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Area recruits fit Pinkel's 'kind' Three local footballers committed to Big 12 programs, three to MU. Allen Vaughan • News-Leader • June 28, 2008 Read Comments(4)Recommend Print this page E-mail this article Share this article: Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine What’s this? In town earlier this month for an individual football camp at JFK Stadium, University of Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel laughed when asked about recruiting. Underwhelmed by various analysts who consistently ranked Mizzou's classes in the 20s or lower, Pinkel took a second to remind them which team shot up to the top spot in the AP and coaches' polls last season. "Obviously, they've been wrong," Pinkel said. "We were ranked No. 1 in the country at one point. We know what kind of kid we want, and it works for us." That "kind of kid" has Mark Hill and many others from the Ozarks excited. The Branson High School senior has seen three other area football players announce their NCAA Division I commitments over the last few weeks -- a number way above the norm. It's a sign that college football recruiting has taken a full turn toward the measurables, valuing speed, strength and body type maybe as much as talent, which is more subjective. Despite living in an area that has a reputation as a barren football recruiting landscape, this group of local high school seniors has the Ozarks hitting Division I paydirt. "Every program needs its big stars, but every program also has its building blocks," said Jeremy Crabtree, Rivals.com's National Recruiting Editor. "Sometimes you'll find a blue chipper from where you don't normally find them. "If you have the measurables and the speed, it doesn't matter where you're from or how you do it." That's where Hill comes in. After attending camps at Division I schools in the region like Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Kansas State, Hill said they told him they loved his 6-foot-6, 260-pound body with a 5.0-second 40-yard dash. It's a foundation that has coaches salivating over the opportunity to improve his size and strength and dreaming about how it could lead to better statistics than the 33 tackles, including five for a loss and two sacks, that he had last season -- that is, if he even plays defense in the future. "He definitely has the profile," Branson coach Steve Hancock said. "(College coaches) tell me they can get him to 300 pounds and still be athletic." So far, Hill has no scholarship offers, but he has a chance to be the fourth local player to commit before his senior season begins. Pinkel and Missouri already have locked up two, receiving oral commitments from Glendale wide receiver Alex Sanders and Lebanon offensive lineman Justin Britt. Strafford lineman Tyler Evans committed to Big 12 power Oklahoma. Buffalo's Cody Rosier is another local product who's getting Rivals.com attention. Buffalo coach Ed Hula said Kansas, K-State, Michigan and Iowa State have inquired and Rosier said once he takes his ACT, the colleges said they'd check back in on him. Three, let alone four, is a big number of commitments for the Ozarks. We're just one season removed from a season in which Ozark's Nathan Herrold's in-season commitment to Arkansas State left him as the lone player to end up Division I. The previous season, Hillcrest's Chris Earnhardt signed with Missouri. Neither he nor Herrold were considered blue-chippers or signed in the early period, as neither received more than three stars (out of five) on Rivals.com. But that's Pinkel's point. Sanders is expected fit in at tight end if he adds 30 pounds to his 6-5, 225-pound frame, where he would be the same size as Martin Rucker, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns last season. Pinkel said Earnhardt, who's listed at 6-5, 240, could be a second-stringer as a redshirt freshman this coming season. Britt came out of nowhere, flashing good footwork and speed to go along with his 6-7, 267-pound body, which, too, is expected to add 30 pounds. Hill has a similar frame. While he said he would prefer to play defensive end, coaches tell him that offensive line might be his calling because of his size and footwork. Crabtree, the Rivals.com recruiting editor, said the proliferation of the spread offense has changed the type of player programs are targeting. Sanders plays wide receiver in Glendale's spread offense. Britt is expected to pass-protect more as a senior, just like Hill, who plays right tackle for Branson. Evans is expected to play on the offensive line for the Sooners, though he played guard for Strafford last season. Crabtree said teams are looking for big bodies, but with the current offensive schemes, speed is a necessity and not a luxury anymore. "It's no longer about the 300-pounders in high school," he said. "There's room for them in college football, but not with the spread teams. Maybe in five years, schemes will go back to bigger guys again, but right now, schools want guys with big frames who can get bigger." It's not as if any of the four players mentioned played on teams that set the high school football world on fire. Glendale was the only district winner among the four, Lebanon was 5-5, and Strafford and Branson finished below .500. Evans and Sanders were all-state players, but Britt was second-team All-Ozark Conference and Hill wasn't listed as an All-Central Ozark Conference performer. All of these Ozarks players have drawn attention not through their high school programs but through summer camps, either with the schools or at big, elite camps where all of the top talent is assembled at one place for inspection and evaluation. Hill