star in the OT thriller, finishing with 21 points and 13 assists in 42 minutes before fouling out.
5. Keyon Dooling, Clarence Gilbert, 1999: These two Fort Lauderdale natives were connected at the hip during their two years at Mizzou, so why not combine them here as well? In coach Quin Snyder's debut season, the Tigers took down No. 15 Illinois 78-72 behind 49 combined points from the sophomore guards, who were 11 of 16 from behind the 3-point arc.
In the running: Jevon Crudup, 1992 (10 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks, three assists); Travon Bryant, 2003 (19 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks); Linas Kleiza, 2004 (25 points); Kim English, 2009 (24 points, five 3-pointers); Phil Pressey, 2011 (18 points, five assists); Laurence Bowers, 2012 (23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists); Jeremiah Tilmon, 2018 (16 points, 12 rebounds).
Braggin' Rights Tiger Trivia
1. Kobe Brown became the third Mizzou player to score 30 points or more against Illinois last year. Doug Smith was the second. Who was the first?
2. In the 1993 triple overtime Braggin' Rights Game, the Tigers set a single-game team record for one statistic that still stands today. What is it?
3. Who is the one player in history to play for both Mizzou and Illinois in the Braggin' Rights Game?
Mizzou Musings
Congratulations to the 25 Mizzou student-athletes who earned their degrees last week, including two former Tigers: the afromenntioned Travon Bryant (2000-04), now an assistant women's basketball coach at California in the Pac-12; and baseball's Ian Bedell (2018-20), now in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. … Two former Tigers will be inducted into the 2024 class of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame: volleyball's Lindsey Hunter (2002-05) and football's Justin Britt (2010-13). … Heading into Friday's Braggin' Rights Game, Mizzou's Sean East II leads the SEC in 3-point shooting (60.7%), two spots ahead of teammate Tamar Bates (52.5%). … Mama Watch: With five more assists in Thursday's win over Kansas City, Mama Dembele continues to lead the SEC with 6.6 assists per game. She's second in the league with 3.4 steals per game. … With Thursday's announcement that defensive coordinator Blake Baker and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore have agreed to contract extensions, the 2024 season will mark the first time Mizzou returns both its defensive and offensive play-callers under Coach Drinkwitz. … In 2023 college football games rated by the Nielsen Ratings, Mizzou ranked No. 16 nationally in average viewers at 3.25 million. Mizzou ranked No. 6 in the SEC, behind Alabama (No. 1), Georgia (4), Tennessee (6), LSU (12) and Auburn (15). There's a caveat here: Only six of Mizzou's 12 games were rated by Nielsen, games that appeared on ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS. Games on SEC Network are not included in the Nielsen ratings. Still, Mizzou averaged more viewers in Nielsen games than Florida, Ole Miss, Clemson, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma, among many others. … Mizzou wrestling assistant coach Dom Bradley has qualified for his fourth Olympic Trials by capturing his weight class (125 kg) in the Senior Nationals earlier this month.
#SeniorNationals2023
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) December 17, 2023
125 kg Men's Freestyle finals
Dominique Bradley (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) dec. Christian Lance (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club), 2-1
Lance put on shot clock twice and can't score for 2-0 Bradley lead. Bradley can't score on shot clock, for final 2-1 score. pic.twitter.com/DJCUyRu8Kr
Tigers Heating Up
The nonconference slate is complete for Mizzou women's basketball, and if there's one takeaway from the Tigers' 9-4 start it starts on the offensive end. Mizzou opens SEC play Jan. 4 at defending national champion LSU, and when the Tigers are at their best, they're one of the SEC's best shooting teams at every spot on the floor. Mizzou leads the SEC in free throw shooting (76.1%), ranks second in 3-point shooting (37.3%) and third in field-goal percentage (46.4%). South Carolina and LSU are the only teams ranked ahead of the Tigers in either of the latter two categories. Four regulars in coach Robin Pingeton's rotation are shooting 38% or better from 3-point range. In Thursday's win, Hannah Linthacum become the fifth Tiger to score hit the 20-point mark in a game this season. The Tigers hit 80 points in eight of their 13 nonconference games.
Braggin' Rights Tiger Trivia
1. Norm Stewart scored 31 points against Illinois on Dec. 10, 1955 in a 74-73 victory in Columbia—before the series officially became the Braggin' Rights.
2. The Tigers committed a program record 38 fouls in the 3-OT classic — with five players fouling out: Crudup, Booker, Mark Atkins, Marlo Finner and Julian Winfield.
3. Mark Smith scored 11 points for Illinois against Mizzou as a freshman in 2017 then scored 10 points combined in three games with Mizzou against Illinois from 2018-2020.