said he saw some familiar faces at multiple camps, a sign that local talent exists and knows where to go. "This area's not known for a ton of D-I athletes," Hill said. "I saw probably eight kids at the KU camp and the MU camp that were from the surrounding schools." Republic football coach Kurt Thompson has helped produce his share of D-I players, whether it was Grant and Tracey Wistrom at Webb City or Jared Helming at Kickapoo. All three went to Nebraska. Thompson said he has seen changes in the way kids are recruited, primarily with the way scholarships are offered and accepted early. It's all about projecting how a player will fill out his body and develop his skills. "I'm not so sure it's the best way to do it. We all want to shoot for that big-time scholarship, but some of these kids get labeled early, for better or for worse," Thompson said. "I'd rather them fill out as football players. The bottom line (is) you've got to be a good football player, as well as being fast, strong and tall." In your voice Read reactions to this story Newest first Oldest first McLintock wrote: There are more people around here interested in MU football than SMS. Just remember all the activity on call in shows last fall, the watch parties for the Big 12 Championship and Cotton Bowl, etc. And, have you ever been to a Springfield Cardinals or local high school sporting event and seen how MU gear is worn by about a 5-1 margin over SMS or anybody else. The News Leader should write more MU stories. 6/28/2008 2:35:09 PM There are more people around here interested in MU football than SMS. Just remember all the activity on call in shows last fall, the watch parties for the Big 12 Championship and Cotton Bowl, etc. And, have you ever been to a Springfield Cardinals or local high school sporting event and seen how MU gear is worn by about a 5-1 margin over SMS or anybody else.

The News Leader should write more MU stories. McLintock Recommend (1) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse BearNation wrote: Oh I totally get that, it's a big honor for those kids. I just meant we haven't really had any stories on how MSU's recruiting is going... 6/28/2008 8:07:40 AM Oh I totally get that, it's a big honor for those kids. I just meant we haven't really had any stories on how MSU's recruiting is going... BearNation Recommend (1) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse secollum wrote: Like it or not, BearNation, MSU isn't a blip on the radar of athletics (especially for football). Anywhere outside of this town, anyway. It is great news for this region's athletes that there are two nearby D-I coaches (Pinkel and Mangino) who don't do their recruiting off a Rivals.com list of 4 and 5 star prospects, but instead know how to produce winners from the recruits other coaches overlook. Good luck to all the area players who are moving on to play at the highest level. And hopefully for the sake of our area kids, this is a trend that will continue. 6/28/2008 7:44:31 AM Like it or not, BearNation, MSU isn't a blip on the radar of athletics (especially for football). Anywhere outside of this town, anyway. It is great news for this region's athletes that there are two nearby D-I coaches (Pinkel and Mangino) who don't do their recruiting off a Rivals.com list of 4 and 5 star prospects, but instead know how to produce winners from the recruits other coaches overlook. Good luck to all the area players who are moving on to play at the highest level. And hopefully for the sake of our area kids, this is a trend that will continue. secollum Recommend (2) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse BearNation wrote: Thank you for writing another Mizzou football story... not. 6/28/2008 5:21:28 AM Thank you for writing another Mizzou football story... not. BearNation Recommend (1) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register 1000characters left {staffMark} {authorIcon} {authorHandle} wrote: {commentBody} {commentTimestamp}{commentBody} {authorNameHandle} {recommendLink} {newpostLink} {replylink} {reportAbuseLink} Report item as: (required) X Obscenity/vulgarity Hate speech Personal attack Advertising/Spam Copyright/Plagiarism Other Comment: (optional) Missing input fields. You must fill out the comment body in order to submit a comment. Comment too long. The comment you have entered is too long. Please limit your post to {maxchars} characters or less. Pinkel Hill Purchase this Photo Alex Sanders, a wide receiver from Glendale, will be joining Mizzou's spread attack. (News-Leader File Photo) Purchase this Photo Lebanon's Justin Britt, committed to Missouri, has great size and footwork. (News-Leader File Photo) Evans Related news from the Web Sports NCAA Sports Standardized Testing Education Kansas State Wildcats NCAA Football NCAA Football Iowa State University NCAA Kansas State University NCAA Iowa State Cyclones NCAA Football Powered by Topix.net More High School Football headlines First glimpse of prep football Post a Comment New site enhances coverage for preps Post a Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Administrative Assistant Information Technology for John Q -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Urban Program Specialist Vacancy #080176 MU Extension is seeking -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Experienced Cooks for 2nd shift -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributor seeking Route Delivery Drivers w/ class A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be Dynamic Medical/dental insurance after 30 days 401 k Paid tim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Top Jobs About Top Jobs
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